Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Guide for Top Players and Sleepers

Fantasy football player rankings continue to play integral roles in how owners should approach a slate, especially going into Week 9, with six teams on bye.

Positional rankings sort out the obvious to not-so-obvious matters. Top players slot in according to projected values, while lesser-known names sneak into the rankings and, at least for a week, earn sleeper tags.

Last week, St. Louis Rams wideout Tavon Austin found his way into most rankings due to a good matchup and responded with 21 points to finish third at his position.

Below, let's round up Week 9 rankings and take a deep dive on some of the top plays and sleepers.

Week 9 Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 05	Time (ET)
Sunday, Nov. 08	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 09	Time (ET)
Cleveland at Cincinnati	8:25 p.m.
Oakland at Pittsburgh	1:00 p.m.
Green Bay at Carolina	1:00 p.m.
Washington at New England	1:00 p.m.
Tennessee at New Orleans	1:00 p.m.
Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets	1:00 p.m.
St. Louis at Minnesota	1:00 p.m.
Miami at Buffalo	1:00 p.m.
Atlanta at San Francisco	4:05 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay	4:05 p.m.
Denver at Indianapolis	4:25 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas	8:30 p.m.
Chicago at San Diego	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Tom Brady
2	Philip Rivers
3	Aaron Rodgers
4	Cam Newton
5	Drew Brees
6	Ben Roethlisberger
7	Matt Ryan
8	Eli Manning
9	Andrew Luck*
10	Andy Dalton
11	Peyton Manning
12	Tyrod Taylor*
13	Derek Carr
14	Jameis Winston
15	Ryan Tannehill

Cam Newton, Drew Brees and the usual suspects line the board at quarterback, but it's Tom Brady leading the way. 

Shocker, right? The New England Patriots' signal-caller is the top scorer at the position with at least 22 points in every contest. Next up is a date against a Washington team that has allowed 19 or more points four times.

Also ready to let it rip is the man right behind Brady, Philip Rivers. San Diego's lead man has a streak of five performances at 20 or more points, and it's an obvious floor against a Chicago Bears defense allowing the seventh-most points to quarterbacks this year.

The week's top sleeper at the spot is a rookie, as scary as that sounds.

Scary or not, owners will want to trust in Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who owns a pair of consecutive 19-point performances. Call it an encouraging floor against a New York Giants defense letting up the fifth-most points to the position, including 44 to Brees last week.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Devonta Freeman
2	Todd Gurley
3	DeAngelo Williams
4	Chris Ivory
5	Mark Ingram
6	LeSean McCoy
7	Doug Martin
8	DeMarco Murray
9	Giovani Bernard
10	Lamar Miller*
11	Jeremy Langford
12	Adrian Peterson
13	Darren McFadden
14	Jeremy Hill
15	Ronnie Hillman
16	Jonathan Stewart
17	Dion Lewis
18	Frank Gore
19	Latavius Murray
20	Danny Woodhead
21	Melvin Gordon
22	LeGarrette Blount
23	Eddie Lacy
24	Antonio Andrews
25	C.J. Spiller
26	C.J. Anderson
27	Charles Sims
28	Dexter McCluster
29	T.J. Yeldon
30	Rashad Jennings

Bye or not, it won't be hard for owners to find good value at the position. 

Not only do names such as Chris Ivory sit in great matchups, but the new guard continues to lead the way. Atlanta's Devonta Freeman continues to blow away the position, last week putting up his seventh double-digit outing ahead of an encounter with the hapless San Francisco 49ers, the third-worst defense against his position on average.

Then there's fellow breakout star Todd Gurley. Since taking over for the St. Louis Rams in Week 4, the budding superstar has at least 15 points in every game, making him a strong play every week regardless of matchup.

SNF on NBC provided just one opponent's thoughts on the rookie: 

Due to unfortunate injuries, there are plenty of widely available sleepers at running back this week.

Out in Chicago, the Bears will miss starter Matt Forte for what sounds like a few weeks, making backup Jeremy Langford an incredible value.

When Forte went out this past weekend, Langford stepped into an identical every-down capacity, making him a must-play option this week against a San Diego defense allowing the most points on average to the position.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Julio Jones
2	Antonio Brown
3	A.J. Green
4	Julian Edelman
5	Odell Beckham Jr.
6	Alshon Jeffery
7	Randall Cobb
8	Mike Evans
9	Emmanuel Sanders
10	Brandon Marshall*
11	Demaryius Thomas
12	Eric Decker
13	Martavis Bryant
14	Dez Bryant
15	Stefon Diggs
16	Allen Robinson
17	T.Y. Hilton
18	Sammy Watkins*
19	Michael Crabtree
20	Stevie Johnson
21	Rishard Matthews
22	DeSean Jackson*
23	Amari Cooper
24	Donte Moncrief
25	Malcom Floyd
26	Brandon LaFell
27	Anquan Boldin*
28	Jordan Matthews
29	Travis Benjamin
30	Pierre Garcon
31	Allen Hurns
32	Brandin Cooks
33	Jarvis Landry
34	Ted Ginn Jr.
35	Willie Snead

It's another good week for top-tier wideouts, even with Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins and more taking some mandatory time off. 

Atlanta's Julio Jones has scored in consecutive games and continues to sit as the top scorer. The odds are that he'll lead all at the position again and make it three games in a row against the 49ers, the team letting up the fourth-most points to the spot.

It's going to be another good week for the returning-to-form Antonio Brown in Pittsburgh, too.

Brown has a pair of consecutive double-digit outings to his name and scored for the first time since Week 2 last weekend thanks to the return of Ben Roethlisberger. He's going to do some serious damage with volume-based work against an Oakland Raiders defense that let up 32 points to wideouts last week.

Speaking of volume-based work in the Pittsburgh-Oakland encounter, don't forget about Michael Crabtree as a top sleeper.

In a quiet manner, Crabtree is one of the league's top target hogs, registering 68 so far. He's turned the chances into three double-digit outings, including two in a row with scores in back-to-back games.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Antonio Gates
3	Greg Olsen
4	Tyler Eifert
5	Gary Barnidge
6	Delanie Walker
7	Martellus Bennett
8	Jordan Reed
9	Charles Clay
10	Jason Witten
11	Benjamin Watson
12	Jacob Tamme

Tight end can be downright boring, which is the case this week. 

It's almost jarring how easily New England's Rob Gronkowski can slip under the radar while scoring in elite fashion. Most might not even realize he's scored a touchdown in three consecutive games, because it's such a routine occurrence.

Gronkowski is on such a streak going into a matchup with Washington. The defense ranks well against the position, but it won't after an encounter with Gronk.

If Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers hadn't served a suspension and could stay healthy, he'd probably be right up there in scoring with Gronk. The veteran has nine or more points twice since Week 5 while dealing with his issues, including a 21-point outburst.

Against a leaky Bears defense, he too might rearrange the rankings in a significant manner.

There's only one top-tier sleeper option this week. It's Jacob Tamme of the Atlanta Falcons, who exploded with 10 grabs for 103 yards and a score, good for 16 points. Again, the 49ers have a weak defense, and if the Falcons understand the emergence of a reliable option, owners get one, too.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Broncos
2	Jets
3	Rams
4	Bengals
5	Falcons
6	Packers
7	Bills
8	Vikings
9	Patriots
10	Titans

Chalk plays continue to rule the day when it comes to defenses. 

It's all about the top-scoring Denver Broncos this week against the Indianapolis Colts, especially with Andrew Luck continuing to turn over the ball at a consistent clip. The New York Jets don't rank as highly, but Darrelle Revis and Co. against the Jacksonville Jaguars writes itself.

The Falcons continue to fly under the radar as a strong option, having forced eight interceptions so far with just one allowance of more than 30 points. A Blaine Gabbert-led 49ers offense figures to turn it over a few times and won't sniff 30, if not 20.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Stephen Gostkowski
2	Brandon McManus
3	Josh Brown
4	Blair Walsh
5	Nick Folk
6	Caleb Sturgis
7	Mason Crosby
8	Phil Dawson
9	Mike Nugent
10	Matt Bryant

The usual names line the kicker list. 

Stephen Gostkowski has six double-digit outings in New England, a staggering amount of consistency that has him leading all scorers, a trend that won't change against Washington.

While his offense hasn't looked as encouraging at all times, Brandon McManus in Denver has double digits in five games and can post some eye-popping numbers when asked to shoulder the load, hence an 18-point outburst.

For a sleeper, look no further than the Jaguars. Well, whoever plays against the Jaguars. This week it's Nick Folk of the Jets. He only has one double-digit outing, but the Jaguars are reliable, allowing the second-most points to the position.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of November 4. Detroit, Kansas City, Arizona, Seattle, Baltimore, Houston on bye.