RADIO
John breaks down his must add fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season. Add these players now off the waiver wire and win more.
The waiver wire is a source of both great pleasure and great pain for fantasy football managers. It can be a nightmare constantly tracking the injury statuses and projected production of a lot of players on the fantasy roster bubble every week.
It's difficult to predict exactly when certain players will break out, of course, but looking for signals in a variety of aspects of the game can go a long way in determining who you should grab and when.
We're just about midway through the 2026 NFL season, at least for fantasy football purposes, so who should you pick up off of waivers ahead of Week 9?
Bookmark our updated and revamped fantasy football rankings portal for all league formats!PPR rankings | Half-PPR rankings | Standard rankings | Rookie rankings | Superflex rankings | Dynasty rankings | Who To Start? | Injuries | Matchup Ratings | Strength of Schedule
2026 Fantasy Football: Week 9 Waiver Wire Adds
All Players are rostered in 60% or less in all Yahoo Leagues
Malik Willis, QB, Miami Dolphins
After an abysmally slow start to the season for Willis, he's quietly averaged over 20 fantasy points per game in his last three contests. He's totaled seven touchdowns in those games, including three rushing touchdowns, and rushed for over 100 yards.
The Dolphins offense finally appears to have some life, with rookie wideout Caleb Douglas putting some seriously impressive play on tape and running back Ollie Gordon II playing well in a big role in relief of the injured RB1 De'Von Achane (knee).
Malik Willis with a little ball spin before firing this deep out route. https://t.co/dEQfdQFU8E
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 2, 2026
The Dolphins have every reason to throw in the towel this season, yet optimism among the players remains high, and the offense has responded. Outside of Douglas, though, only WR Malik Washington has shown anything consistent, and he's not put together impressive performances.
The rushing upside Willis possesses helps him overcome that, though. On the season, he averages over 6.2 yards per carry and has three rushing touchdowns. He's an excellent athlete and should continue to use his legs to move the chains.
Malik Willis lowers his shoulder for the touchdown
MIAvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/TVRwL1sULm— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
We've seen quarterbacks like Justin Fields have minimal passing production, yet be elite fantasy football options due to their high rushing upside. Rushing yards and touchdowns are worth 2.5 times and 1.5 times those of passing touchdowns in normal fantasy leagues, respectively.
The Dolphins have one of the easiest remaining schedules for fantasy football quarterbacks remaining, with upcoming matchups against the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills twice, and Chicago Bears. Willis is a great pickup to make ahead of Week 9.
He's a good start against the Lions next game, who have the worst defense in the NFL.
Demarcus Robinson, WR, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are getting some reinforcements at the WR position, with Robinson (ankle) expected to be activated for the team's Week 9 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. With WR Christian Kirk (knee) out for the contest and WR Mike Evans (Achilles) not playing, Robinson could be the top wideout.
Evans is expected to miss multiple upcoming weeks by some reports, and Kirk is reportedly in need of meniscus surgery. Somehow the 49ers receivers are almost all injured right now, which is just the way things seem to go for them.
DEMARCUS ROBINSON PICKS UP 58 YARDS
SFvsPHI on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/N4B5wM6tZu— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026
Though Robinson is a career journeyman with a season-high of 505 receiving yards over his previous nine seasons in the NFL, he has solid single-game upside in 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
He caught two of his three targets for 50 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, which was the only healthy game he's had this season. And this week he'll have even less target competition, as he, tight end George Kittle, and running back Christian McCaffrey will be the team's top targets.
Pat Bryant, WR, Denver Broncos
Bryant (ankle) was placed on injured reserve after an ankle injury in Week 4, but he had his practice window opened this week and practiced in full on Wednesday. It looks like he'll be back very soon, if not this week.
The Broncos offense languished early in the season as offensive coordinator Davis Webb had taken over playcalling duties from head coach Sean Payton. It didn't take long for that change to be reversed. As a result, Broncos QB Bo Nix has been playing far better.
Bo Nix throws it up to Pat Bryant II for the TD!
The first career TD for the rookie WR 🙌
DALvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt https://t.co/C3z7yWt6ft— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Last season and early this year, Bryant showed promise. His playing time has been very solid, even if Nix's production wasn't. With Nix on the uptrend, we could see Bryant finally break out midway through his third season in the NFL.
Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has seen greatly decreased production this year, and hasn't been targeted as much despite Bryant's absence. He still has yet to score double-digit PPR fantasy points in a game this year.
well OK Bo Nix https://t.co/VMoOd6Qjw5
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 1, 2026
Nix's better play, Sutton's fall-off, and Bryant's return could result in the latter being a great fantasy football pickup and a late-season breakout.
Malachi Fields, WR, New York Giants
Fields is one of a handful of players who will likely appear on lists like these over and over again until he can put something consistent together. It looks like the Giants offense has some hope, though, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy has played well in his two recent starts.
The Giants have a nice, soft schedule ahead of them, with multiple matchups against awful defenses like those of the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders.
Malachi Fields is starting to establish himself as a legit weapon in the Giants offense.
🎥 @BrandonLondonTV dives into the film of his 4-catch, 84-yard day in the upset win over Houston --> https://t.co/q6Lh0YLOHm https://t.co/Gkd0sB5ZEA
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 30, 2026
Fields has been excellent on tape, and it looks like McCarthy isn't going to be targeting tight end Isaiah Likely nearly to the degree that QB Jameis Winston was when he was the starter. Likely being out of the way would mean Fields could step into the clear WR2 position for the Giants.
Fields' playing time has been excellent, as he's logged over 70 percent of his team's offensive snaps in each of his last three games. With 13 targets in the past two weeks, the two games McCarthy has started, Fields could become a legitimate fantasy weapon soon.
Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
It seems that the fantasy football community has largely moved on from Schultz, who appeared poised to be one of the better tight ends in fantasy football this season. The Texans' trade for wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. isn't helping things.
But Schultz is still well involved in the offense, and the injury to wide receiver Jaylin Noel (toe) that put him out for the season could mean the TE gets more targets consistently. He hasn't scored a touchdown this season, unfortunately.
Dalton Schultz saved the Houston Texans season with this catch! I’m glad he’s back
#wearetexans https://t.co/eVlxEq3XaG— Texans Talk 713 (@713HouSports) March 5, 2024
Schultz is a role player for his team, and if he can get some positive touchdown regression, he'll be a solid weekly starter. The Texans have a bit of a diffuse passing offense, but TEs don't need a ton of production to be fantasy relevant anyway.
J.J. McCarthy, QB, New York Giants
The aforementioned McCarthy has seen new life breathed into his career thanks to his transition to his new team. With the Giants, he actually looks like a serviceable starting quarterback instead of a total bust destined to wash out of the league in a few years.
This is some elite stuff from JJ McCarthy https://t.co/5OrygfbBAn
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) October 25, 2026
As he now wears jersey number 18, he's twice as good as he was when he was nine with the Vikings wearing jersey number 9. All jokes aside, McCarthy also has some underrated rushing upside that we could see in the coming weeks. He's a good waiver add for now.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Malik Willis, Christian Kirk, Pat Bryant, Malachi Fields, Dalton Schultz, J.J. McCarthy. But don't worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Malik Willis, Christian Kirk, Pat Bryant, Malachi Fields, Dalton Schultz, J.J. McCarthy. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2026. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the results and recommendations.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Malik Willis, Christian Kirk, Pat Bryant, Malachi Fields, Dalton Schultz, J.J. McCarthy:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
