NFL DFS picks Week 9: Best sleepers, value players for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft lineups

Sloan Piva

NFL DFS picks Week 9: Best sleepers, value players for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft lineups image

The wild world of the NFL continues turning, and we have somehow reached Week 9. Traditional betting remains a rollercoaster, but DFS has been a steady source of income for us all year thanks to our ability to pinpoint sleepers and values. Today, we will share our favorite undervalued DraftKings, FanDuel, and SuperDraft plays for the Week 9 slate, hopefully helping you win some daily fantasy cash. 

Every Tuesday, we scour DraftKings, FanDuel, and SuperDraft to find the best investments — like my daughter scanning the crowd of parents during her Halloween school parade. We then write about our favorite plays for each position, explaining why each player or D/ST has a good chance of vastly outproducing their respective price point. We also review our double-digit hits from the previous week, like a kid pinning an aced test on the fridge.

By capitalizing on affordable sleepers in certain DFS roster spots, we leave ourselves the budget to greatly improve other roster spots with weekly studs. Let's face it, in order to afford an A.J. Brown ($8,600 on DK), you must invest in the occasional Royce Freeman ($4,600). 

We have enjoyed consistent success with our DFS sleepers and values all season. Each Tuesday, we share a big list of hits from the previous week. — with each hit typically netting 14-22 fantasy points. We've been ahead of the game on breakouts like Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Zack Moss, and Nico Collins, among many others.

WEEK 9 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Busts | Projections | Start 'em, sit 'em

Take a look at our collection of hits from last week:

Pos. Player Wk. 8 Game DK Price Pts
QB Jordan Love Packers vs. Vikings $5,600 15.6
RB Gus Edwards Ravens @ Cardinals $5,500 29.4
RB Breece Hall Jets at Giants $5,900 21.3
WR Terry McLaurin Commanders vs. Eagles $5,300 17.3
WR Amari Cooper Browns at Seahawks $6,200 14.9
WR Josh Downs Colts vs. Saints  $4,800 14.2
TE Taysom Hill  Saints @ Colts $4,000 22.5
TE Jake Ferguson Cowboys vs. Rams $3,600 14.7

Not our best week by any stretch, but it also wasn't a total dud. We averaged 18.8 DK points on our eight hits while spending a little over $5,100 per player. With that kind of cheap production, you're almost assured a finish in the money in the milli-maker and other large DFS tournaments, especially in a weird slate like we saw in Week 8. 

Win BIG with SuperDraft! Get a free $10 deposit when you use promo code "TSN"!

Let's run it back! This year, we're also incorporating SuperDraft into our weekly DFS column. For those unfamiliar, SuperDraft's DFS scoring involves point multipliers as opposed to traditional salary-capped or tiered contests. A winning lineup will likely feature a strong mix of stud fantasy contributors with 1x-1.6x boosts, as well as matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. So, the sleepers who carry lower salaries in DK/FD have higher boosts on SD. The best part: SuperDraft users can roster any player with no restrictions.

MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft

Let's get to our picks. Below we will reveal our Week 9 DFS sleepers and values at each position. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy what will undoubtedly be another wild week!

All player values are from DraftKings, FanDuel, and SuperDraft. All stats are from NFL.com and Pro Football Reference.

WEEK 9 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineupBest stacks

NFL DFS Picks Week 9: QB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel, SuperDraft

Derek Carr, Saints vs. Bears (DK: $5,700 | FD: $7,100 | SD: 1.35x)

Look, we're not trying to say that Carr is good or that he's looked good — just...da Bears. Chicago has made even the most underwhelming QBs look great this season, including Russell Wilson, Jordan Love, and Sam Howell. In total, the Bears have allowed the third-most fantasy points to QBs on the season, so Carr with his bevy of weapons seems like a fine play at these prices. 

Mac Jones, Patriots vs. Commanders (DK: $4,900 | FD: $6,600 | SD: 1.45x)

Mac has been far from playable most weeks, but he has delivered a couple of surprise performances here and there. He put up 28-plus DK points on Philadelphia in Week 1 and 20 two weeks ago against Buffalo. We love him this week against a Washington defense that has surrendered the second-most DK points to QBs on the season and just lost Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Let's go, Big Mac!

Other solid Week 9 values: Bryce Young, Panthers vs. Colts (DK: $5,100 | FD: $6,900 | SD: 1.45x); Gardner Minshew II, Colts at Panthers (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,500 | SD: 1.4x)

WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

NFL DFS Picks Week 9: RB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel, SuperDraft

Zack Moss, Colts at Panthers (DK: $5,800 | FD: $6,700 | SD: 1.3x)

Moss remains a strong play alongside the much pricier Jonathan Taylor, especially against abysmal defenses like the Panthers. Carolina has surrendered the second-most DK points to RBs this season, and Indy should have firm control of this game from the early stages. Expect volume and results from Moss at a discount rate. 

Kareem Hunt, Browns vs. Cardinals (DK: $5,500 | FD: $7,000 | SD: 1.3x) 

Cleveland has operated a bit of a three-headed monster at running back lately with Hunt, Jerome Ford, and Pierre Strong Jr. all garnering double-digit touches in Week 8. We like the veteran Hunt to emerge as the leader in the clubhouse this weekend against Arizona, as he looked the most impressive (and found the end zone) last week against the Seahawks. The Cardinals have fared much worse than Seattle against the run, allowing the third-most PPR points per game to RBs. Hunt down those early November points. 

More solid Week 9 RB values: Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders at Patriots (DK: $5,300 | FD: $6,600 | SD: 1.35x); Darrell Henderson Jr., Rams at Packers (DK: $5,100 | FD: $6,100 | SD: 1.35x); Chuba Hubbard, Panthers vs. Colts (DK: $5,000 | FD: $6,500 | SD: 1.35x); Royce Freeman, Rams at Packers (DK: $4,600 | FD: $5,700 | SD: 1.55x)

WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers

NFL DFS Picks Week 9: WR sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel, SuperDraft

Nico Collins, Texans vs. Buccaneers (DK: $5,800 | FD: $6,800 | SD: 1.35x)

Collins has been a regular in this column all season because he's one of the best young wideouts on one of the best up-and-coming offenses. He averages 16.4 DK points per game on the year and faces a Bucs secondary that has struggled mightily to defend the pass. This one should be close with Houston a slight -2.5 favorite, so we're backing Collins at home in a mini-shootout. 

Zay Flowers, Ravens vs. Seahawks (DK: $5,700 | FD: $6,100 | SD: 1.35x)

Flowers has much more talent than his Week 8 stat line suggests (five catches for 19 yards), and we're expecting a get-right game against a below-average Seattle secondary. The Seahawks have allowed the eighth-most DK points to wideouts this season — and we like this one to creep close to 48 points — so we're pounding Flowers like a pissed-off florist. 

More solid Week 9 WR values: Terry McLaurin, Commanders at Patriots (DK: $5,600 | FD: $7,200 | SD: 1.35x); Josh Downs, Colts at Panthers (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,400 | SD: 1.4x); Brandin Cooks, Cowboys at Eagles (DK: $4,400 | FD: $5,600 | SD: 1.5x); Demario Douglas, Patriots vs. Commanders (DK: $4,000 | FD: $5,400 | SD: 1.55x)

NFL DFS Picks Week 9: TE sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel, SuperDraft

Taysom Hill, Saints vs. Bears (DK: $4,700 | FD: $6,500 | SD: N/A)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Hill has been heavily involved in the Saints' offense, especially given Derek Carr's consistency issues with the downfield pass. The Swiss Army knife is barely even being used as a jack of all trades — he's seeing multiple targets per game and garnering regular carries near the goal line. The value is there as long as he's under $6,500 in his current role. Let's ride it 'til the wheels come off, kids!

More solid Week 9 TE values: Dalton Schultz, Texans vs. Bucs (DK: $4,200 | FD: $5,400 | SD: 1.4x); Jake Ferguson, Cowboys at Eagles (DK: $4,000 | FD: $5,100 | SD: 1.45x); Hunter Henry, Patriots vs. Commanders (DK; $3,600 | FD: $5,100 | SD: 1.6x)

NFL DFS Picks Week 9: D/ST sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Giants (DK: $3,600 | FD: $4,800)

It's the Giants, so even the oft-bumbling Raiders defense should look good this week. The Jets destroyed their big blue rivals in Week 8, putting 20 D/ST points on the board by the time all was said and done. Regardless of who starts under center for New York, Maxx Crosby will eat and Brian Daboll's squad will definitely turn the ball over.

Other solid Week 9 D/ST: Indianapolis Colts at Panthers (DK: $3,100 | FD: $3,900); New England Patriots vs. Commanders (DK: $2,900 | FD: $3,700)

Sloan Piva

Sloan Piva Photo

Sloan Piva is a content producer for The Sporting News, primarily focused on betting, fantasy sports, and poker. A lifelong New Englander, Sloan earned his BA and MA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts and now lives in coastal Rhode Island with his wife and two kids.