Week 9 Waiver Wire: Box Score Stat Projections for Top Fantasy Pickups and Sleepers

The waiver wire is a treasure trove for fantasy managers seeking the right players to fill holes in their lineups caused by bye weeks, untimely injuries or underperforming players.

One such underperformer is Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts, who finds himself benched in favor of Joe Flacco, leaving managers to scramble in an attempt to replace a quarterback many selected in the top 10 at the position.

Luckily, the waiver wire has a few options, including two veterans coming off of strong performances in Week 8.

It also has a young wide receiver who was mass-dropped as soon as a veteran joined the squad, only to deliver his two finest performances of the season in response.

Any of the three could be the solution to fantasy managers' problems in Week 9.

Matthew Stafford has his weapons back, and that means bad news for defenses around the league.

The Super Bowl LVI champion tossed four touchdowns against Minnesota last Thursday night and will look to replicate that performance against Seattle in Week 9.

The Seahawks are ranked 19th against opposing quarterbacks and are surrendering just under 17 points to the position.

If Stafford can find Puka Nacua for big plays like he did against the Vikings and use Kyren Williams' superb performance at running back this season to create play-action opportunities down the field, Sunday could be a big day for the signal-caller.

A 300-yard day with two or three touchdowns is not out of the equation for Stafford.

Grab the 36-year-old now, though. He is still available in 59 percent of Yahoo and 88 percent of ESPN leagues, which are ridiculous numbers given what he accomplished a week ago against a good Vikings team.

Anyone worried that the arrival of Amari Cooper would negatively affect Keon Coleman's production should probably stop.

Since the veteran wide receiver's trade to Buffalo, all the rookie has done is ball out.

Coleman has caught nine-of-14 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks, finishing 11th and 13th, respectively, at his position.

There is no reason to believe the 21-year-old cannot continue that form, especially against a stingy Miami Dolphins defense that gives up just 25.20 points to opposing wide receivers and is likely to shift defensive coverage toward Cooper, giving the rookie some favorable looks and matchups.

While it's difficult to envisage the same level of production he got against Tennessee two weeks go when he popped off for four catches and 125 yards, Coleman is still a worthy starter and could find himself with six catches for 80 yards and a potential score.

The Florida State product is available in 57 percent of Yahoo and 39 percent of ESPN leagues.

It was widely expected that Jameis Winston would provide the Cleveland Browns with a spark in place of the injured Deshaun Watson and that is exactly what the 2015 No. 1 overall pick did.

Against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, Winston completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The Los Angeles Chargers have played some strong defense in the first half of the season and they are giving up the seventh-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks at 13.91.

Still, the Chargers will likely score against a middling Browns defense, forcing Cleveland to throw the ball in an attempt to keep up.

If Winston can avoid the big errors that have plagued him over his career, he is a worthwhile starter for managers with quarterbacks on bye, injured or underperforming through the first eight weeks of the season.

A 300-yard, two-touchdown day is not out of the equation.

Winston is available in over 90 percent of Yahoo and ESPN leagues.

All stats via FantasyPros unless otherwise stated.