NFL Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups for Season-Long Fantasy (FREE)

After eight weeks, a cacophony of injuries and a handful of breakout performances, season-long fantasy leagues are getting their fair share of waiver wire steal options. Before all of your opponents snatch them up, we have some names to set your eyes upon as you make your NFL Fantasy Football Week 9 waiver wire additions and adjustments. This week, we have second-string tight ends to focus on. First and foremost, Jonnu Smith is on tap as we continue our series of Titans reserves highlighting waiver wire pickups.

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Chris Conley, Jacksonville Jaguars

One of the great testaments to Gardner Minshew‘s surprise rookie season is the way a young receiver crew has developed with him at the helm. D.J. Chark is a legitimate number one now while Conley and Dede Westbrook have emerged as solid complementary pieces. Conley had his best game yet yesterday with 103 yards and a touchdown on four catches and seven targets. Granted, most of that yardage came on one 70-yard completion, but Conley is around five targets a game and has three games with at least 80 yards. He is a boom/bust waiver wire target, largely contingent on game script. But Minshew is proving to be far from a liability, so Conley’s week-to-week production does not seem subject to quarterback variance.

Conley’s waiver wire value could also be enhanced by a rash of Jaguars receiver injuries. Westbrook suffered injuries to his neck and shoulder on Sunday, and Marqise Lee also suffered a shoulder injury. Lee has not factored much with around 20 percent snap share and four targets on the year. However, his injury removes another fill-in should Westbrook miss and it opens up even more room for Conley to be the undisputed number two in Jacksonville this week. The Jaguars have a couple favorable opponents as far as secondary goes with Houston next week and Indianapolis two weeks later. As a potential home run flyer, Conley needs a look on the waiver wire.

Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers

Mostert has been on this list before, but I am assuming many dropped Mostert as he settled firmly in as RB3 once Tevin Coleman returned. Now, however, with Matt Breida and Jeff Wilson both dealing with injuries on a short week, it is time to go back to Mostert. After all, San Francisco’s elite run blocking has made everyone in their backfield a quality fantasy play. And Sunday, once Breida went out, Mostert took off for 60 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. Coleman is going to be the lead back no matter what, but Mostert should see the second-most touches on Thursday, even if Breida plays. Plus, Wilson will likely not be around to steal red zone touches like he has done at times this year.

San Francisco’s Thursday opponenent, Arizona, has been suspect against the run, so Mostert figures well into the gameplan there. Two weeks later, the 49ers get the Cardinals again, then the Packers the week after that. In kind, Mostert could be a solid flex option for the next month or so, worth at least a waiver wire pickup.

Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans

Smith’s best time for pickup was probably last week when Delanie Walker‘s injury was fresh and Smith was yet to become Ryan Tannehill‘s favorite target. However, if you did not roster Smith then (which you probably did not since his ownership is still fairly low), you get another chance now. Smith had his best game Sunday with six catches, 78 yards and a touchdown and played 72.8 percent of snaps. Now, that snap percentage will probably dip a bit once Walker returns, but Tannehill clearly has a solid rapport with Smith, as they have hooked up for 142 yards in the last two weeks. And since it is unclear where Walker’s injury will place him going forward, Smith is a safe roster for now.

Perhaps Tannehill’s preference for tight ends will fade a bit. This Sunday, he targeted tight ends 12 times, completing nine, as opposed to 10 completions on 18 targets to receivers. That ratio is pretty rare for a team missing its top tight end. However, with no receiver on Tennessee stepping up much, Smith retains fantasy value in my eyes. That especially holds true this week as Carolina gave the 10th-highest DVOA boost to tight ends entering last week. Smith is a must-acquire on the waiver wire, and he is probably startable if Walker misses again.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

Maybe people are turned off by Zach Ertz‘s immense target share, but I am still surprised at how low Goedert’s ownership is. Sure, he has fewer than half of Ertz’s targets and receptions, but Goedert has been a go-to red zone guy for Carson Wentz as of late. He has back-to-back games with a touchdown and is averaging over 12 FPPG in PPR leagues over the last three games, twice as many as Ertz. Granted, a good amount of that uptick is due to his touchdown splash and Ertz is probably due for some positive touchdown regression.

However, Goedert is still averaging four catches a game over this stretch on 5.7 targets, and is slowly, steadily drawing a few targets away from Ertz. This is not to say Goedert is approaching Ertz’s level at all. Rather, he has merely closed the gap between them in terms of their fantasy value.

Goedert is not in the Jonnu Smith category of must-start tight end off the waiver wire. That said, three of Philadelphia’s next four opponents allow significant DVOA boosts to tight ends. Chicago is ninth-worst (entering week 8), Seattle 11th-worst and Miami second-worst. In the middle of that is New England, who is the best defense both in terms of defending tight ends and just in general. So keep Goedert on the bench in week 11. However, the other upcoming weeks, one could consider a FLEX spot for him. At the very least, Goedert is worth a waiver wire add in most leagues.

Author
Sam Smith is a writer and editor with Stokastic and OddsShopper. He has been immersed in the world of professional sports data since 2015, while also writing extensively on the NFL for a multitude of blogs and websites. With Stokastic, Sam looks to blend his sports and editorial expertise with Stokastic's data to bring you the best fantasy information possible.

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