3) Bijan Robinson vs. Patriots
Bijan is another first-round stud that was stuck in second gear last Sunday. In what appeared to be the most cherry matchup of the week against Miami and their porous run defense, the game turned out to be a total nightmare for Bijan and his fantasy owners. We’re going to go ahead and blame Kirk Cousins here, who seemed like he wasn’t on the same page as any of his teammates all day. Bijan couldn’t get it going as he was only given the ball 9 times with an additional 3 pass targets. His 4.3 fantasy points were his lowest since Week 15 of his rookie year back in 2023, and I don’t expect that to happen again. This week, he gets a tough Patriots run defense that has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season and has stifled every opposing running back to less than 50 yards. The season high for rushing yards in a game came from Josh Allen in Week 5 with 53 yards. The Falcons are going to make a concerted effort to get Bijan going, and I think this is the week the dam finally breaks against Mike Vrabel’s defense. There isn’t a scenario where this guy ever gets put on your bench, so you’re starting him no matter what. Don’t be scared, and don’t crack and trade him. He’s elite and will be a top 3 back in fantasy when the season ends.
4) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Vikings
Gibbs and friends are coming off their bye week and will host the Vikings and J.J. McCarthy, who’s apparently all healed from his ankle injury. Coincidentally, the healing was completed while watching Carson Wentz run for his life all game long against the Chargers before he was finally caught and put down with a shoulder injury that will require surgery, ending his 2025 season. But the plan all along was to put McCarthy back under center this week, wink-wink. If the Viking offense struggles at all, this game will get ugly fast, and Sonic and Knuckles will be the main beneficiaries. Expect both Gibbs and Montgomery to eat this week against a Minnesota defense that is ranked 24th against the run and just allowed Kimani Vidal to run all over them last Thursday night. In their last game before the bye, the Lions split the carries between Gibb and Monty much more evenly than they did the previous week against Kansas City. The trend seems to be that when the Lions win big, they spread the ball between their backs, and when they need juice on offense, they lean heavily on the more explosive Gibbs. Montgomery is a great guy, and we love his toughness and how great he is with his sister, but he’s just not as good as Gibbs. At some point this season, the touches will swing more heavily in Gibbs’ favor, but that may not start this week. Either way, he’s a great start at home against Minnesota.
For more fantasy football analysis, check out our Week 9 Quarterback Rankings!
5) Derrick Henry vs. Dolphins
The bang-up job that Miami did last week against Bijan Robinson and the Falcons shot their defense up the rankings against the run. They moved all the way up to #28 in the league, and this week they get to face Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson on a short week. If my attempt at sarcasm was yet another swing and a miss, please know that I still think they stink. Last week was an anomaly, and they are going to allow close to 200 yards on Thursday night to the Ravens rushing attack. Get King Henry in, play Lamar, heck, you can even play Keenan Mitchell, and you’ll probably get a decent point total. The Falcons seem like they are prone to the occasional meltdown, and last week they melted down in grand fashion against the Dolphins. Lamar is practicing in full and will be ready to go when the lights come on this Thursday night, and so will Derrick Henry and his bruising fullback, Patrick Ricard. This game may get ugly, and King Henry should find himself in the end zone multiple times for the second week in a row. The window to buy low on him is now closed as the Ravens have one of the best remaining schedules for running backs in the league. Hopefully, you didn’t panic and trade him away.
