Perhaps the most powerful tool available here at Fantasy SP is Predictive Analytics, courtesy of the Fantasy Assistant. Today, I'm going to be talking about my favorite of those Predictive Analytics: Expected Waiver Interest.

Expected Waiver Interest (EWI) is a measure of how much interest each player will generate on waivers, generated before each week's waivers have been run. The EWI tool provides an EWI rating for each of the week's hottest wavier pickups, as well as a projection of how heavily rostered they will be after waivers are run. This can help you know what players to prioritize with your pickups and how much FAAB you'll need to get your top choices. 

The easiest way to understand the power of EWI is with examples, so let's take a look at this week's leaders in EWI:

When a player's EWI combined with their current roster percentage is greater than 100%, you know they are an absolute smash waiver pickup. Well, Tyrone Tracy Jr.'s 75% EWI combined with his current 50% roster rate races past that theoretical maximum to a whopping 125%.

In fact, that total is the highest I can remember seeing in multiple years of writing this article every week. I'll break down what that means, plus how to approach the rest of this week's hottest waiver pickups. 

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants (75% EWI)

As mentioned in the intro, Tracy — who will be the Giants' RB1 going forward with Cam Skattebo done for the season — is breaking EWI records this week. What this means is that you have to be prepared to spend up to get him.

I think most fantasy leagues will have at least one RB-desperate manager willing to drop literally all of their FAAB to add him … and they might be right to do so. Starting RBs are worth their weight in gold, so be aggressive if you are in one of the 50% of leagues where Tracy is still available. 

RB Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals (23% EWI)

This is a weird one. Knight, currently rostered in 39% of leagues, should never have been this available to begin with.

We knew he was the Cardinals' RB1, even before they cut Michael Carter from their active roster. But Arizona was on bye last week, along with what felt like half the league, so Knight's roster rate actually fell week over week.  

The question now is whether managers in leagues where he is available will be willing to spend up big for a guy they probably could have had for free last week. Based on this 23% EWI, the answer is an unhelpful “kind of.”

However, I recommend moving on from last week's mistakes and spending up for Knight if you need RB help … especially heading into a juicy matchup with the Cowboys' defense.

WR Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots (23% EWI)

Honestly, I'm not convinced Boutte is a particularly exciting waiver add this week. Yes, he keeps scoring touchdowns. But his low overall volume means he is mostly interesting as a boom/bust deep-league flex option. And he's already rostered in 54% of leagues, meaning the only leagues where he is still available are likely shallow ones. 

In shallow formats, Boutte is a perfect roster clogger — too productive to drop but too inconsistent to start. Unless you're in a deep league where he happens to be available, let someone else take the bait. 

WR Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos (23% EWI)

Like Boutte, Franklin has been a boom/bust option so far this season. However, it's easier to see him emerging as a consistent weekly play. After all, he's averaging 6.6 targets per game compared to just 3.6 for Boutte.

With that in mind, Franklin is a solid add in most formats. This good-not-great EWI means he shouldn't be prohibitively expensive, although it would certainly be higher if he weren't already rostered in roughly two-thirds of leagues.

RB Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (23% EWI)

Spears had easily his best game of the 2025 season on Sunday, racking up 15.7 half-PPR points while outsnapping Tony Pollard 34-32. However, Pollard still led the Titans in carries (11-9) and saw only four fewer routes and one fewer target than his younger counterpart.

We've also seen this backfield split vary from week to week, so there's no guarantee next week won't be a Pollard week.

With all that said, Spears is definitely worth adding. His role is large enough that, even in the Titans' terrible offense, he can be flexed or started in an RB spot in a pinch. That, combined with his contingent upside if Pollard were to miss time (or be traded), is worth a roster spot.

If you are trying to add him, keep in mind that, like Franklin, his 23% EWI would be higher if he weren't already rostered in over half of leagues. Especially given the fact that running backs are always scarce, he likely won't come cheap.  

WR Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans (16% EWI)

Honestly, this number is lower than what Dike deserves. Yes, there are a lot of factors making it tough for him to reach consistent fantasy production. Calvin Ridley will likely be back soon, his fellow fourth-round rookie Elic Ayomanor is also involved, and the Titans' offense is terrible. 

But Dike is a rookie who posted a breakout game in Week 7 on limited usage, then saw his usage improve in Week 8 … and had another good game.

That is exactly the kind of upside profile we want to chase at this point in the season. Hopefully, this low EWI means he is going under the radar and can be easily stashed even in deep formats. 

RB Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns (16% EWI)

This one is tough. On the one hand, Sampson is arguably comparable to Tracy. He also took over as his team's lead back when the starting RB, in this case Quinshon Judkins, exited Week 8 with an injury.

However, Judkins' shoulder injury is reportedly minor enough that he is already considered “day to day.”

Given that Cleveland is heading into their bye, there is a real chance he doesn't miss any games. With that in mind, this EWI makes sense for Sampson — he's worth stashing just in case in deeper formats, but probably just someone to watch list in most leagues.  

TE Theo Johnson, New York Giants (16% EWI)

Johnson has posted absolutely elite route participation rates in both of the last two weeks: 92% in Week 7, then 87% in Week 8. He is also averaging a respectable 19% target share since Week 4, when Jaxson Dart took over as the Giants' starter (and Malik Nabers went down). 

He hasn't yet shown the level of production or consistency to be considered more than a replaceable high-end TE2. But, given his youth and growing role, he's more likely to break out going forward than many comparable options.

If you've been rostering a mediocre TE (think Cade Otton or Dalton Schultz), swapping them out for Johnson is a good way to add TE upside to your roster at the expense of very few projected points. This relatively low EWI means that shouldn't be an expensive transaction, either.