NFL Week 9 DFS may produce a tricky Sunday. This means the fantasy football advice that’s coming in may sound a little strange.
Mitchell Trubisky? Sam Darnold? The Titans and Eagles second-string tight ends? I promise you that I’m not trying to make you guys lose money this week. Remember, this is fantasy football, not real-life football, which means you are going to have to play some average players to win some money.
This week, with multiple teams on a bye and some reliable offenses playing in prime-time games, we are going to have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get some plays this week.
Quarterbacks:
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings $6,700
Kirk Cousins thrives in these types of matchups. The Kansas City Chiefs defense has improved from last season, but it’s still a defense that you can pick on for fantasy purposes. Last week against Washington, they were playing in possibly the worst conditions possible for the passing game, so ignore his stats from last week. He’s scored above 23 fantasy points (30+ twice) in three of the past four weeks. If Adam Thielen misses this game, stack Stefon Diggs ($7,600) and Dalvin Cook ($9,500, but that is a steep price). Cousins is the king of beating up on bad defenses.
Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears, $5,000
I’m sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit while thinking about rostering Mitchell Trubisky. He has two things going for him this weekend. Firstly, the Philadelphia Eagles secondary is hot trash. Secondly, the Eagles defense is elite at stopping the run so he will be forced to throw. I think he will have around 250 yards and a touchdown, but I also think he is going to do damage with his legs. He hasn’t run that much this year, but I can see him sneaking one in when the Bears get close but this is a GPP play and he should be nowhere near your cash game lineups. Pair him with Allen Robinson ($6,800) because this secondary can’t stop an opposing team’s number one wideout.
Other plays I like: Sam Darnold ($5,900), Philip Rivers ($5,100) or Ryan Fitzpatrick ($4,800)
Running back:
Le’Veon Bell, New York Jets, $7,700
It’s time for the New York Jets to realize that their best option to win this week is to feed Le’Veon Bell the ball. He is upset that his name popped up in trade rumors and the team will feed him the ball this week to make him happy. The Miami Dolphins run defense is so bad it’s almost unfair when you get a top talent like Bell to play against them. Don’t overthink this; his workload will be much greater than it has been over the past four games and he will feast.
Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns, $7,300
Say what you want about the Cleveland Browns, but Nick Chubb has been that dude this year. At this point, he is matchup proof. When he has rushed the ball 20 or more times in a game this year, he has averaged 25 fantasy points a game. The Denver Broncos secondary is one that you want to avoid when playing them, the run defense is vulnerable. Lock and load Nick Chubb.
Other plays I like: Josh Jacobs ($6,500), Derrick Henry ($5,700) or Jaylen Samuels ($4,000)
Wide Receiver:
Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings, $7,600
If Adam Thielen misses this game, Stefon Diggs will be in line for another massive game. The game against Washington was very pass-catcher unfriendly last week and he still went off for seven receptions for 143 yards. This is three-straight weeks of seven receptions and over 143 yards. For some reason, his price went down from last week, a rare pricing mistake by DraftKings, so we are going to take full advantage of it.
Keenan Allen, Green Bay Packers $6,400
Keenan Allen hasn’t been the Keenan Allen that we all fell in love with, but he is still productive. This game has sneaky shootout potential and Allen has 21 targets over the past two weeks. The Chargers offense hasn’t looked the same but I think that they should get back on track by feeding Allen the ball and getting Melvin Gordon more involved in the running game. Look for the Chargers to look like them old selves this week against the Packers.
Other plays I like: Robby Anderson ($5,500), Danny Amendola ($4,700) or DeVante Parker ($4,400)
Tight End:
Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans $3,800
Jonnu Smith is averaging 14 fantasy points a game over the past two weeks and with Delanie Walker missing time with an ankle injury. It looks like he will miss another game which means Smith should continue to be one of Ryan Tannehill’s favorite targets. I love the price and if he does half of what he did last week, he should still return value.
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles, $3,100
Dallas Goedert has averaged just under 12 fantasy points a game over the past three weeks. Defenses are taking away Zach Ertz and Goedert has been benefiting because of this. He’s cheap and will continue to be a part of the Eagles passing attack. No team runs more than two tight end sets then the Eagles so expect them to look for their tight ends when they get in the red zone.
DST:
Buffalo Bills $3,800
A rookie quarterback who is going to playing on the road against an elite defense? Sign me up. If Dwayne Haskins starts this game, the Bills defense might score 20-plus fantasy points this week. The game against the Eagles last week will scare others away but the Bills will be the highest-scoring defense of the week.
Philadelphia Eagles $3,000
I know I am speaking out both sides of my mouth here, by recommending Mitchell Trubisky, but he has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league this year. If he’s going to hurt the Eagles, it’s going to be with his legs and his arm could result in tossing some picks. He tends to hold onto the ball too long and with the Eagles stacked defensive line, that could result in fantasy goodness. If you aren’t paying up for the Bills, the Eagles are a solid 1B option.
