If you are one of nearly 30 million people playing fantasy football this year, you know 2025 has been a weird season to navigate.
Big names and high draft picks have been sidelined by injury or flat out-underwhelming.
So, 2025 has been the year of the waiver wire, offering fantasy managers a chance to save their season.
Megan Parks ’28 doesn’t usually need saving. Parks, who has three years of fantasy experience and an impressive 6-1 record going into Week 9, said navigating this particular season is all about “taking advantage of the trade opportunities.”
“The waiver wire is helpful and staying on top of it and checking it frequently,” Parks said.
And if you did so, these top pick-ups are now on your roster. Here’s why:
Rico Dowdle (CAR)
Roster Percentage Week 4: 3.3%
Roster Percentage Week 9: 89.9.%
Running back Rico Dowdle started the season as the backup to running back Chuba Hubbard on the Carolina Panthers. But with Hubbard being ruled out going into Week 5, many fantasy managers picked up Dowdle to bolster their bench. No one expected Dowdle to explode in Week 5, going for 206 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards on three catches and a touchdown.
In Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, Dowdle rushed for 183 yards and caught four passes for 56 yards, one of which being a touchdown. These two weeks scored 32.4 and 33.9 fantasy points in point per reception leagues, respectively.
Even with Hubbard’s return in Week 7, Dowdle proved to be the more efficient back.
However, Panthers head coach Dave Canales is uncertain of who the clear starter will be, and Carolina will most likely move toward a split backfield, limiting Dowdle’s carries.
Anthony Yost ’27, a self-proclaimed fantasy master with a 7-1 record going into Week 9 is on his 10th season of fantasy football. Yost said Dowdle’s height is a “handcuff” to Hubbard going into the season.
“In the two games that catapulted him to the spot he’s at now, he broke the all-purpose yardage record over two games for the Panthers … as well as the single game all-purpose yardage record,” Yost said.
Kimani Vidal (LAC)
Roster Percentage Week 5: 0.0%
Roster Percentage Week 9: 89.5%
With running back Najee Harris out for the season and starter Omarion Hampton leaving the game against the Commanders with a high ankle sprain, fantasy managers had a tough decision to make. But, according to the depth chart from the start of the season, running back Kimani Vidal was still behind fourth-year back Hassan Haskins.
This didn’t seem to stop Vidal as he outsnapped Haskins in his breakout game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 6, rushing for 124 yards, catching three passes and scoring a receiving touchdown.
In Week 7, the Chargers ran into the 5-1 Indianapolis Colts, where the Chargers didn’t have a lead all game, forcing them to abandon the run and put Vidal’s production to a halt.
If you stayed loyal to Vidal in Week 8, he rewarded you, putting up 117 rushing yards on a career-high 23 carries, adding on a score as well.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh plans to hold Hampton on the injury reserve list until after the Chargers bye in Week 12, which means Vidal will likely be a solid starter until then.
Yost believes a unique situation like this allows young backs like Vidal to show their talents.
“With Justin Herbert stepping up and emerging as a passer this year, that’s another asset that Kimani Vidal brings,” Yost said. “He is a great pass catching back.”
Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG)
Roster Percentage Week 2: 3.2%
Roster Percentage Week 9: 86.1%
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was overlooked in most fantasy drafts due to being the No. 2 receiving option on one of the worst offenses last season, with a large question mark at quarterback.
His breakout came in Week 2 against Dallas, where he caught eight out of his 10 targets for 142 yards and a touchdown (28.2 PPR points).
Even then, Robinson was still overlooked and was only rostered in 67.5% of leagues.
Unfortunately for New York Giants fans, their star wide receiver Malik Nabers tore his ACL in Week 4 against the Chargers. This shot up Robinson’s fantasy stock overnight.
Robinson’s first game as the focal point of the Giants’ offense Week 5 did not go well but was likely due to the Giants turning the ball over four times.
Robinson’s next two weeks were completely different. He had six receptions on seven targets for 84 yards, a score and a win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He saw 12 targets the next week against the Denver Broncos, where he put up 95 yards.
These two weeks, he had a combined score of 35.9 PPR fantasy points, and although he only put up 7.8 points in a road loss against the Eagles, he is the clear best option for quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Giants moving forward.
Jake Grimaldi ’27, won his 12-team league last year, but this year is 2-6 coming into Week 9. Grimaldi predicts fantasy managers will see even more production out of Robinson, especially after Cam Skattebo’s potential season ending injury.
“He is a must-have on your team now … he is a stud,” Grimaldi said. “There is no way around that.”
Harold Fannin Jr. (CLV)
Roster Percentage Week 1: 0.3%
Roster Percentage Week 9: 50.6%
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr., the second tight end option for the Cleveland Browns, wasn’t given any credit by fantasy managers on a historically terrible team.
In his first-ever NFL start, Fannin out-targeted teammate tight end David Njoku, catching seven targets for 63 yards. He didn’t put up another double-digit PPR performance until Week 5, going four for four on targets/receptions, one of which was in the endzone.
In Week 8, Fannin had six catches for 62 receiving yards and a score. He also had his highest PPR points performance yet with 18.4 points.
Fannin is now currently the seventh-best fantasy tight end and is a must-start in a Browns offense that lacks receiving threats. Even with Njoku being the tight end on the depth chart, the Browns use both of them effectively, and Fannin is a safe start.
Fannin will probably go down as the waiver wire steal of the season, bringing a lot of value to an extremely weak position overall fantasy wise.
“Coming into the draft, I do a lot of independent work,” Yost said. “I look into the profiles, I look into the situation, I look into depth chart, season schedule, all this … Everything that I loved coming into this season about David Njoku and his draft stock and where he was going is everything that’s become Harold Fannin’s strongest suits.
