Early Fantasy Football Waiver Wire For Week 9: Adonai Mitchell Takes Off

I’m not going to sugarcoat it—if you’re needy for immediate production in Week 9, you’re probably better off trying to make a trade after this one than finding help on the wire here.

That being said … there are still some intriguing names here that I’d be looking to snag—especially with the trade deadline looming, you’d rather be early than late when picking up some of these guys.

FYI, the following players are ordered by position, NOT the order in which I would attack them on the wire. For detailed breakdowns on priority and pricing for each of these players, make sure to check out the premium version of this article, which drops after Monday Night Football. I dive deep into FAAB recommendations in multiple league sizes and formats, including Guillotine Leagues™️.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it:

Week 8 Early Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

Quarterbacks

Anthony Richardson | IND
Roster: 10%

The Colts are in a full-blown tank, regardless of what they’re saying to the media. And after going down over 30 points to the Jaguars this week, Anthony Richardson replaced Daniel Jones at QB.

While we don’t have any recent data to refer to, we know Richardson can offer an extremely fantasy-friendly skill set when he’s out there. Going back to 2024, the last time we saw Richardson in extended action as Indy’s starter:

45.4 rushing yards per game (3rd behind only Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels)
0.55 rushing touchdowns per game (3rd behind Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts)

Do I think Anthony Richardson is a good real-life NFL quarterback and the solution to all of Indy’s problems? Probably not. But I know he can score a lot of fantasy points.

He’s a must-add in superflex formats, and also an interesting stash in 1QB if you’re struggling to find a solution right now.

Running Backs

Isaiah Davis | NYJ

Roster: 9%

Another week without Breece Hall available for the Jets leaves a lot of unanswered questions about this backfield the rest of the season. Two weeks straight with limited practices all week for Hall, only to be ruled out last-minute Sunday morning … if I had to bet one way or another, my money would be on Hall being traded before the deadline but after Week 9.

If a trade occurs, Braelon Allen will obviously serve as the primary back in New York. But it also opens up Isaiah Davis as a pretty interesting handcuff behind him. I don’t think Davis is someone you’d want to start as a weekly option as long as Allen is healthy given what we’ve seen over the past couple weeks, but he’s clearly viewed as the primary rotational back behind him.

Oh yeah, if we get news Breece is staying in NY, you can disregard all of this.

Ray Davis | BUF

Roster: 19%

We just talked about a Davis serving as the *potential* handcuff in New York … how about a Davis serving as the *sure* handcuff in Buffalo?

Ray Davis continues to operate as one of the more valuable handcuffs across the fantasy landscape behind James Cook, and he’s simply not rostered on nearly enough teams right now.

Cook had an injury scare in Week 8, and in an alternate reality we’re looking at spending nearly 100% of our FAAB on Davis going forward. Luckily, it was confirmed not to be serious and he was able to return to the game, but it’s a good reminder how quickly these handcuffs can become some of the most important players in fantasy.

Devin Singletary | NYG

Roster: 28%

The Giants are on bye in Week 8 and it’s a great time to pick up Devin Singletary for free. With Tyrone Tracy officially on injured reserve, Najee Harris released, and Cam Skattebo’s weekly role feeling dicey at best, Singletary is in prime position to take on a meaningful role in the NYG backfield going forward.

While I still think Skattebo will serve as the first option here, I don’t think the gap between him and Singletary will be as large as many think. I’d anticipate Singletary projecting like a mid-to-high-end RB3 weekly, with contingent upside if Skattebo misses time (or finds himself back in the doghouse).

Nicholas Singleton | TEN

Roster: 19%

Tony Pollard has been the talk of the town in the Titans backfield recently since he’s been absolutely balling over the past couple weeks. But even though he doesn’t seem to get talked about as much as the guys like Jonathan Taylor and Breece Hall, I’d go as far to say Pollard is just as likely to be traded before the deadline.

I’m not sure how quickly Singleton will become relevant in 2026, but I am reasonably confident we’ll see him serve as the featured back at some point this season. I’d assume the Titans will want to see what they have in the young rookie RB, and this becomes extremely clear if/when they do end up trading Pollard.

Just pick up Singleton now and hold him until the deadline. If Pollard is not moved, he’s an easy cut.

Emmett Johnson | KC

Roster: 55%

When I was searching the wasteland of players to write about in this brutal waiver wire week, I was shocked to see Emmett Johnson is available in nearly HALF of all leagues right now.

We know how good Kenneth Walker is, but man … every time Emmett Johnson touches the ball, he looks awesome. Johnson is currently averaging 0.45 missed tackles forced per attempt, which ranks second among all running backs in the league. Obviously a small sample given the lack of total volume he’s handled this season, but it makes me wonder—if Kenneth Walker were to miss time, how high would Johnson rank on a weekly basis? I think there’s an argument that he’d be as high as top 5.

If Emmett Johnson is just sitting on your waiver wire right now … what are you doing?! He needs to be a priority pickup as THE premier handcuff in fantasy.

Wide Receivers

Jordyn Tyson | NO

Roster: 80%

This one is a longshot, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Jordyn Tyson here. On the off chance that Tyson is available on your waivers, he needs to be the No. 1 pickup of the week. After missing the entirety of the year so far with an injury suffered this summer, Tyson is expected to make his return as soon as next week against the Browns.

I wasn’t nearly as high on Jordyn Tyson’s prospect profile as some in the fantasy space (Fantasy Life’s very own Dwain McFarland had Tyson as the WR1 in the 2026 class), but there’s no arguing he was outside of the top 4 guys.

As a 93rd percentile WR prospect in the CUPPS model, Tyson is a legit blue-chip WR1 talent. I expect him to make a major impact on the Saints passing offense down the stretch.

As we get further and further along in the fantasy season, it becomes increasingly difficult to find meaningful wide receiver additions on the waiver wire—so if Tyson is somehow available, please make sure you get him on your squad.

Adonai Mitchell | NYJ

Roster: 31%

Another week, another Jets wide receiver not named Garrett Wilson leading the team in receiving.

I’m mostly kidding. Wilson had a great game in his own right. But this really is the third week in a row where a different Jets WR has led the team in yardage. The last two weeks were the rookie Omar Cooper, but it was all Adonai Mitchell in Week 8:

74.3% route participation
9 targets, 29% target share (2nd)
7 receptions, 142 receiving yards (1st)
27.2 fantasy points (1st)

Mitchell returned from injury last week and didn’t do much, but he also only played around 40% of the snaps. Looking back, it seems like Week 7 was mainly a ramp-up game for Mitchell, and this was his first game *truly* back.

The biggest problem here—I think the likeliest outcome here is that Cooper and Mitchell are both going to be tough to trust on a weekly basis. They ran the exact same number of routes this week, and while this time it was the AD Mitchell show, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see things swing back toward Cooper in Week 9.

That being said, I think Mitchell is proving to be a truly talented receiver, and I’m in the business of rostering truly talented receivers. Talent tends to find its way to win out over the long run, whether it be through injury, trade or something else.

Tight Ends

Eli Raridon | NE

Roster: 20%

Hunter Henry was looking primed for a big game before leaving early with a foot injury. After his departure, it was the rookie tight end Eli Raridon serving as the next man up. While he didn’t provide much from a fantasy perspective here, he did run 78% of routes—fourth on the team behind the three receivers (Kyle Williams, Demario Douglas and Efton Chism).

In most leagues, picking up and starting Raridon with confidence is highly dependent on the severity of Henry’s injury. If Henry’s injury turns out to not be serious and he returns in Week 9, then Raridon can safely be left on waivers.

However, if he does miss time, Raridon would immediately enter the TE1 conversation. The Patriots offense is devoid of reliable weapons right now with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs on IR, and we know how much they like to use their tight ends in the passing game.

We’ll need to monitor the news on Henry over the next couple days, but Raridon would be the tight end I’m most interested in off waivers.