Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of names that jump out at us on the Week 9 waiver wire. At quarterback and tight end, there are certainly some options, but not so much at the running back position. But that doesn’t mean we just sit tight.

That makes this the perfect week for you to round out your roster and stash the handcuffs that could be league-winners down the stretch. We’ll make the case for some key names that could change the trajectory of your teams in our Week 9 best fantasy football stashes article!

 

 

 

Best Fantasy Football Stashes For Week 9

We are ideally going to look at players that are rostered in less than 50% of leagues on Yahoo, ESPN or Sleeper Fantasy as those are the guys that are generally actually available.

We know there are leagues of varying sizes and depths, so we’ll try to cover our bases. And we’ll obviously let you know what it is that makes these players the best fantasy football stashes in Week 9. So, let’s dive in!

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 Quarterback Stashes

Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots, Yahoo: 15% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 26%  

We always take opportunities like this to scoop up some upside. Some folks will see the fantasy stats from this week and the concussion diagnosis and drop Drake Maye to waivers. And we’ll casually scoop him up and stash him on the bench. 

Anyone that watched the game saw Drake Maye do exactly what we were hoping he would, scrambling for a 17-yard touchdown. Until someone figures out a new scoring system, there is no substitution for mobile upside at the quarterback position. 

Will Levis, QB, Tennesse Titans, Yahoo: 7% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 11%

No change in thought process here from last week though his rostership has continued to go down with him missing another week. Levis got hurt against Miami and, in the other games, he wasn’t really as horrible as some might make you believe - especially the Green Bay game. 

No one has a better schedule for passing down the stretch than Tennessee facing Washington, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville again.

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 Running Back Stashes

Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams, Yahoo: 15% | ESPN: 17% | Sleeper: 22%

Our focus is on upside. We don’t care as much about standalone value in this article. And, in a twisted way, the fact that Blake Corum has no standalone value right now is oddly GOOD for his upside. Let me explain. 

Sean McVay is one of the few modern era coaches that is willing to commit to a single back. In fact, Kyren Williams has played 85% of the snaps this year which actually leads all other backs by 9% (Jonathan Taylor is second at 77%, when healthy). 

Only 7 backs play more than 70%. If Kyren Williams goes down, Blake Corum could inherit a huge role in a highly consolidated offense that just got two of its best weapons back. And already had it’s bye week. 

Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals, Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 17% | Sleeper: 24%

If James Conner goes down, there is no guarantee that Trey Benson picks up the full workload or even the majority of it. Emari Demercado could pick up the pass work even more. But there are three factors that make Trey Benson the second best stash after Corum.

The first is that he’s a talented player which is why he was the second highest RB drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft. The second is that James Conner has missed time with injury in every single season of his career so far. And the third is that the Arizona Cardinals have arguably the softest fantasy playoff run schedule of any team with the Patriots, Panthers, and Rams. If this one hits, it could hit big. 

Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 11% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 19%

No one wants to see JK Dobbins get hurt again after all he’s been through. But he does have a lengthy injury history. 

With Gus Edwards also hurt, Kimani Vidal is now in that RB2 chair behind an injury prone player in one of the league’s most run heavy offenses. He’s gotten 6, 4, and 6 touches over the last three weeks so they are working him in. 

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Baltimore Ravens, Yahoo: 8% | ESPN: 4% | Sleeper: 11%

Pretty simple thought process here. The Ravens love what they have in Derrick Henry. Justice Hill is not the kind of guy to take over an every down role. Keaton Mitchell would likely take the early/short yardage work. And you can sneak him into an IR spot.  That’s if you have one with all the injuries this year. 

Ray Davis, RB, Buffalo Bills, Yahoo: 8% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 14%

Ray Davis has been in these ‘best fantasy football stashes’ articles all year long. He didn’t play much this week but we saw what he could do on Monday Night Football when James Cook was out. If anything happens to Cook, it’s wheels up for Davis. 

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 Wide Receiver Stashes

Noah Brown, WR, Washington Commanders, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 4%

Yes, the Hail Mary catch certainly juiced up the statline for Noah Brown. But we don’t care as much about that. We’d still be interested in Brown based on his deployment. 

Before that catch, he finally seemed to have claimed the WR2 chair opposite Terry McLaurin, playing 81% of the snaps and getting 5 targets. That’s all we really needed to see to consider him a stash. 

Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, New England Patriots, Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 11% | Sleeper: 15%

We must remind folks that Amon-Ra St. Brown, in his rookie year, did not do much until Week 11. Neither did Hunter Renfrow that same season. Both were top 5 WRs down the stretch in fantasy. 

This offense is just figuring things out with Drake Maye. If things come together down the stretch, Polk could get hot at the right time. He’s come very close to making some big plays this year. 

Troy Franklin, WR, Denver Broncos, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 8%

Bit of a setback here for Troy as Lil’Jordan Humphrey took back over his WR2 chair. But we know who Humphrey is. Josh Reynolds is not likely coming back this season after being shot multiple times. 

It’s Troy Franklin vs. Devaughn Vele for Marvin Mims as upside plays for a QB in Bo Nix that is just starting to take strides. We’ll go with his high aDot rookie teammate from Oregon in Troy Franklin. 

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 Tight End Stashes

*For those looking for it, our updated Yin & Yang Tight End chart is in our Week 9 Waiver Wire Article.

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots, Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 27% | Sleeper: 30%

Hunter Henry continues to be our top upside stash as well as one of our top waiver adds. Check the main article for the thoughts there but the short and sweet is that this is one of the few open teams in terms of target pecking order. 

Will Dissly, TE, Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 3%

No one is going to tell Jim Harbaugh what to do. If Will Dissly is his guy, then Will Dissly is his guy. We need to see what it looks like when Hayden Hurst gets back but how can we argue with a guy getting 22 targets over the last 3 games? He has to be on the radar in case this continues. 

Ben Sinnott, TE, Washington Commanders Yahoo: 2% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 9%

We hate to chase the narratives of last year. But the similarities are too eerie. Last year Zach Ertz was getting a bunch of targets. Then he got hurt. Backup tight end Trey McBride stepped in. And the rest was history. 

Sinnott is the second best pass-catching TE behind Ertz so would immediately leapfrog John Bates into that pass-catching role. He’s an athletic specimen and second round pick, just like Trey McBride, so he could have big upside down the stretch. 

 

 

 

Why Do We Stash?

Obviously, it would be nice if our entire roster was just chock full of stars. Maybe your lineup is (some of my dynasty leagues certainly are). But, for most of us, there will be holes. That’s why we highlight the Top Waiver Wire Adds each week as well as the Best Streamers to get you by.

The best fantasy football stashes though? These are the guys that win you the title. That came out of the woodworks down the stretch like rookie Odell Beckham. or Amon-Ra St. Brown. And it’s our job to find them BEFORE they break out!