2025 NFL fantasy football waiver wire, Week 9: Add Tyrone Tracy Jr., Sam Darnold, Kayshon Boutte

After a blowout-themed Sunday, there are new injuries wreaking havoc on fantasy rosters. The most notable one from Week 8 is the gruesome ankle dislocation suffered by Giants rookie Cam Skattebo. I hated seeing Skattebo go down after such a promising start to his NFL career. He underwent surgery Sunday night at a Philadelphia hospital, per the team. That won't be the only glaring void for fantasy managers to fill this week, though, with the Browns, Buccaneers, Eagles and Jets on bye.

With that in mind, here are my suggestions for Week 9, starting with my top 15 players to prioritize on the waiver wire, regardless of position.

The only rule here: Players must be rostered in less than 60 percent of NFL.com leagues to be eligible for the list.

And now, here are my top five waiver priorities by position:

QUARTERBACKS

Takeaways:

• After a Week 8 bye, Sam Darnold has a juicy matchup against the Commanders' defense. He averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game in his last three contests, while Washington entered Week 8 allowing the sixth-most FPPG to QBs this season. Darnold played closer to his floor last time out, but this test won't be as stiff as the one he faced against the Texans.
• We've seen ups and downs from Trevor Lawrence -- both in the current season and over the course of his entire pro career -- but he posted 17-plus fantasy points in each of his last three games. Hopefully, Liam Coen and the Jaguars used the bye week to make some adjustments and set their QB up for success against a Raiders team that has allowed 31 or more points in two of its last three games.
• Joe Flacco has been a top-six fantasy QB in each of the last two weeks, posting 24-plus fantasy points in both games, and he draws a banged-up Bears secondary in Week 9. My concern is Flacco could be battling an ailment of his own, as he suffered an apparent shoulder injury late in the Bengals' loss to the Jets on Sunday and acknowledged after the game that he wasn't feeling 100 percent. He didn't end up missing any snaps, and if the injury news on him in the days ahead is positive, Flacco is arguably the top QB streamer of the week. Head coach Zac Taylor described the QB's status as day-to-day on Monday, but I'm playing it a bit conservative with a 40-year-old whose body might not bounce back like it used to.

RUNNING BACKS

Takeaways:

• My top waiver-wire pickup of the week is Tyrone Tracy Jr., who is in line to replace the injured Cam Skattebo as the Giants' top RB. Tracy handled seven of the nine RB carries for the team after the star rookie left the game on Sunday and led all the team's backs with three targets. I know he faded a bit from the scene during Skattebo's hot start, but let's not forget Tracy posted 14-plus fantasy points seven times last season. He has the potential to be an RB2 going forward.
• The long-term outlook for Bam Knight isn't great with the window for Trey Benson's return from injury opening as early as Week 10. For Week 9, though, there's a lot to like about Knight's matchup against the Cowboys' woeful defense. Knight did see the most playing time of any Cardinals back prior to the Week 8 bye, playing 33 snaps to Michael Carter's 25 in Week 7.
• Tony Pollard is still the starter for the Titans, but Tyjae Spears appears to be overtaking him for fantasy purposes. Spears has outscored Pollard in two of the last three games, with the former going off to the tune of 17.2 fantasy points in Week 8. In fact, Spears played more snaps and ran more routes than Pollard on Sunday. Pollard's presence limits his teammate's ceiling, but if you need RB help, Tracy and Knight are the only players I'd prioritize over Spears in Week 9.
• The Browns are on bye this week, but Dylan Sampson is still worth a look, given the uncertainty regarding Quinshon Judkins' status after he left Sunday's game with a shoulder injury. Sampson was the fantasy RB9 of Week 1, when Judkins had yet to debut, and Sampson had eight touches on Sunday, his most since the opener.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Takeaways:

• Kayshon Boutte is the most productive wide receiver who isn't widely rostered in fantasy leagues. He's averaging 18.8 FPPG in his last three games, scoring four TDs in that span. Now, the bottom will probably drop out the next time he goes without putting the ball in the paint, but the long-term upside is too significant to be ignored. All that said, he next faces a Falcons defense that has been tough on WRs.
• The good news is anyone who picked up Troy Franklin last week was rewarded handsomely, with the Broncos WR going off for 89 yards and two TDs against the Cowboys on Sunday. He's now the fantasy WR23 this season. The bad news is he has a much tougher matchup in Week 9 against the Texans, who have one of the stingiest defenses when it comes to fantasy wide receivers. This is probably a week to sit him if you have better options on your roster, but he could be right back in your lineup the next week against the Raiders.

TIGHT ENDS

Takeaways:

• No tight ends made my top-15 overall waiver wire rankings this week because I retired Oronde Gadsden II from this space after recommending him in each of the last two weeks and seeing his rostered rate hover around 60 percent. If for some reason he is still available in your league, do yourself a favor and go all-out to get him. He would be No. 1 overall in my waiver wire rankings if he wasn't already so widely rostered.
• Mason Taylor is on bye this week, but he's still my top pickup at the position after scoring the first TD of his career. The numbers tell the story of a young player with stud fantasy potential. He ranks seventh in target share among tight ends (18.7%) and was targeted five times in the red zone on Sunday, tied for the most such targets any player has seen in a single game this season.
• If Cole Kmet returns from a back injury this week, Colston Loveland becomes a much less attractive option. If Kmet remains out, Loveland is worth a roll of the dice if you are in desperation mode at tight end, even though his rookie season has failed to meet expectations. The Bears will visit the Bengals in Week 9, and no defense has been friendlier to tight ends in 2025 than Cincinnati's.

DEFENSES

Takeaways:

• One of the safest plays in fantasy this season has been streaming the defense that is up against the Titans. It's the Chargers' turn this week. The Bolts D bounced back with 11 fantasy points in a win over the Vikings last week and has a great chance to keep the good times rolling against Tennessee, which has allowed a top-six fantasy defense in each of the last three weeks.
• The Saints are the next-best option to stream against right now, with their offense seemingly lost. Next up for New Orleans is a trip to Los Angeles to play the Rams, who boast a defense that has produced a whopping 28 fantasy points in its last two games. This game could be the first career start for Tyler Shough, who was unable to spark the offense when he replaced Spencer Rattler during Sunday's 23-3 loss to the Bucs.
• The Vikings were a bit of a mess at last glance, so I'd gladly stream a well-rested Lions defense playing at home against Minnesota this week, even if J.J. McCarthy returns from injury. I know Detroit has its share of concerns in the secondary, but that hasn't stopped the team's D from putting up 10 or more fantasy points in three of its last four games.