Week 9 Waiver Wire: Examining Fantasy Football Lineup Options After Injury Reports
The NFL injury report rarely carries positive news for fantasy managers, with the worst case scenarios taking a superstar out of the equation and forcing them to scour the waiver wire to find a replacement for the week.
If not longer.
With that in mind, here are three options to consider with the statuses of star quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers uncertain for Week 9.
Joe Flacco, QB, Indianapolis Colts
With Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Detroit, fantasy managers in need of a replacement, or simply looking to replace an underperforming signal-caller, should consider veteran Joe Flacco.
The 17-year man will step under center for the Colts Sunday, replacing Anthony Richardson as the team looks to remain in contention in the AFC.
Flacco has thrown multiple touchdowns in all three of his starts in 2024 and has not scored less than 15 points in fantasy in any of them. His 26.6 against Jacksonville in Week 5 ranked him fourth among all quarterbacks.
Against the Vikings, the Super Bowl champion will face a defense ranked 20th against opposing quarterbacks and giving up 16.48 points per game.
He will have an opportunity to feast on what is a bad secondary and should hurl a couple of touchdowns while he is at it. Look for Flacco and other waiver wire addition, wide receiver Josh Downs, to have potentially huge days for the AFC South squad.
Flacco is available in more than 80 percent of leagues in both Yahoo and ESPN fantasy.
Demarcus Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams
All Demarcus Robinson did in Week 8 was wait for the returns of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to have his best game of the season.
Robinson showed up and out, catching two-of-three passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings. He finished seventh among receivers.
Nacua seemingly escaped major injury after leaving practice earlier this week and with head coach Sean McVay not ruling him out to play against Seattle on Sunday, the conditions will be the same for Robinson to have a repeat performance.
With so many options capable of burning the opposing defense, including Pro Bowl-worthy running back Kyren Williams, Robinson is forgotten about. He made the Vikings pay and will do the same to fantasy managers who do not tap him to step into their lineups for the injured Tee Higgins or Amari Cooper.
The Seahawks are ranked 13th in fantasy against opposing receivers but still yield 31.29 points to the position. Do not be surprised if Robinson is sneaky great again for those who opt to start him.
He is available in 89 and 87 percent of Yahoo and ESPN leagues, respectively.
Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Denver Broncos
The running back depth in fantasy football is nearly non-existent through eight weeks, and Denver's Jaleel McLaughlin is not lighting up any scoreboards, but he does have one interesting trend that is worth at least keeping an eye on.
McLaughlin has tallied two receiving touchdowns in the last four weeks and in Week 8, gained the most rushing yards on the team with 47 on eight carries.
Javonte Williams is still the starter in Denver, as evidenced by the 17 carries he received a week ago, but McLaughlin is more productive.
He will have an opportunity to influence the run and passing game against a Ravens team that gives up 20.20 points to opposing running backs and has allowed three receiving touchdowns at the position.
Managers with Zack Moss, Brian Robinson, Tony Pollard, Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, or Josh Jacobs and looking for options amid the uncertainty of those players' availability in Week 9 should consider McLaughlin.
Especially those in deeper leagues.
The 24-year-old is available in 83 percent of Yahoo and 76 percent of ESPN leagues.
All stats via FantasyPros unless otherwise noted.