Post-waiver wire fantasy football pickups for Week 9

It’s November. Time to turn the clocks back and hope quality players turn up on the Week 9 waiver wire. These three should do.

TE: Zach Ertz (Washington Commanders)

Ertz has seen at least five targets in five of his last six games, including a season-high 11 looks against the Bears last week. Five of those catches went for 10 or more yards as he finished the day with 77 yards, a number he hasn’t reached since 2021.

The 33-year-old tight end may no longer be the Pro Bowl player that once helped the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl, but he’s clearly earned the trust of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Thanks to double-digit fantasy performances in three straight games, Ertz currently ranks ninth at the position with 74.5 fantasy points. With tight ends like the Steelers' Pat Freiermuth and the 49ers' George Kittle both out on byes this week, Ertz is a safe pick against the Giants on Sunday.

Ertz is available in 63% of Yahoo leagues.

QB: Joe Flacco (Indianapolis Colts)

Obviously exhausted after watching Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson complete a season-low 31.3% of passes against the Texans in Week 8, head coach Shane Steichen named Flacco as the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Last year, Flacco helped the Browns win their last four regular season games in relief of Deshaun Watson. This year, he’s 1-1 in two starts for the Colts but had his best game in Week 5 with 359 yards, three scores and 26.5 fantasy points in a 37-34 loss. 

With 82 passes thrown in his last two games as a starter, expect the team’s 39-year-old quarterback to air it out against a Minnesota defense currently allowing the ninth-most fantasy points per game (18.1) to quarterbacks.

Flacco is available in 86% of Yahoo leagues.

WR: Alec Pierce (Indianapolis Colts)

It’s no coincidence that Pierce’s best game as a pro came with Flacco at quarterback. Of the 359 yards that Flacco had against Jacksonville, 134 of them went to Pierce, including this 65-yard touchdown: