7 Fantasy Football Players to Drop or Hold (Week 9 Waiver Wire)

Let’s take a look at players our analysts consider on the fringe as you weigh your fantasy football waiver wire additions for the week. And also be sure to check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for the week.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice: Drop or Hold?

Drop Recommendations

Droppable

• Mac Jones (QB – SF)
• Spencer Rattler (QB – NO)
• Darren Waller (TE – MIA)

Mac Jones didn’t play especially well in the 49ers’ 26-15 loss to the Texans on Sunday, completing 19-of-32 passes for 193 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It seems likely that Brock Purdy will return from his turf toe injury this week against the Giants, sending Jones to the bench.

Spencer Rattler acquitted himself well in the Saints’ first six games but has floundered in the last two. He threw three interceptions against the Bears in Week 7 and was benched Sunday in a 24-3 loss to the Buccaneers. It’s unclear whether Rattler or rookie Tyler Shough will get the start for New Orleans this week. Even if Rattler gets the nod, the possibility of a quick hook makes him unusable for fantasy. He’s droppable.

Oft-injured tight end Darren Waller has landed on IR with a pectoral injury. Although Waller scored four touchdowns in his first three games with the Dolphins, he had more than 27 yards in only one of the four games he played this season. (In fairness, Waller played only 16 snaps in the fourth game before getting hurt.) The streaming landscape for tight ends has gotten better as the season has worn on. Most fantasy leagues have several playable tight ends available on waivers every week. For that reason, there’s no sense keeping Waller.

Droppable With a Chance of Regret

• Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE)
• Kendrick Bourne (WR – SF)

Jerry Jeudy runs a lot of routes, sees a good number of targets and gets a lot of air yards. It’s a recipe for success, and yet Jeudy’s season has been anything but successful. He has 22 catches for 257 yards and zero touchdowns. Jeudy hasn’t topped 50 receiving yards since Week 2. On Sunday, he was held without a catch for the first time this season. The top two quarterbacks on the Browns’ roster are rookies. There’s not much hope that things will get better for Jeudy, although his usage could produce a few good games.

After producing consecutive 142-yard games in Week 5 and Week 6, Kendrick Bourne has recorded 2-14-0 and 3-44-0 receiving lines in his last two games. The return of George Kittle from a hamstring injury has diminished Bourne’s role in the offense, and that role will be further diminished when Ricky Pearsall returns from a knee injury.

Don’t Drop Yet

• Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC)
• Keon Coleman (WR – BUF)

Quentin Johnston was one of the most pleasant surprises of the early part of the season, which made it that much more painful when he was completely shut out in Week 8. Johnston wasn’t even targeted in the Chargers’ 37-10 Thursday night win over the Vikings. The emergence of tight end Oronde Gadsden II as a major contributor to the Chargers’ passing game diminishes the target outlook for Johnston, and he was already in a bit of a target squeeze due to the presence of fellow wideouts Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen. Johnston isn’t droppable. He’ll undoubtedly have some splash games. But Johnston might be more of a depth piece now than a weekly fantasy starter.

We continue to preach patience with Keon Coleman, even though recent results have been lackluster. Since catching eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown in Week 1, Coleman hasn’t had more than 45 yards in any of Buffalo’s other games. Coleman had 3-30-0 on four targets in Week 8, but he deserves some slack considering that Josh Allen only had to throw 19 passes in the Bills’ 40-9 rout of the Panthers. Hold Coleman.