Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings

Welcome to week 9 of the fantasy football season! I am sorry to say that again this week we will have to deal with six teams on a BYE. I really hope you have stocked up your bench with depth at every position because you are going to need it this week. Below you will find the Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings which should help you determine which BYE week fill-ins you need to play in order to come away with a win in week 9. One of the hardest hit positions this week is Quarterback which not only has to deal with BYE weeks, but also has a lot of poor match-ups for usually decent starters. I have scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with the QB rankings and even though some of these starts make me sweat I know that they are the only option. Please utilize the following to your ultimate victory:

Quarterbacks
  1. Aaron Rodgers, GB QB vs. IND
  2. Drew Brees, NO QB at SF
  3. Andrew Luck, IND QB at GB
  4. Matt Ryan, ATL QB at TB
  5. Dak Prescott, DAL QB at CLE
  6. Cam Newton, CAR QB at LA
  7. Jameis Winston, TB QB vs. ATL
  8. Marcus Mariota, TEN QB at SD
  9. Philip Rivers, SD QB vs. TEN
  10. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT QB at BAL
  11. Blake Bortles, JAC QB at KC
  12. Trevor Siemian, DEN QB at OAK
  13. Eli Manning, NYG QB vs. PHI
  14. Colin Kaepernick, SF QB vs. NO
  15. Ryan Tannehill, MIA QB vs. NYJ

It appears as if Dak Prescott will get at least one more week as the starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys. Prescott has done all that he can to prove that he should continue being the starting QB even when Tony Romo comes backs from injury. Prescott had his best fantasy game yet in week 8 throwing for over 280 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 38 yards and 1 TD. He did this all against the Eagles who ranked in the top 5 at passing yards allowed per game and have proved to be a tough match-up for opposing QB’s. Prescott’s match-up gets even better in week 9 against the Browns secondary who are giving up over 270 yards per game and are tied for the league most 19 touchdowns allowed. I project Dak to throw for 280 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for another TD on the ground.

You know its a tough week for QB’s when you see Colin Kaepernick breaking into the top 15 QBs of the week. With 6 teams on BYE and some difficult match-ups to deal with, the positions is extremely thin this week which makes Kaepernick one of the better streaming option at the position. Although you may not agree with everything he does … he has been a decent fantasy QB in the limited action he has seen. Kaepernick has thrown for over 150 yards an 1 TD in each of his two starts while gaining an additional 150 yards on the ground. This is all well and good, but the main reason he is making the list this week is his juicy match-up with the Saints. The Saints are 29th in the league in passing yards per game in addition to being tied for the most rushing TDs allowed in the league at 12. I project Kaepernick will throw for 200 yards and 1 TD while rushing for 50 yards and another TD.

Running Backs
  1. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL RB at CLE 
  2. DeMarco Murray, TEN RB at SD
  3. Le’Veon Bell, PIT RB at BAL
  4. Matt Forte, NYJ RB at MIA
  5. Devontae Booker, DEN RB at OAK
  6. Devonta Freeman, ATL RB at TB
  7. Carlos Hyde, SF RB vs. NO
  8. Melvin Gordon, SD RB vs. TEN
  9. Christine Michael, SEA RB vs. BUF
  10. Jonathan Stewart, CAR RB at LA
  11. Todd Gurley, LA RB vs. CAR
  12. Jay Ajayi, MIA RB vs. NYJ
  13. Latavius Murray, OAK RB vs. DEN
  14. Frank Gore, IND RB at GB
  15. Mark Ingram, NO RB at SF

Ezekiel Elliott has been a monster at the RB position so far this fantasy season and is most definitely a leading candidate for rookie of the year. Over his pst 5 games Zeke has gained over 140 total yards from scrimmage in every game and has scored 3 TDs. He is a consistent RB1 which is a rare commodity this season. I expect Zeke to keep rolling against the Browns who are allowing the second most rushing yards per game (Over 140) and 10 total TDs (tied for 27th). Not only are the Browns sub-par against the run, but they should be losing early which will allow the Cowboys to run the game clock down with … guess who? I project Zeke to rush for 150 yards and 2 TDs in week 9.

One of the most surprising fantasy stars in the most recent weeks has been Jay Ajayi. In weeks 6 and 7 Ajayi rushed for over 200 yards yards per game and totaled 3 TDs over that span. He was easily in the top 5 at the positions and is now coming off of a BYE week. So why is he not ranked in the Top 5 in week 9? Well it has to do mainly with the match-up. Ajayi is taking on the vaunted Jets run D that is holding teams to 74 rushing yards per game (1st in the NFL) and 5 TDs over the season. This is a really tough one for Ajayi and he has not proven to me yet that he is completely match-up proof. That being said … I do still have him in the top 12 at the position making him a low-end RB1 for the week. I project Ajayi will rush for 75 yards and possibly 1 TD in week 9.

Wide Receivers
  1. Mike Evans, TB WR vs. ATL
  2. Julio Jones, ATL WR at TB
  3. Antonio Brown, PIT WR at BAL
  4. Dez Bryant, DAL WR at CLE
  5. T.Y. Hilton, IND WR at GB*
  6. Jordy Nelson, GB WR vs. IND
  7. Emmanuel Sanders, DEN WR at OAK
  8. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG WR vs. PHI
  9. Brandon Marshall, NYJ WR at MIA
  10. Jarvis Landry, MIA WR vs. NYJ
  11. Kelvin Benjamin, CAR WR at LA
  12. Demaryius Thomas, DEN WR at OAK
  13. Donte Moncrief, IND WR at GB
  14. Allen Robinson, JAC WR at KC
  15. Michael Thomas, NO WR at SF
  16. Terrelle Pryor, CLE WR vs. DAL
  17. Amari Cooper, OAK WR vs. DEN
  18. Brandin Cooks, NO WR at SF
  19. Mike Wallace, BAL WR vs. PIT
  20. Davante Adams, GB WR vs. IND
  21. Jordan Matthews, PHI WR at NYG
  22. Doug Baldwin, SEA WR vs. BUF
  23. Kenny Britt, LA WR vs. CAR
  24. Randall Cobb, GB WR vs. IND
  25. Stefon Diggs, MIN WR vs. DET

Dez Bryant came back from injury last week with vengeance totaling 113 yards and 1 TD against a worthy opponent in the Eagles. As I have already pointed out in his team mates write-ups above (Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott) the Browns defense is just… well…not good. I feel like this match-up should only help to boost Dez’s fantasy output in week 9. I project Dez will have 110 yards receiving and 1-2 TD’s this week.

Michael Thomas of the potent Saints passing game has been quite the surprise this season. He has far exceeded my expectations as a rookie WR and has proved that he can be a good start for your fantasy team each week. He is playing against the 49ers this week who are allowing only 230 yards receiving per game, but have allowed one of the highest total TD counts over the season (15) to receivers. I expect that Saint QB Drew Brees and his solid squad of receivers will have their way with the 49ers secondary resulting in a good game for Thomas. I project Thomas will have 80 yards receiving and the possibility of a TD in week 9.

Tight Ends

  1. Delanie Walker, TEN TE at SD
  2. Greg Olsen, CAR TE at LA
  3. Jimmy Graham, SEA TE vs. BUF
  4. Kyle Rudolph, MIN TE vs. DET
  5. Travis Kelce, KC TE vs. JAC
  6. Gary Barnidge, CLE TE vs. DAL
  7. Cameron Brate, TB TE vs. ATL
  8. Coby Fleener, NO TE at SF
  9. Jack Doyle, IND TE at GB
  10. Jason Witten, DAL TE at CLE
  11. Eric Ebron, DET TE at MIN
  12. Antonio Gates, SD TE vs. TEN

Delanie Walker has been a serviceable TE1 this year in a field of poor options at the position. He is one of the only receiving options on his team and is not TD dependent. Walker can rack up yards for a TE and he will do just that this week against the Chargers who are allowing over 290 of them per game. I project Delanie will lead the position on a week without Gronk and Reed with 75 yards receiving and 1 TD.

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