Alarm Fantasy Football: NFL Week 9 Waiver Wire Show (Picks, Stashes, More)
Published: Oct 29, 2024
Do you need help getting your team back on track? Or are you already steamrolling and ready to gear up for playoffs? Regardless of where you stand, we've got all of the waiver wire adds, the streamers, and the stashes for you on our Week 9 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire show!
Join Andrew Cooper and Howard Bender as they talked waiver priority and FAAB while answering YOUR questions. And don't forget to check out all three of the waiver wire articles available on Fantasy Alarm!
Player News
New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the battle between Saints QBs Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough is “something to monitor” after a strong showing from Rattler in organized team activities.
Underhill described Rattler as being in “total control of the offense” and looked “really, really good” while hitting “throws with a high degree of difficulty.” Now, as Underhill also points out, a second-year player “should look better” than Shough, who was participating in just “his fourth practice with an NFL team.” Underhill does not know whether “this is going to lead to wins, or results,” but declared the competition “rejuvenating” for a team in need of leadership. While neither Rattler nor Shough is likely to produce fantasy football QB1 results, the starter could work his way onto QB2 streaming radar, aided by the Saints’ talented receiving corps.
Marquee Sports Network’s Scott Bair said signing free agent RB J.K. Dobbins would make the Bears’ running back corps “a strong position group.”
Bair notes that there’s a “fan contingent pushing for Nick Chubb,” but he views Dobbins, who is “coming off a strong 2024 season,” as “a safer bet.” Those of us outside the Bears’ building cannot know what GM Ryan Poles plans to do, but Bair’s suggestion reflects a consensus that the Bears could benefit from adding “a physicality to the attack that’s beneficial to [head coach] Ben Johnson’s scheme.” If the Bears intend to sign Dobbins, they have until July 22nd, at which point the unrestricted free agent tender that the Chargers placed on him would give the Chargers “exclusive negotiating rights” on a new deal. Contract value is seemingly key here. Bair cites a prior Yahoo! Sports report in which “Poles said he didn’t have a running back graded highly enough when the Bears’ pick came up in the first six rounds.” They held firm, prioritizing offensive and defensive passing game players, rather than reaching for a running back. The Bears’ front office may be able to lower Dobbins’ asking price by offering him a role he will not find in a crowded Chargers running back room.
Speaking on ESPN Cleveland, Browns HC Kevin Stefanski said of the team’s QB competition “it’s not going to be everybody gets 25 percent of the reps, that’s not how it’s gonna be.”
Rather than dish out even reps to his quarterback room this offseason, Stefanski said the goal will be “to give everybody enough reps where we can learn more about them and prepare them to get ready to play.” While it’s possible things still shake out more evenly than what’s being suggested here, it’s worth pointing out that veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett could find themselves on the shorter end of reps as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are more likely to be the team’s long-term answer at the position. Stefanski will undoubtedly want to have his entire QB room prepared for the start of the season as he enters the season fresh off an underwhelming 2024 campaign that saw his team go 3-14, but giving two rookies ample reps in camp could bode well for his team’s outlook beyond this season.
Maxx Crosby said he’s playing at “100 percent and no hesitation” after undergoing ankle surgery.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in the week, Crosby said of his practice at Raiders camp, “It’s been incredible being out there with my teammates, just being able to fully be myself, not hesitate on any type of cut and just cut it loose.” The star pass rusher seems to be doing well after undergoing season-ending ankle surgery last season, and is hoping the team’s first year under Pete Carroll will bring better fortunes than last year’s 4-13 finish under Antonio Pierce. Crosby totaled 7.5 sacks for the Raiders in 12 games, but totaled 27 sacks and 45 TFLs in the previous two seasons combined. His being at 100 percent to start the season will be crucial to a defense that hopes to take a massive leap forward this season.
NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reports Colts co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, the late Jim Irsay’s oldest daughter, is expected to become the team’s new controlling owner.
Irsay-Gordon previously assumed control of the Colts during Irsay’s six-game suspension in 2014, perhaps setting a precedent along the way. Florio adds that Irsay-Gordon’s sisters, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, will also remain co-owners, though their expected involvement has not yet been reported on.
The Times-Picayune’s Matthew Paras reports that Saints OT Trevor Penning took snaps at left guard during organized team activities.
Saints first-round rookie, OT Kelvin Banks Jr., is already taking repetitions at left tackle, which pushes last year’s first-round pick and starting left tackle, Taliese Fuaga over the the right tackle position. Penning, who manned the right tackle spot last year, will now evidently kick inside to left guard. Penning has failed to developed into a reliable pass protector through three NFL seasons but respectably earned a 70.1 PFF run-blocking grade last season. The Saints’ offensive line is rounding into form as an above-average unit.