Loaded bye weeks are never fun in fantasy football. With six teams off in Week 9, the pool of available QBs shrinks a bit. With guys like Carson Wentz, Andrew Luck, and Andy Dalton all idle, their absences will move some sleepers into the top 12 of our Week 9 fantasy QB rankings. And this week, there are a couple of top streaming options, some of whom might be available on the waiver, who could help to mitigate the losses of this trio and ensure that our QB rankings stay strong once again.
Mitchell Trubisky continues to be one of our favorite potential streamers, as he has another great matchup in Week 9. He gets to take on the Bills, who have struggled to contain offenses in recent weeks. The Bills are on a short week and Trubisky's scrambling ability will give him a great chance to put up solid numbers. In terms of other sleepers, Baker Mayfield (vs. Chiefs) should have a chance to throw a lot against a mediocre pass defense, while Derek Carr (@ 49ers) takes on a weak defense after he put up a solid performnace last week.
Week 9 Rankings:
Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
This week, there are a few options that we're more wary of than usual. First, Matthew Stafford has a tough matchup with a Vikings defense that just limited Drew Brees to 120 passing yards and one TD. Stafford may have a tough time moving the ball, especially if Minnesota's top corner, Xavier Rhodes, returns to action. Elsewhere, Ben Roethlisberger (@ Ravens) has a tough matchup, while Jameis Winston (@ Panthers) was benched last week and may not even win the starting job moving forward. Both QBs are hard to trust, so rolling with another option this week may be the way to go.
Note: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest player movement updates and player analysis! For more fantasy insight, check out "How You'll Lose in Week 9".
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings: QBs
These rankings are for standard leagues with 6-point passing TDs.
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes II, Chiefs @ Browns. Mahomes has the most passing yards and pass TDs in the NFL this season. Enough said. |
| 2 | Jared Goff, Rams @ Saints |
| 3 | Cam Newton, Panthers vs. Buccaneers. Newton has been shockingly consistent this year and has at least two TDs in every game since Week 2. The Buccaneers have given up the most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs this season at 33.15. Newton should be able to completely demolish their defense and could have a massive day. |
| 4 | Tom Brady, Patriots vs. Packers |
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers, Packers @ Patriots |
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| 6 | Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Lions. Cousins has multiple TDs in six of eight games this year and gets to face a Lions defense that was just dismantled by Russell Wilson. The Lions have allowed five 20-plus fantasy points scorers at QB this year, so Cousins is definitely a top play for Week 9. |
| 7 | Drew Brees, Saints @ Rams |
| 8 | Alex Smith, Redskins vs. Falcons. Smith sees a massive jump in the rankings because he gets a chance to take on a Falcons defense that has been dreadful against QBs this year. They allow 29.65 FPPG to the position, good for third most in the league, and they haven't held any passer to less than 22.66 fantasy points since Week 1. Smith hasn't been particularly productive, but his ability to avoid turnovers and connect on passes should give him a chance to rack up yardage and score a couple times through the air. |
| 9 | Russell Wilson, Seahawks vs. Chargers. Wilson has thrown for three TDs in three straight games. The Chargers have only allowed one passing TD in each of their past three games and are coming off a bye. Something will have to give in this game, but our money is on Wilson to continue his hot streak. |
| 10 | Philip Rivers, Chargers @ Seahawks |
| WEEK 9 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings | |
| 11 | Matt Ryan, Falcons @ Redskins. Ryan gets a difficult matchup with the Redskins, who have only allowed four passing TDs in their last three games combined. Still, yardage can be had against this Washington defense, especially if top corner Quinton Dunbar continues to miss time with a hamstring/shin injury, so Ryan isn't a bad play. |
| 12 | Baker Mayfield, Browns vs. Chiefs. Mayfield's head coach and offensive coordinator were just fired, so that may put a bit of a damper on his stock. At the same time, the Chiefs have struggled to contain QBs, allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to the position across the league. Mayfield should have to throw a lot in this game, so he may get the volume needed to put up a few scores. There may be some mistakes and turnovers along the way, but he's still a good streamer as a QB1 option this week. |
| 13 | Mitchell Trubisky, Bears @ Bills. Trubisky has at least 47 yards scrambling in each of the past four weeks, and over that time period, he has notched 14 total TDs. The Bills have allowed some big outings to QBs, and they have seen three players put up at least 27.74 fantasy points against them. That's enough to make Trubisky a solid start, and if he continues to run well, he should bring extra value to fantasy owners across all formats. |
| 14 | Deshaun Watson, Texans @ Broncos. Watson finally broke out of a funk last Thursday and threw for five TDs against the Dolphins. The Broncos figure to be a tougher matchup for Watson, and the absence of Will Fuller (and possibly Keke Coutee) could hurt him a bit. Still, he is trending back toward low-end QB1 territory -- provided that he can stay healthy as he deals with a chest injury. |
| 15 | Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers @ Ravens. Roethlisberger had a tough go of it last time he played the Ravens (16.9 fantasy points, second-lowest total of the season) and this time, he faces them on the road. Try to find another option if you can. |
| MORE WEEK 9 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder | |
| 16 | Derek Carr, Raiders @ 49ers. The 49ers have allowed the seventh-most FPPG to QBs this year, and Josh Rosen just put up 23-plus points on them. Carr is coming off one of his best games of his season in which he threw for 244 yards and three scores and added another on the ground. He should have a chance to dismantle the 49ers in the same way that they brought down the Colts, so Carr could be a solid streaming option. |
| 17 | Matthew Stafford, Lions @ Vikings. The Vikings have held QBs to 14.04 points or less in the past three weeks, and that includes Drew Brees. If Stafford can't get to the end zone a couple of times, he may not be fantasy relevant. On the season, the Vikings have only allowed two QBs to throw for multiple TD passes. |
| 18 | Joe Flacco, Ravens vs. Steelers. The Steelers have allowed the fourth-most FPPG to QBs this year, but they have been better in recent weeks. Still, they allowed Flacco to put up 26.22 fantasy points in their last meeting, and at home, Flacco should be in better shape to produce more. Still, Flacco is nothing better than a low-end streaming option given that he's scored 13.9 points or fewer in three of his past four outings. |
| 19 | Dak Prescott, Cowboys vs. Titans |
| 20 | Marcus Mariota, Titans @ Cowboys |
| 21 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buccaneers @ Panthers. Fitzmagic is back as the starter, as he will replace Jameis Winston, who was benched at the end of the Bucs-Bengals game. We've seen how Fitzpatrick works, though. He'll make some big plays and then totally regress at some random point -- often in the same game. The Panthers just limited Joe Flacco to 11.08 fantasy points, so the Fitzmagic may not last in a tougher road game. |
| 22 | Brock Osweiler, Dolphins vs. Jets. Osweiler wasn't able to get into the end zone against the Texans last week. He's far too inconsistent and turnover prone to be trusted as a fantasy QB -- especially with Ryan Tannehill's return coming up at some point in the future. |
| 23 | Case Keenum, Broncos vs. Texans |
| 24 | Sam Darnold, Jets @ Dolphins |
| 25 | C.J. Beathard, 49ers vs. Raiders |
| 26 | Nathan Peterman, Bills vs. Bears. Don't even think about it. |
