As the year goes on and more players are on a bye week or injured for an extended amount of time, fantasy owners will pick up the back-ups of their injured players and will scramble for those hidden gems. This weekly guide will help you to decide who are the best pick-ups and the best starts given their match-ups. Here are the picks for week 9.
Quarterback
Start: Tyrod Taylor (BUF) – Taylor finally comes back from his knee injury, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bills. E.J. Manuel could not get anything going during his time as starter. It should help Taylor that both Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin are expected to play. T-mobile has been a good fantasy start whenever he has a good match-up, and his week 3 performance against the Dolphins was probably his best so far.
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) – The Steelers should be completely focused on the passing game this week without Le’Veon Bell. The Raiders have the second best rushing defense but have the second worst passing defense. As long as Big Ben keeps the ball away from savvy veteran Charles Woodson, he should have a great fantasy day.
Matt Ryan (ATL) – Matty Ice has been noticeably better on the road this year, which differs from his career norm. The Falcons travel to the terrible San Francisco 49ers for week 9 as they look to get back on track on offense. This could be a field day for Ryan and the Atlanta offense.
Sit: Teddy Bridgewater (MIN) – The Vikings have been a pleasant surprise overall, but Bridgewater has never been a dependable start. The talented Rams defense has continued to be a headache for opposing QBs, and will probably manage to contain the production of the young QB from Louisville.
Ryan Tannehill (MIA) – Tannehill looked awful against the Bills in their first matchup, and the Rex Ryan led defense should be more motivated than ever to perform well following their embarrassing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tannehill will probably take another step back this week and should be projected to throw a couple of interceptions
Running Back
Jeremy Langford (CHI) – With Matt Forte out, Langford is sure to be the top added back in fantasy this week. Forte has always contributed a massive percentage of the offense throughout his career, and Langford will likely now be a big part of the offense. He is no Matt Forte and will probably not get near the receptions Forte gets, but should still be started for the time being.
Antonio Andrews (TEN) – New coach Mike Mularkey made one of his first actions as coach to announce Andrews as the feature back for the rest of the year. The only good thing we’ve really seen from him this year is the ability to jump into the end zone from the one yard line, but he should be an automatic start if he is getting up to 30 carries a game.
Sit: DeAngelo Williams (PIT) – Williams should be owned in all leagues, as he already looked good when Le’Veon Bell was out the first 2 games of the season with a suspension. However, he goes against probable Pro-Bowler Khalil Mack and a very good Raiders rushing defense.
Frank Gore (IND) – Gore has been disappointing this year, but I don’t think too much should have been expected of the 32 year old. In Week 9, he goes against a formidable Broncos defense, who have only given up one 100 yard rushing performance this season.
Wide Receiver
Start: James Jones (GB) – Jones has quietly had a slightly better fantasy year than proclaimed number 1 receiver Randall Cobb. He should continue to perform well against the Panthers and Josh Norman, who will likely shut down Cobb. Aaron Rodgers will not have two sub-100 yard passing performances in a row, and he should be extra motivated to complete it to any open receiver.
Malcolm Floyd (SD) – With Keenan Allen out for the year, Floyd assumes the number one receiver role. As long as Stevie Johnson doesn’t take too many red zone targets away from Floyd, he should have a good rest of the year.
Eric Decker (NYJ) – The Jets passing game should look better with Ryan Fitzpatrick than it did with Geno Smith, even if Fitzy is playing injured. Marshall is still the number one target overall, but Decker receives the majority of the red zone targets. Decker is more likely than not to get a touchdown against the faulty Jaguars defense.
Sit: T.Y Hilton (IND) – Hilton might be a must-start for those who have a receiver who is on a bye, but he does not have a favorable match-up at all with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos defense has been dominant all season, and they just held Randall Cobb et. al to 4 fantasy points. Also, as Andrew Luck continues to struggle, Hilton will not be as dependable for the WR1 or 2 spot.
Allen Robinson (JAX) – Robinson has 4 touchdowns in his last 3 games and has seemed to separate himself from Allen Hurns. However, he travels to Revis island this week and a touchdown is not likely on the itinerary.
Tight End
Start: Heath Miller (PIT) – Miller saw the most targets (13) than he has in a couple of years with Big Ben back from injury. The Raiders have struggled against big tight ends as they have given up 8 touchdowns to the position this year, the most in the league.
Jordan Reed (WAS) – Reed was one of the best fantasy players two weeks ago after catching a couple of touchdown passes before being injured. The talented Patriots defense will likely prevent him from going off, but Kirk Cousins will have to throw it to someone. Reed is a great option in PPR leagues and a garbage time touchdown could come in to boost his fantasy day as well.
Sit: Vernon Davis (DEN) – The struggling Broncos offense improved mightily with the addition of one of the most athletic tight ends in the game. However, he enters an offense that even Peyton Manning has struggled to understand and plays a very good Chiefs defense, which has given up the fewest yards to opposing tight ends.