NFL Fantasy Report: Week 9

This past week in fantasy was led by 41 points from Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb along with a return to excellence from DeAndre Hopkins to the tune of 128 yards and three touchdowns in a Tennessee Titans win.

With San Francisco, Detroit, Jacksonville and Denver on bye, let’s take a look at some great value guys to start and sit at each position heading into Week 9.

Quarterback

Start: C.J. Stroud

Stroud has a plus matchup this week, facing a borderline bottom-ten Tampa Bay defense that just gave up a massive fantasy game to dual-threat QB Josh Allen who had three total scores and over 350 total yards as well.

Stroud is looking to rebound after a rough game against the now 1-6 Carolina Panthers, but the rookie QB is set up perfectly in this matchup.

Expect a good balance between the run and pass for Stroud as Allen averaged over 5.5 yards per carry against the Buccaneers.

Sit: Tua Tagovailoa

Tua and the Miami Dolphins enter off a 31-17 win over the Patriots led by Tagovailoa’s 324 yards and three touchdowns. Expect the Kansas City Chiefs to have a game plan ready to slow down Tyreek Hill and look for Chris Jones to do some damage in Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme to slow down Tagovailoa and the high-powered Dolphins.

Running Back

Start: Raheem Mostert

Mostert enters this week after a rough past two games, combining for only 16.8 (full PPR) fantasy points against Philadelphia and New England. Kansas City presents a plus matchup for the third-best back in fantasy this season.

The Chiefs defense has been lit up for over 130 yards rushing in each of their past two games, and while their two running touchdowns allowed rank second, look for Mostert to be active out of the backfield with Kansas City looking to stop Tyreek Hill.

Sit: Kenneth Walker III

Walker enters as RB7 this week, but was shut down against Arizona and Cleveland. I expect this to continue against yet another premiere defensive group in the Baltimore Ravens.

The Seahawks will be pass-heavy in a game that has a chance to be low-scoring led by great defenses on both sides.

Baltimore has a tendency to keep games close and low-scoring and unfortunately, Walker will not benefit from the expected game log.

Wide Receiver

Start: Adam Thielen

Theilen is playing a rough Indianapolis secondary that was just shredded by Rashid Shaheed for 153 yards and one touchdown (24 fantasy points).

Theilen has been a shocking weapon all season, finally returning to form as the safety blanket and possession receiver for Bryce Young, his rookie quarterback in Carolina.

He ranks sixth in receptions and third in catch percentage, setting him up well for a big game against the No. 31 fantasy defense.

Sit: Stefon Diggs

Diggs has gone over 100 yards just once in his past three games and faces a great Cincinnati pass defense. In two games last season against the Bengals, he had six total catches for 61 yards and no touchdowns.

Zac Taylor and the Bengals have his number and I’m looking for that trend to continue on Sunday Night Football.

Tight End

Start: T.J. Hockenson

The Atlanta Falcons’ Defense has struggled mightily against tight ends this year.

Hayden Hurst had 15 in Week 1, Sam LaPorta had 22 points in Week 3, Evan Engram had 13 in Week 4 and Dalton Schultz had 19 in Week 5.

Tight ends with high target shares have been an issue for Atlanta’s squad, so look for Hockenson to make a major impact for the Vikings’ offense this week.

Sit: Dalton Schultz

The Buccaneers secondary has been strong against tight ends and running backs, while weak against receivers and quarterbacks.

Look for the strong linebacker duo of Lavonte David and Devin White to lock up the middle and force Stroud to look outside for Tank Dell and Nico Collins if the Texans are going to win.

Jeremy Rose is a first-year broadcast journalism major. To contact him, please email jmr8177@psu.edu.