After all 32 teams played in Week 8, bye weeks are back for Week 9. This means that fantasy football teams worldwide are struggling to find someone to start in place of great players like Christian McCaffrey, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Trevor Lawrence. So, with proven commodities taking the week off, can you trust guys like Rashid Shaheed and Trey McBride to keep up the great work?
As always, let’s begin this article with a disclaimer. If you have an elite player, you should start them in fantasy football no matter what. This article is strictly for flex-caliber and matchup-specific players.
Read More: Week 9 Buy and Sell | Running Back Rankings
Fantasy Football Week 9 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em
Quarterbacks
Start: Baker Mayfield
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has surprisingly been one of the more reliable options in fantasy football this season. While he’s not doing 2021 Tom Brady things, the former first-overall pick has put up a top-11 finish in three of his past four starts. Mayfield is playing like a legitimate starter, and the duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are only elevating his statistics. Mayfield and company have a favorable matchup against the Houston Texans and he should be able to put up some decent numbers against this defense.
Sit: Will Levis
Will Levis set the box score on fire last week, throwing four touchdowns in his NFL debut against the Atlanta Falcons. However, fantasy football is about the here and now, so one good game doesn’t mean you should start him without question. While throwing four touchdowns is a good thing, Levis’s performance wasn’t as dominant as the box score would suggest. The Titans had a measly 29% success rate on passing plays, the second-worst mark in the league. We all know that touchdowns are not a stable metric, so this low success rate is a massive red flag. On top of that, Levis faces off against a good Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Chances are, there is a better option out there than the rookie.
Running Backs
Start: James Cook
James Cook is the RB16 overall and the RB24 in points-per-game, so normally a player like him wouldn’t qualify for the fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em article. However, with the recent addition of Leonard Fournette, some managers out there might be worried about Cook’s usage. Fortunately, Fournette shouldn’t pose any type of threat to Cook. The former first-round pick and one-time Super Bowl champion was one of the least efficient running backs in football last year, and there is a reason that he had to wait until Halloween to sign with a team. Cook is simply a better player, and whatever work Fournette gets will probably come at the expense of Latavius Murray. Murray has been terrible in goal-line situations, so Buffalo will likely utilize Fournette in that role. James Cook will continue to be his usual self and give you a solid RB2 performance.
Sit: Cam Akers
The Minnesota Vikings believed that Alexander Mattison had what it takes to be a starting running back in the NFL. As it turns out, they were wrong, as Cam Akers has slowly but surely taken over the starting job in this backfield. While Akers is the better season-long option, he’s still not a viable start in fantasy football. The running back is still splitting snaps with Mattison, which means that he’ll need to be efficient on limited touches to have fantasy relevance. Quite frankly, that doesn’t seem likely with Jaren Hall under center. Perhaps he can become a startable asset with Joshua Dobbs, but for the time being, Cam Akers belongs on your bench.
Start: Chuba Hubbard
Speaking of backups replacing offseason hype darlings, the Carolina Panthers backfield now belongs to Chuba Hubbard. Miles Sanders is the inferior talent, and the Panthers coaching staff has finally accepted the inevitable. Chuba Hubbard isn’t the type of player you’d start no matter what in fantasy football, but he has a good matchup in Week 9. The Indianapolis Colts defense is nothing special, and quarterback Bryce Young is getting better and better every week. In this environment, Hubbard should be able to put up a good outing.
Sit: Zach Charbonnet
Zach Charbonnet had a mini breakout last week, outsnapping Kenneth Walker and seemingly stepping up as the top running back in Seattle. However, this only happened because Walker spent the week battling injury. The second-year running back still suited up, but it’s safe to assume that he wasn’t 100%. Walker should be back to his old self in Week 9 and resume starting duties, which means you can’t start Zach Charbonnet in fantasy football. If I’m wrong and Charbonnet still receives a large workload in Week 9, then he’s a must-start moving forward. However, with only one week of starting duty under his belt, it’s still too early to trust him.
Wide Receivers
Start: Drake London
The Atlanta Falcons officially have a new quarterback. The Desmond Ridder experiment has officially reached its merciful end, and Taylor Heinicke will be under center for at least one week. Heinicke is not a great quarterback by any stretch of the imagination, but he is more aggressive than Ridder and that will help Drake London. After his disappointing start to the season, London has seen seven or more targets in each of the past five games. The volume is there, and Heinicke should be able to guide London to a respectable finish.
Sit: Joshua Palmer
Joshua Palmer has done an admirable job filling in for the injured Mike Williams, but he’s not a matchup-proof option. The wide receiver faces off against a New York Jets team that might just have the best all-around defense in football. Justin Herbert is phenomenal and Keenan Allen will always get his touches, but Palmer is not good enough to blindly start in this type of matchup.
Start: Rashid Shaheed
Chris Olave continues to see a lot of targets without much to show for it. Rashid Shaheed continues to make the most out of his limited opportunities. Eventually, the Saints are going to have to realize something’s not right about the current balance in targets. Shaheed is a limited player who can’t handle Olave’s full workload, but he deserves an additional two or three looks per game. Because Shaheed excels at big plays and taking the top off the defense, he’ll only need two or three catches to justify a start in fantasy football.
Sit: Demario Douglas
The New England Patriots already-thin wide receiver depth chart got even worse when Kendrick Bourne tore his ACL. Demario Douglas is the only receiver left on this roster with even the slightest ounce of playmaking ability, but that doesn’t mean you should start him in fantasy football. This is the New England Patriots offense we’re talking about, so there is a very real chance that every single offensive player will disappoint from a fantasy perspective. Douglas will probably have the best day of the bunch, but if you need a six-catch, 30-yard performance in your lineup, you have bigger issues.
Tight Ends
Start: Trey McBride
Patience has paid off for all the Trey McBride managers out there. With Zach Ertz on the injured reserve, the former second-round pick has stepped up with multiple big games. Now, there are some concerns here – Clayton Tune is making his NFL debut against an elite Cleveland Browns defense, so you shouldn’t expect another 10-catch, 95-yard performance. However, with so few reliable tight ends out there, McBride is probably the best option available.
Sit: David Njoku
David Njoku is a good real-life tight end, but he has too many factors working against him to justify a Week 9 start. Cleveland’s quarterback situation is one of the worst in the league, as P.J. Walker looks completely lost under center. On top of that, the Arizona Cardinals are a surprisingly difficult matchup, as the team has allowed the fifth-fewest points to the tight end position.
Main Photo: Mark Lebryk – USA Today Sports
