Patrick Mahomes is in our initial Week 9 QB rankings, although a knee injury could keep him sidelined until Week 10. As all you fantasy football owners already know, Mahomes would cede QB duties to Matt Moore if he's out. There's more to every quarterback rankings list than Mahomes, though, and that starts with the guy we'd put ahead of him in our Week 9 fantasy QB rankings even if Mahomes is active: Russell Wilson.
Wilson has made himself a rock-solid MVP candidate early in the season, and he's done it in a way that's been just as awesome for his fantasy owners. He seems to throw balls that no one else can, putting passes on an absolute dime at angles that most QBs wouldn't even think of. To top it all off, he gets one of fantasy's best QB matchups in Week 9, a meeting with the Buccaneers' leaky pass defense. We don't need to spend too much time on Wilson because you're all starting him, but he was definitely deserving of a little praise.
WEEK 9 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Unlike Wilson, the biggest unfavorable matchup in Week 9 goes to Lamar Jackson. It's hard to spew hyperbole about the Patriots' defense. Sure, the matchups haven't all been super tough, but they've made every QB they've played look silly. Lamar is the best they'll have to deal with so far, though, and he's such an interesting choice in regards to fantasy football. Jackson could have what on paper is a bad day -- 15-for-30, 200 yards, 15 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown. He could do that while Baltimore loses 42-7. Yet, as long as he limits turnovers, that statline is 19 fantasy points, and that's what we assume a bad day for him would look like. Jackson's rushing ability gives him such a high floor that even against New England, he's nearly impossible to sit.
WEEK 9 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | DK cash | DK GPP | FD cash | FD GPP
Good matchups continue to be the theme for much of the top half of our rankings: Matthew Stafford (@ Raiders), Josh Allen (vs. Redskins), Sam Darnold (@ Dolphins), Derek Carr (vs. Lions), and Kirk Cousins (@ Chiefs) all warrant fantasy starter consideration this week.
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
On the flip side, usual starters like Carson Wentz (vs. Bears) and Kyler Murray (vs. 49ers) both are on the outside of our starter tier looking in. While Chicago hasn't been as dominant, that's still a lot of talent coming at the inconsistent Wentz. And we'd stay far away from the rookie Murray against a Nick Bosa-led 49ers defense that can't be handled right now.
WEEK 9: Waiver wire | FAAB planner | Trade values | Snap counts
Week 8 also brought us more of the same from Baker Mayfield, who struggled (understandably) with the Pats' defense and faces off with Denver in Week 9. Kyle Allen was also proven to be human by the 49ers' defense, and Cam Newton watch is now on in Carolina. If Newton comes back, he'd be a slightly better, but not great, play against the Titans' strong pass defense.
Byes claim a few solid fantasy quarterbacks this week, with Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff and Andy Dalton all off in Week 9.
MORE WEEK 9 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup builder
Note: These rankings will be updated throughout the week, so check back for player movement and individual analysis.
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Week 9 Fantasy QB Rankings
These rankings are for standard leagues with 4-point passing TDs.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Russell Wilson, SEA vs. TB. This is a dream matchup. MVP frontrunner. Enjoy this one. |
| 2 | Deshaun Watson, HOU vs. JAX (in UK) |
| 3 | Aaron Rodgers, GB @ LAC |
| 4 | Dak Prescott, DAL @ NYG |
| 5 | Lamar Jackson, BAL vs. NE. You can't sit Jackson this week...can you? New England has been far and away the best defense this season, but Jackson has such a great floor-ceiling combo because of his rushing ability and arm talent. Some sites might rank Jackson lower this week, and that's fair, but we can't imagine playing someone like Matthew Stafford over him. |
| 6 | Matthew Stafford, DET @ OAK. The Raiders have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, and Stafford should continue to sling it with Kerryon Johnson out. Start him with confidence in Week 9. |
| 7 | Josh Allen, BUF vs. WAS. Keep riding Allen through this stretch of great matchups for the Bills' second-year QB. |
| 8 | Tom Brady, NE @ BAL |
| 9 | Sam Darnold, NYJ @ MIA. We've been advising you to snag Darnold for this matchup for a couple of weeks, and it's the first of a seven-week stretch of solid matchups. Darnold could become more than a one-week stream if he shows enough promise against the winless Dolphins. |
| 10 | Derek Carr, OAK vs. DET. Carr's always been consistent, but it used to be consistently boring. Now, it's consistently pretty solid, and the Lions allowed Daniel Jones to score the most points of any fantasy QB in Week 8, so we like Carr a lot this week. |
| 11 | Kirk Cousins, MIN @ KC. Until Cousins slows down or hits a roadblock matchup, you've got to keep using him. The touchdowns weren't there last week, but the yards were -- and that was without Adam Thielen. |
| 12 | Jacoby Brissett, IND @ PIT |
| 13 | Jameis Winston, TB @ SEA. Seattle isn't a super imposing pass defense, but Winston is a super unpredictable quarterback. On the road, he's risky, but given his supporting cast, he still has upside against a mediocre pass defense. |
| 14 | Gardner Minshew II, JAX vs. HOU (in UK). Doesn't it just seem like Minshew is made to go off across the pond? Besides, Houston has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to QBs this season. |
| 15 | Jimmy Garoppolo, SF @ ARZ |
| 16 | Carson Wentz, PHI vs. CHI. The still solid Bears combine with an inconsistent Philly offense to make Wentz tough to trust this week. I know someone who's planning on using Darnold over Wentz this week, and that seems fair. |
| 17 | Philip Rivers, LAC vs. GB |
| 18 | Kyler Murray, ARZ vs. SF. A rookie QB against a San Francisco defense that's flying high at the moment? No thanks. |
| 19 | Baker Mayfield, CLE @ DEN. Mayfield continues to look pretty lost out there. If it was just the week against New England, you could chalk that up to matchup, but it's basically been all season. Denver's allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to QBs this season, so look elsewhere. |
| 20 | Mitchell Trubisky, CHI @ PHI |
| 21 | Ryan Tannehill, TEN @ CAR. Tannehill can put up numbers in favorable matchups, but this doesn't qualify as one. Throw him in with these other scrubs in matchups like this. |
| 22 | Daniel Jones, NYG vs. DAL |
| 23 | Matt Moore, KC vs. MIN |
| 24 | Kyle Allen, CAR vs. TEN. Allen was manhandled by the San Francisco defense (certainly understandable), and we might be moving toward Cam Newton time in Carolina. It won't be this week, but Tennessee's pass defense is too solid to rely on Allen. |
| 25 | Mason Rudolph, PIT vs. IND |
| 26 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, MIA vs. NYJ |
| 27 | Brandon Allen, DEN vs. CLE |
| 28 | Dewayne Haskins, WAS @ BUF |