Another week, another six teams on bye, but thankfully this is the final set of matchups that fantasy owners have to deal with that dread. No Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Melvin Gordon or Rob Gronkowski this week makes for some fun trying to fill in those gaping holes across lineups everywhere. So with that being said, on to the Week 9 rankings!
Quarterbacks
If there was a lesson to be learned in Week 8, it’s that Deshaun Watson is now considered a must start in all formats regardless of opponent. Amazing work done by a rookie who continues to show no signs of slowing down.
Tyrod Taylor and Jared Goff are good streaming options this week and solid targets in DFS. Stay away from Kirk Cousins who very well may put up his second consecutive dud heading to Seattle.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Deshaun Watson | HST | IND |
| 2 | Drew Brees | NO | TB |
| 3 | Dak Prescott | DAL | KC |
| 4 | Russell Wilson | SEA | WAS |
| 5 | Matthew Stafford | DET | @GB |
| 6 | Alex Smith | KC | @DAL |
| 7 | Cam Newton | CAR | ATL |
| 8 | Tyrod Taylor | BUF | @NYJ |
| 9 | Carson Wentz | PHI | DEN |
| 10 | Jameis Winston | TB | @NO |
| 11 | Derek Carr | OAK | @MIA |
| 12 | Matt Ryan | ATL | @CAR |
| 13 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | BLT |
| 14 | Jared Goff | LAR | @NYG |
| 15 | Kirk Cousins | WAS | @SEA |
| 16 | Jacoby Brissett | IND | @HST |
| 17 | Josh McCown | NYJ | BUF |
| 18 | Brett Hundley | GB | DET |
| 19 | Blake Bortles | JAX | CIN |
| 20 | Jay Cutler | MIA | OAK |
| 21 | Drew Stanton | ARZ | @SF |
| 22 | C.J. Beathard | SF | ARZ |
| 23 | Eli Manning | NYG | LAR |
| 24 | Andy Dalton | CIN | @JAX |
| 25 | Joe Flacco | BLT | @TEN |
Running Backs
The Bills are going for it all and McCoy will be a major factor. The trade that has brought Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo should open up plenty of holes for Shady to run though in this second half of the schedule. The Jets offer up a very beneficial matchup for the veteran this week.
Watch for the rookies at #10 and #11. Kamara continues to climb the ladder and should benefit from a bad Tampa defense, same goes for McCaffrey where he takes on an Atlanta team that has struggled greatly to contain pass catching running backs.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @NYJ |
| 2 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | @NYG |
| 3 | Kareem Hunt | KC | @DAL |
| 4 | Mark Ingram | NO | TB |
| 5 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | CIN |
| 6 | Lamar Miller | HST | IND |
| 7 | Doug Martin | TB | @NO |
| 8 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @CAR |
| 9 | Adrian Peterson | ARZ | @SF |
| 10 | Alvin Kamara | NO | TB |
| 11 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | ATL |
| 12 | Carlos Hyde | SF | ARZ |
| 13 | Aaron Jones | GB | DET |
| 14 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | BLT |
| 15 | Alex Collins | BLT | @TEN |
| 16 | Chris Thompson | WAS | @SEA |
| 17 | Joe Mixon | CIN | @JAX |
| 18 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @GB |
| 19 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @CAR |
| 20 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | BUF |
| 21 | Jay Ajayi | PHI | DEN |
| 22 | Alfred Morris | DAL | KC |
| 23 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @PHI |
| 24 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | LAR |
| 25 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | @MIA |
| 26 | Derrick Henry | TEN | BLT |
| 27 | Javorius Allen | BLT | @TEN |
| 28 | Frank Gore | IND | @HST |
| 29 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | OAK |
| 30 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | ATL |
| 31 | Matt Forte | NYJ | BUF |
| 32 | Marlon Mack | IND | @HST |
| 33 | Darren McFadden | DAL | KC |
| 34 | Ty Montgomery | GB | DET |
| 35 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | DEN |
| 36 | Theo Riddick | DET | @GB |
| 37 | Rob Kelley | WAS | @SEA |
| 38 | Damien Williams | MIA | OAK |
| 39 | Jalen Richard | OAK | @MIA |
| 40 | Eddie Lacy | SEA | WAS |
| 41 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | WAS |
| 42 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | LAR |
| 43 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | @MIA |
| 44 | Devontae Booker | DEN | @PHI |
| 45 | Matt Breida | SF | ARZ |
| 46 | Jamaal Charles | DEN | @PHI |
| 47 | TJ Yeldon | JAX | CIN |
| 48 | Andre Ellington | ARZ | @SF |
| 49 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @JAX |
| 50 | Rod Smith | DAL | KC |
Wide Receiver
Great to see DeAndre Hopkins bounce back after last year’s horrific campaign – he should have a field day against the Colts along with his touchdown-crazed teammate Will Fuller.
Sterling Shepard should be back this week for the Giants and will be the focal point of that offense. Big weeks are ahead for the second-year player.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | DeAndre Hopkins | HST | IND |
| 2 | Mike Evans | TB | @NO |
| 3 | Michael Thomas | NO | TB |
| 4 | Julio Jones | ATL | @CAR |
| 5 | Dez Bryant | DAL | KC |
| 6 | A.J. Green | CIN | @JAX |
| 7 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | @MIA |
| 8 | Will Fuller V | HST | IND |
| 9 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | WAS |
| 10 | Tyreek Hill | KC | @DAL |
| 11 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | @PHI |
| 12 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ | @SF |
| 13 | Marvin Jones Jr. | DET | @GB |
| 14 | Jarvis Landry | MIA | OAK |
| 15 | Golden Tate | DET | @GB |
| 16 | Devin Funchess | CAR | ATL |
| 17 | Jordy Nelson | GB | DET |
| 18 | DeVante Parker | MIA | OAK |
| 19 | Amari Cooper | OAK | @MIA |
| 20 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | @HST |
| 21 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | DEN |
| 22 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | LAR |
| 23 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | @PHI |
| 24 | Robby Anderson | NYJ | BUF |
| 25 | DeSean Jackson | TB | @NO |
| 26 | Paul Richardson | SEA | WAS |
| 27 | Ted Ginn Jr. | NO | TB |
| 28 | Pierre Garcon | SF | ARZ |
| 29 | Davante Adams | GB | DET |
| 30 | Rishard Matthews | TEN | BLT |
| 31 | Kelvin Benjamin | BUF | @NYJ |
| 32 | Nelson Agholor | PHI | DEN |
| 33 | Mohamed Sanu | ATL | @CAR |
| 34 | Tyler Lockett | SEA | WAS |
| 35 | Jeremy Maclin | BLT | @TEN |
| 36 | Sammy Watkins | LAR | @NYG |
| 37 | Marqise Lee | JAX | CIN |
| 38 | Robert Woods | LAR | @NYG |
| 39 | Cooper Kupp | LAR | @NYG |
| 40 | Josh Doctson | WAS | @SEA |
| 41 | Allen Hurns | JAX | CIN |
| 42 | Corey Davis | TEN | BLT |
| 43 | Kenny Stills | MIA | OAK |
| 44 | Jermaine Kearse | NYJ | BUF |
| 45 | Jamison Crowder | WAS | @SEA |
| 46 | Randall Cobb | GB | DET |
| 47 | Russell Shepard | CAR | ATL |
| 48 | John Brown | ARZ | @SF |
| 49 | Jordan Matthews | BUF | @NYJ |
| 50 | Brandon Coleman | NO | TB |
Tight End
So the moral of the story in Week 8 was never doubt Jack Doyle. The big target for the Colts has another solid matchup with the Texans and should take full advantage of the opportunity.
Vernon Davis, while not slotted with the greatest matchup, should continue to produce with Jordan Reed now slated to miss significant time.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Zach Ertz | PHI | DEN |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | @DAL |
| 3 | Evan Engram | NYG | LAR |
| 4 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | WAS |
| 5 | Cameron Brate | TB | @NO |
| 6 | Jack Doyle | IND | @HST |
| 7 | Delanie Walker | TEN | BLT |
| 8 | Vernon Davis | WAS | @SEA |
| 9 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | BUF |
| 10 | Jason Witten | DAL | KC |
| 11 | Jared Cook | OAK | @MIA |
| 12 | Ed Dickson | CAR | ATL |
| 13 | Austin Hooper | ATL | @CAR |
| 14 | Tyler Kroft | CIN | @JAX |
| 15 | Ryan Griffin | HST | IND |
| 16 | Benjamin Watson | BLT | @TEN |
| 17 | A.J. Derby | DEN | @PHI |
| 18 | Nick O’Leary | BUF | @NYJ |
| 19 | George Kittle | SF | ARZ |
| 20 | Martellus Bennett | GB | DET |
| 21 | Tyler Higbee | LAR | @NYG |
| 22 | Eric Ebron | DET | @GB |
| 23 | Coby Fleener | NO | TB |
| 24 | O.J. Howard | TB | @NO |
| 25 | Jonnu Smith | TEN | BLT |
Defense/Special Teams
Brock Osweiler is starting for the Broncos this week. That should be enough to tell you that Philadelphia is a great defense to play this weekend. Be on the lookout for the Bills, Bengals and Raiders to put up solid weeks as well against iffy offensive threats.
| Rank | Name | Opp |
| 1 | Eagles DST | DEN |
| 2 | Jaguars DST | CIN |
| 3 | Seahawks DST | WAS |
| 4 | Texans DST | IND |
| 5 | Rams DST | @NYG |
| 6 | Cardinals DST | @SF |
| 7 | Lions DST | @GB |
| 8 | Bills DST | @NYJ |
| 9 | Bengals DST | @JAX |
| 10 | Broncos DST | @PHI |
| 11 | Saints DST | TB |
| 12 | Titans DST | BLT |
| 13 | Falcons DST | @CAR |
| 14 | Ravens DST | @TEN |
| 15 | Raiders DST | @MIA |
| 16 | 49ers DST | ARZ |
| 17 | Panthers DST | ATL |
| 18 | Chiefs DST | @DAL |
| 19 | Redskins DST | @SEA |
| 20 | Jets DST | BUF |
| 21 | Packers DST | DET |
| 22 | Giants DST | LAR |
| 23 | Dolphins DST | OAK |
| 24 | Cowboys DST | KC |
| 25 | Buccaneers DST | @NO |
| 26 | Colts DST | @HST |
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