Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups, Best Fantasy Sleepers to Target After Box Score Review

Week 9 got underway with Thursday night's matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars. Baltimore was forced to dig deep into its quarterback depth chart because of injuries to Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley, which was an obvious problem.

Likewise, many fantasy managers may face problematic situations in Week 9 because of injuries and/or bye weeks. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans have the week off. Late-developing situations, like Garrett Wilson landing in the concussion protocol , could be particularly problematic because waivers have been processed in most leagues.

A few viable starters may still be available, though. Here, you'll find a look at the top late-week waiver targets for point-per-reception (PPR) play.

Malik Willis has started to settle in as the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback, and he looks far more comfortable as a passer than he did at the beginning of the season.

The talented dual-threat only ran once against the New England Patriots last week, but he tossed a pair of touchdowns and tallied 15.6 fantasy points. He ran eight times in each of his previous two games and topped 20 fantasy points in each of them.

Despite Willi's recent success, he's still only rostered in 27 percent of leagues. He's worth adding and starting this week, and he has a favorable stretch of matchups upcoming.

It starts with this week's game against the Detroit Lions, who have surrendered more fantasy points to opposing QBs than any other team.

The Cleveland Browns have placed quarterback Deshaun Watson in the concussion protocol ahead of their matchup with the New Orleans Saints. That probably doesn't bode well for most of Cleveland's skill players. It could, however, be good for Browns receiving back Dylan Sampson.

Assuming Todd Monken tries to get Shedeur Sanders some easy completions early, Sampson is likely to have a large workload. He's also played a prolific role since returning from an early-season injury and has been targeted 11 times over the past two weeks.

Sampson has caught all 11 of those passes while rushing for 52 yards. He has reached double-digit fantasy points in each of his two appearances this season. He'll have a good chance to do it again in New Orleans this week.

The Saints have surrendered more fantasy points to opposing receivers than any other team through Week 8. Sampson is rostered in 22 percent of leagues.

While Willis and Sampson both face favorable matchups in Week 9, that won't be the case for Jets receiver Adonai Mitchell. New York has a road matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, who have surrendered the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

Yet, Mitchell could see enough volume to reward managers as a sleeper flex play. With Wilson out, Geno Smith is likely to target Mitchell and rookie Omar Cooper Jr. early and often.

Cooper finished Week 8 without a catch, but Mitchell caught seven of nine targets for 142 yards and a touchdown. He's highly unlikely to match the 27.2 fantasy points he delivered last week, but Mitchell should have a reasonable PPR floor.

Mitchell is rostered in only 34 percent of leagues heading into the weekend.

As Willis has settled into Miami's starting role, he's also done a nice job of getting tight end Greg Dulcich involved. Dulcich has been targeted at least five times in each of his last three games and he has topped eight fantasy points in each of them.

Dulcich was held without a catch by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, but he has caught at least four passes and topped eight fantasy points in four of his last five games. He should again approach double digits against the Lions.

Detroit can score points in bunches, which will likely mean opportunities for Miami's pass catchers. The Lions have also struggled to limit opposing tight ends and have surrendered an average of 23.6 fantasy points to the position.

No team has allowed more fantasy points to tight ends than Detroit. Dulcich is only rostered in eight percent of fantasy leagues.

*Fantasy scoring and roster information from FantasyPros .