Spooky season is officially in the rearview mirror and bye season is upon us in the NFL. In other words, "Spooky Season" has been extended for another week. There are four teams on a bye and some of the best offenses aren't partaking in this week's main DFS slate. That leaves us with a tough task ahead, but despite everything working against us, we're happy with how our Week 9 DraftKings lineup turned out.
Please be advised, though -- this lineup isn't the most glamorous and definitely won't be the most comfortable one to spend your Sunday rooting for. Of course, if it translates to winning us some cash, none of that matters in the end.
Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Full-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, three-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
WEEK 9 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Busts | Projections | Start 'em, sit 'em
DraftKings Picks Week 9: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments
Sunday main slate, $50,000 budget
QB Sam Howell, Commanders @ Patriots ($5,800). Howell is the type of quarterback who you pick up after seeing the numbers he posts, but then you start him and realize that the Howell experience isn't for the faint of heart. In fact, the experience is mostly a miserable one until you look at the bottom line. "He had how many points?" So, hold your nose, ignore the matchup, and have faith in Howell as a volume-based value in Week 9.
RB Rachaad White, Buccaneers @ Texans ($5,600). Eventually White will find the end zone, and when he does, everyone will wonder why they didn't hop on the bandwagon. Don't be that person. Get on early and ride with us. White is averaging around 13 carries per game and four receptions to go with it. In Week 8, he showcased that versatility, notching only nine carries for 39 yards but seven catches for 70 yards. It marked the second consecutive week of at least six catches for White, who's posted a combined 135 yards in the passing game. That type of involvement will eventually lead to touchdowns and make those good numbers look even better. We'd suggest inquiring about trading for White in traditional fantasy leagues while also trusting him in DraftKings' full-point PPR contests this week.
WEEK 9 DFS:
FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
RB Jerome Ford, Browns vs. Cardinals ($5,300). It was a game to forget for Ford against the Seahawks as he dealt with an ankle sprain. Kareem Hunt took over the backfield for most of last week's game, but Ford has been the guy all season since Nick Chubb went down. We expect Ford to resume his normal workload in Week 9 after seeing most of his action with the Browns trying to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter. With a salary below Hunt's, we prefer Ford to have the better game against a weak Arizona run defense.
WR A.J. Brown, Eagles vs. Cowboys ($8,600). Brown is quickly becoming the NFL equivalent of the free space in Bingo. Leaving him out of the lineup feels like you're doing a disservice, and including him feels like cheating. At least 125 yards in six straight games is no fluke, though. In a divisional showdown against the Cowboys, expect the stars to shine bright and the matchup-proof Brown to keep up his dominant season.
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys @ Eagles ($8,200). For this rivalry game, we like the two best receivers to make their marks. Lamb is coming off by far his best game of the season, exploding for 12 catches, 158 yards, and two touchdowns. He hasn't been as effective as we'd like this season, but those glimpses are still there. The Eagles have struggled at times in the secondary this season, and we expect the Cowboys to feature him a ton with the running game still trying to get going.
WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders @ Patriots ($5,600). These aren't your parents' Patriots, and if you're old enough to be playing daily fantasy (you should be if you're reading this), these aren't your Patriots either. Bill Belichick has always been known to take away the top weapons on opposing teams, but Howell is going to throw to McLaurin anyway. It might take them a few quarters to hook up, but it's going to happen, leaving Scary Terry with, at worst, a respectable showing. New England only ranks around the middle of the pack in defending receivers, giving up a touchdown to WR1s in four-of-five games. The exception in that case was the Raiders' Davante Adams, who saw his running mate and preferred red-zone target, Jakobi Meyers, score instead.
WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
TE Cole Kmet, Bears @ Saints ($3,900). Kmet and Tyson Bagent were cooking in Week 8. After seeing a goose egg in the box score for Week 7, Bagent Zero connected with Kmet 10 times for 79 yards in Week 8. Kmet is quietly having a nice season in Chicago, checking in as a top-10 fantasy tight end, and given the Bears' need to constantly throw, we'll take a shot here after splurging for some players with big salaries earlier.
FLEX TE Taysom Hill, Saints vs. Bears ($4,700). Hill earns himself a spot in our lineup once again this week as one of the NFL's ultimate wild cards. You never know if you're getting two or 20 points from him each week, making for an exciting afternoon of watching football. That unpredictability once made Jameis Winston one of the most entertaining quarterbacks. Now it's his teammate who's earned that role, even if he's designated a tight end in fantasy. Despite catching only one pass last week, Hill managed to add in nine carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns on top of 44 yards passing, marking his second consecutive week with a score. We'll keep rolling until the wheels fall off.
DEF Giants @ Raiders ($2,300). The cheapest defense on DraftKings in Week 9 also has some of the highest upside. While we still believe in players like Davante Adams on this Vegas offense, it's not enough to take us away from this Giants' pass rush that should have plenty to say in the result of this game. Wink Martindale's group has been getting after the quarterback, and after seeing how often Jimmy Garoppolo was on his back in Week 8, we believe that Big Blue should force some turnovers and bring the heat in the desert, making rookie QB Aidan O'Connell uncomfortable all afternoon
Best SuperDraft NFL DFS Picks for Week 9
This season, we're also listing our favorite Week 8 DFS lineup on SuperDraft, with some of our picks and analysis overlapping.
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 a few matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. Users can roster any player in their lineup with no restrictions.
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Here are the most notable scoring rules for SuperDraft NFL contests: Half-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, two-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft
- QB: Lamar Jackson, Ravens (Multiplier 1x)
- RB: Jonathan Taylor, Colts (Multiplier 1.2x)
- RB: Saquon Barkley, Giants (Multiplier 1x)
- WR: Davante Adams, Raiders (Multiplier 1.05x)
- WR: CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys (Multiplier 1.05x)
- WR: A.J. Brown, Eagles (Multiplier 1x)
- TE: Mark Andrews, Ravens (Multiplier 1x)
- FLEX: RB Alvin Kamara, Saints (Multiplier 1x)
It's a tough week for sleepers, as some of the NFL's best offenses are on bye or playing in standalone windows. So, for this week, we're keeping it simple and hoping for Sunday's remaining stars to turn in big performances instead of relying on multipliers to drive up our point total.
