Week 9 IDP Waiver Wire: Welcome Back, Chase Young of Old

Plus Injury-Fueled Opportunity at LB

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

Week 9 IDP Waiver Wire Targets

Chase Young, Edge, New Orleans Saints

Young lost the first five weeks to a calf injury and then went quiet in his first game back. But he has taken out his frustrations the past two weeks.

First came a half-sack, 3 QB hits and 2 passes defensed in the Week 7 loss to Chicago. He backed up that production with 1.5 sacks, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and a recovery in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs.

Young still has yet to post more than 7.5 sacks in an NFL season and has been a low-floor tackle collector throughout his career. But his production the past two weeks makes him worth pursuing ahead of visit to the Rams and Panthers the next two weeks.

Khalil Mack, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers

As we highlighted in our Week 8 IDP Hits, Mack has notched a sack in each of his two games back from an elbow injury. Week 8, though, found Mack getting a large bump in playing time.

He jumped from a 20% Week 7 snap share to 57% in the win over the Vikings. And that might have gone even higher in a closer game. The Chargers pulled most starters late against Minnesota.

Week 9 presents the best matchup remaining on Mack’s schedule. The Titans have taken 4+ sacks in six of eight games so far, including each of the past three.

It’s possible the veteran won’t make sense for you beyond Week 9, especially if you play in a more balanced format as opposed to sack/pressure-friendly. But he carries a high ceiling for this week at least.

Justin Eboigbe, DL, Los Angeles Chargers

Eboigbe obviously gets the same upside matchup as Mack in Week 9, and he brings even more production.

The 24-year-old registered 2 sacks among 3 QB hits in last Thursday’s win over the Vikings. That gave him 4 sacks and 6 QB hits among the past six games. And Eboigbe has seen elevated playing time the past four games.

Especially where DT-eligible (and where that position’s required), Eboigbe presents a high Week 9 ceiling.

Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Dallas Cowboys

This one’s much more of a stash than a guy who’s about to help your lineup. Ezeiruaku has just 1 sack for the season and is coming off a stat line that included just 1 assist in the loss to Denver.

But the rookie earned his best Pro Football Focus pass-rushing grade of the season for that game, ranking fourth among all edge players in that category for Week 8. That actually marked the third straight week that Ezeiruaku has reset his season-high in pass-rushing grade. And he has notched 3+ pressures in four straight games (after totaling 4 pressures across the first four weeks).

Ezeiruaku gets a positive matchup with Arizona this week ahead of a Week 10 bye. You could consider using the rookie in a deep-league lineup. But we’re primarily looking at a deeper-league stash for a player who might be able to help us later this year.

Tatum Bethune, LB, San Francisco 49ers

We mentioned Bethune among last week’s waiver options, and Fred Warner’s fill-in tallied his third straight double-digit tackle total in Sunday’s loss to the Texans. There could be even more coming his way now.

Fellow starter LB Dee Winters left Sunday’s game with a knee injury. If he misses further time, Bethune would at least add tackle-collection upside.

Week 9 holds a top-12 scoring matchup for LBs in a visit to the Giants.

J.D. Bertrand, LB, Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons will miss LB Divine Deablo for at least three more games. DC Jeff Ulbrich said before Week 8 that no single player can replace what Deablo gives the defense. But the playing time says Bertrand’s the most directly correlated Falcon.

He has logged snap shares of 87% and 99% the past two weeks and collected 10 and 9 total tackles.

Each of those included 6 assists, so there’s less value if you play in a format that devalues those beyond the level where each is worth half a solo tackle. But tackle-friendly leagues should find a spot for him.

This week’s Patriots matchup has supplied the eighth-most fantasy points per game to LBs.

Marcus Jones, CB, New England Patriots

Jones hasn’t seen any change in role or playing time lately, but his production has become impossible to ignore.

Jones ranked second among Patriots in tackles in Sunday’s win over the Browns, including a tackle for loss in a fourth straight game. Jones also defensed two passes in the contest. That makes four straight games with at least one and 2+ in three of those contests.

Throw in the big-play potential that Jones brings any time he gets the ball -- he’s also New England’s punt returner -- and you have a potential difference maker any week.

The team confirmed its feelings about Jones this week with a three-year contract extension.

Malik Mustapha, S, San Francisco 49ers

Mustapha has come along slowly in 2025 thanks to the ACL tear he suffered in Week 18 of last season. But the ramp up from his Week 6 debut has been quick.

That reached starter status and a 100% snap share Sunday at Houston, even though San Francisco’s scuffling offense led to a whopping 80 defensive snaps.

Mustapha finished last season as a full-timer with just-OK tackle collection and modest coverage upside while spending most of his time in a deep safety role. Week 8 found him near-evenly split between box/slot and deep.

Perhaps that was specific to the Houston game plan. But it could also mark a shift to deal with LB Fred Warner’s absence.

Either way, Mustapha’s worth a pickup ahead of Week 9’s upside matchup with the Giants.

Find Out Who Makes Sense for Your Team

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Week 8 IDP Hits: Sneaky Sack Candidates Could Power Your Second Half

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Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.