Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups - Top Fantasy Football WR Adds for Week 9 Include Josh Downs, Cedric Tillman, Jalen McMillan, Demarcus Robinson

October 29, 2024

Justin Carter's fantasy football WR waiver wire pickups for Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season. His free agent wide receivers to add, stream, and stash off waivers.

Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season is almost behind us. It was an exciting week of football, with a lot of games going down to the wire. Some of those games featured players on our Week 9 wide receiver fantasy football waiver wire pickups list,

Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 9. Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 9 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list are around 50% rostered or below.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts - 47% rostered

Last week, Josh Downs had one catch for three yards. This week, he had four for 109 yards and a score.

Second Year Wide Receivers to post 10+ PPG with a 30%+ Target Rate and 2.00+ Yards per Route Run

[ Amon-Ra St Brown ]
[ Brandon Marshall ]
[ JOSH DOWNS ]

the Josh Downs BREAKOUT is REAL pic.twitter.com/0AmTNojUKg

— DynastyIM (@dynasty_im) October 28, 2024

Over the last five games, Downs has that one stinker, but then also has four games with at least nine targets and 66 receiving yards. It's safe to say Week 7 was the anomaly.

It really looks like Downs has surpassed Michael Pittman Jr. as the top receiver for the Colts. With Anthony Richardson throwing the ball, there's always a downside because of Richardson's accuracy concerns, but Downs is also always one play away from a 50-yard reception. He should be added everywhere ahead of next week's meeting with Minnesota.

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns - 19% rostered

Ahh, so this is what the Browns look like with competent quarterback play.

Jameis Winston provided a shot to the arm for Cleveland in the team's 29-24 win over Baltimore and the team's three main receivers all had strong days. Cedric Tillman had the strongest of all though, as he brought in seven of his nine targets for 99 yards and two touchdowns.

Our patience has paid off fellow Cedric Tillman truthers 👏 pic.twitter.com/7Pj5eL4DlL

— Matt Hicks (@TheFF_Educator) October 27, 2024

That makes 21 targets for Tillman since the team traded Amari Cooper. Is it safe to say he's the No. 1 receiver in a much-improved passing attack now? Because it sure looks that way.

Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 49% rostered

With Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out, Jalen McMillan served as the No. 1 receiver for Tampa Bay this week and will for at least the next three games. While tight end Cade Otton was the biggest beneficiary of the injuries, McMillan was targeted seven times, catching four passes for 35 yards.

You'd love to see a little more production, but the usage was nice for McMillan this week. He has 15 targets over the past two games and looks better positioned to have fantasy value than guys like Rakim Jarrett and Sterling Shepard.

However, I will say that Jarrett was intriguing this week. He entered this game with no receptions this year but caught three passes for 58 yards. I'm not adding him, but he's going on my watch list.

Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills - 41% rostered

A week after his breakout showing against the Titans, Buffalo Bills rookie Keon Coleman had another strong game in Week 8, catching a career-high five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. He has 14 targets since the Bills acquired Amari Cooper, taking advantage of the increased defensive attention on Cooper to carve out a role on the other side.

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns - 45% rostered

Jerry Jeudy was the No. 2 receiver in Cleveland before the Cooper trade. Instead of sliding into a larger role, he just kind of stayed around the same level. His eight targets this week tied for his second-most all year, and he caught five passes for a season-high 79 yards.

Do I love Jeudy? Not really. But with Winston at quarterback, this offense can actually move the ball through the air, so Jeudy should have a fairly solid floor going forward.

Deeper Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Pickups For Week 9

Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns - 2% rostered

Back to the Browns again! Elijah Moore's 12 targets led the wide receiver trio this week, but I'm not quite ready to have confidence in him. His 85 receiving yards were just shy of double his previous season-best mark.

Browns pass catchers with Jameis Winston today:

Elijah Moore: 29% targets, 23% air yards, 16.5 points 📈
Cedric Tillman: 22%, 39%, 28.9 📈
Jerry Jeudy: 20%, 24%, 12.9 📈
David Njoku: 17%, 15%, 17.1 📈

Upgrades everywhere. pic.twitter.com/0Itwf8eL52

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 27, 2024

But hey, if he can showcase next week against the Chargers that this wasn't a fluke, he'll become much more appealing. That means you can definitely add him now in hopes you're buying right before his value skyrockets.

Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers - 15% rostered

Diontae Johnson missed Sunday's game with a rib injury, which led to an increase in usage for rookie Xavier Legette, who was targeted seven times on Sunday. He caught four of those for 34 yards and a touchdown, his third touchdown since Week 4. He has streaming appeal if Johnson misses more time.

Noah Brown, Washington Commanders - 1% rostered

Noah Brown caught three of his six targets for 73 yards and a score on Sunday, though 52 of those yards and the score came on the game-winning Hail Mary. Take that away and it was a disappointing day, but he does now have six or more targets in two of the last three games.

Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots - 1% rostered

Kayshon Boutte saw a season-high six targets this week, catching three passes for 46 yards. He's starting to look like this team's No. 1 receiver, though there's obviously doubt about just how much fantasy value exists in the New England passing game, if any.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans - 0% rostered

The Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins this week. With him gone, Calvin Ridley was unstoppable, catching 10 of his 15 targets for 143 yards. The move also opened up opportunities for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who was targeted four times, catching two passes for 39 yards and a score.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has the quietest three-game TD streak in all of the land

— jepp (@j_epp22) October 27, 2024

NWI and Tyler Boyd both stand to gain value with Hopkins gone. Boyd feels like he has a slightly better floor because he'll see more targets, but Westbrook-Ikhine will get higher-value targets.

Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams - 9% rostered

The Rams had Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp back this week, with the two combining for 17 targets. No other wide receiver on the team had more than three, but that player, Demarcus Robinson, scored a pair of touchdowns. We can't completely ignore him as a boom-or-bust play.

Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals - 16% rostered

We're probably never going to get a resolution on the question of who the No. 2 receiver is in Arizona, but Michael Wilson has touchdown receptions in two of the past three games. You won't get consistency from him, but if you need a touchdown-dependent play in deep leagues, Wilson is an option.

Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars - 0% rostered

A fractured collarbone will cost Christian Kirk his season. The Jaguars still have Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis, but both are banged up. Evan Engram is the top weapon for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but Parker Washington could be something...maybe?

Yeah, maybe. If Thomas misses time, Washington could have appeal after catching three of his four targets for 46 yards in Week 8.

Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers - 0% rostered

Jalen Coker had his best game of the season this week, catching four of his six targets for 78 yards and a score. It was the second time this year he's gone over 50 yards. Like with Legette, the big reason for this was the injury situation in Carolina, but in a 16-team league, there's some appeal here if Johnson is out against New Orleans next weekend.

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