We are only five weeks away from the fantasy football playoffs. I hope you are still in it. Let’s crush it this week. There are four teams on bye this week and plenty of injuries to sift through. Tough decisions will have to be made, but there are plenty of great options this week. I am not going to waste your time to start Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. We are going to look at some deeper options for starts. Talk about some unusual starts that you might want to sit this week. I will also add my streaming options.
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Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings: Who Should I Start?
We have you covered, and you can check out all of our rankings on the website. These are my rankings on the FantasyPros ECR. I have highlighted some players that I am higher on than the expert consensus. Good luck this week, and if you want any advice this season, please reach out. The easiest way to find us is by joining our Patreon and joining our discord.
We are live every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on our SGPN Fantasy Football YouTube channel. There, you can get injury updates from our resident football doctor. The guys will keep you updated on the news and help you with those tough lineup decisions. Every week, it comes down to the wire for starts and sits. We have your back. Here are my updated rankings, Starts, and Sits of the week for Week 9.
Starts of The Week
QB – Gardner Minshew, IND at CAR
Gardner Minshew has been QB18, QB3, and QB16 in his three starts in this offense. The passing yard totals have been 329, 305, and 213, with 5 touchdowns over that stretch. The turnovers have kept Minshew at bay, but he has also added a little bit of rushing. The Colts continue to play in shootouts, and Minshew has 7 touchdowns in his three starts. Let’s stay in the flames, put on the fake mustache, and let Minshew enjoy the mania.
RB – Kareem Hunt, CLE vs. AZ
Kareem Hunt has been RB12, RB14, and RB16 in his three starts since the team signed him. Jerome Ford is banged up, and Hunt’s goal-line usage is something you can count on. Hunt has four touchdowns in three weeks, and this is a plus matchup against Arizona. The team also should get Deshaun Watson back this week. I’m not sure if that is honestly an upgrade. This is a trio of backs for Cleveland, but Hunt is getting the goal-line touches.
RB – Darrell Henderson Jr., LAR at GB
Darrell Henderson is another running back who went straight from the couch into your lineups. He has been RB17 and RB19 since returning. This is only on 57% and 47% of snaps, but Henderson is getting the touches. The Rams traded Cam Akers and then lost both of their top running backs. Henderson has gotten great volume since returning, with 35 touches in two games. Follow the volume and put Henderson in your lineup. Also, go acquire Kyren Williams.
WR – Demario Douglas, NE vs. WAS
Demario “Pop” Douglas is looking to have an expanded role with Kendrick Bourne out with a torn ACL. His role is already increasing, and he had a season-high in targets as well as receptions this past week. Douglas could see double-digit targes this week with all of the injuries, and he draws a great matchup. Washington is the 8th best matchup for the slot wide receivers in fantasy football, and Douglas primarily plays in the slot.
WR – Jahan Dotson – WAS at NE
The Patriots are great against #1 wide receivers, but that funnels production to the rest of the pass-catchers. McLaurin will be the focus of the defense. Curtis Samuel is banged up. Jahan Dotson and Logan Thomas will be busy on Sunday. Dotson had his best game of the season last week and saw an increase in opportunities when Samuel went down. He is coming off a career game with 8 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Don’t sleep on Demario Douglas.
STASH HIM NOW.
With Kendrick Bourne out for the season, he should be actively involved in the Patriots passing game.
My crystal ball is telling me I’ll be writing about Douglas in the Week 10 ESPN Waiver Wire column. pic.twitter.com/MmpHdmzi0w
— Moody (@EricNMoody) November 2, 2023
TE – Kyle Pitts, ATL vs. MIN
Drake London is out this week, and the team really has no depth at wide receiver. Mack Hollins and Van Jefferson are technically the top wide receivers. Minnesota is actually a really tough matchup against wide receivers. Their corners are playing great. Pitts is likely to be the top target, and with Hienicke on the field, there is optimism. We should see Pitts get more involved and more involved downfield.
Other Streaming Options: Logan Thomas at New England, Daniel Bellinger at Las Vegas, and Hunter Henry vs. Washington
Don’t sleep on Demario Douglas.
STASH HIM NOW.
With Kendrick Bourne out for the season, he should be actively involved in the Patriots passing game.
My crystal ball is telling me I’ll be writing about Douglas in the Week 10 ESPN Waiver Wire column. pic.twitter.com/MmpHdmzi0w
— Moody (@EricNMoody) November 2, 2023
New York Giants D/ST vs. LV
The New York Giants have been a top-five D/ST over the last four weeks. This includes matchups against the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins. In the last three weeks, they have allowed 34 points combined. They also have had 11 sacks, four fumbles, four interceptions, and one touchdown. Leonard Williams will be a big loss, but the matchup against Las Vegas and Aidan O’Connell is a really good one.
Other Streaming Options: Las Vegas vs. New York Giants, Minnesota at Atlanta, and Indianapolis at Carolina
Sits of The Week
QB – Taylor Hienicke, ATL vs. MIN
I am four spots above the current expert consensus rankings on Geno. Last week was a big confidence booster. Geno played well despite the offensive line concerns. Geno gets a great matchup against Carolina this week. The Panthers will be without Jaycee Horn for a little while, and their secondary is severely outmatched. Look for Seattle’s triplets to have a huge week for fantasy football.
RB – A.J. Dillon, GB vs. LAR
Aaron Jones reports that he is fully healthy and ready to “cut loose.” Dillon has been an RB2 for three weeks straight, but his snap counts have also dropped each week. His snap counts have gone from 64 to 56 to 51 percent of snaps over the last three weeks. Last week, he saved his week with five receptions for 41 yards. Dillon is inefficient, and the offense has struggled without Jones. Look for them to get Jones more involved and Dillon less.
RB – D’Onta Foreman, CHI vs. NO
Foreman and Roschon Johnson both are do-not-starts this week. Add Darrynton Evans, too. The Bears will use all three, and you should not use any in your lineups. Chicago’s matchup with the Saints is the number one concern. They are really tough to run against. The situation is bad, too. You do not want running backs in bad offense or committees. Foreman is part of both, and last week, we saw him crash back to earth from RB1 overall to RB52. He played on just 32 percent of the snaps and had 35 yards on 11 touches.
WR – D.J. Moore, CHI vs. NO
The Tyson Bagent story is great, but last week, the fairy tale ended. Last week, he had two interceptions, 0 touchdowns, and another bad D.J. Moore week. D.J. Moore is the WR7 on the season, but the last three weeks have been brutal. His finishes have been WR35, WR21, and WR51 since Fields got hurt. Moore scored 76.1 points in weeks 4 and 5. He is averaging 11.16 PPR fantasy points outside of those two weeks. The New Orleans Saints are also one of the toughest matchups for outside wide receivers. Sit DJ this week and try to trade for him after.
WR – Jordan Addison, MIN at ATL
This is a tough one. Jordan Addison has been red hot. In the last two weeks, Addison has had 14 receptions, 205 yards, and three touchdowns. Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles near the end of the game, and Jaren Hall is expected to start this one. Addison also draws A.J. Terrell, who is a really tough cover. The team has traded for Joshua Dobbs, and this could potentially be an opportunity to trade for Addison. With Jaren Hall in, Addison is out of my lineup.
GB – Luke Musgrave vs. LAR
Musgrave has been inconsistent and offers no ceiling. He has cracked double-digits in PPR formats only once this year despite playing every game. He has roughly 20 points combined in the last four games. Yet the expert consensus rankings continue to put him inside the top 15. Aaron Jones is expected to get more involved, and he will demand targets, too. I am out on Musgrave. He is droppable in redraft formats.
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
The Dallas Cowboys D/ST has not been the same without Trevon Diggs. Last week was their best performance in a while. They scored zero points in Week 5 and four points in Week 6 before their Week 7 bye week. Philadelphia is a tough matchup that scores points, protects the ball, and is efficient in the redzone. I would not drop Dallas with their upcoming schedule (NYG, CAR, WAS). Be on the watch just in case someone else does.