Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Projections to Love and Matchups to Exploit

Owners that are able to exploit matchups on a week-to-week basis win fantasy football leagues.

Week 9 already has proof—owners lucky enough to deploy Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football received three scores and 23 points.

It's a similar story around the league as the meat of Week 9 continues to approach. Below, let's project each spot and take a deep dive on some of the best matchups.

Week 9 Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 8	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 9	Time (ET)
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	Projected Points
1	Tom Brady	22
2	Philip Rivers	18
3	Aaron Rodgers	16
4	Cam Newton	15
5	Drew Brees	14
6	Ben Roethlisberger	13
7	Matt Ryan	12
8	Eli Manning	10
9	Andrew Luck*	10
10	Ryan Fitzpatrick	10
11	Peyton Manning	10
12	Tyrod Taylor*	9
13	Derek Carr	8
14	Jameis Winston	8
15	Ryan Tannehill	8

There are plenty of big names suiting up under center this weekend, but perhaps none is more notable than Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Big Ben missed time with an injury earlier this year, only to return last week and post eight points, a far cry from his 18 and 30, respectively, to start the season.

Owners shouldn't fret, though, because those early-season numbers look like the floor for Big Ben against the Oakland Raiders. Khalil Mack and Co. cough up the sixth-most points to quarterbacks and have allowed at least two passing scores in every game except one.

Those who preach riding the hot hand have it easy this week with Eli Manning of the New York Giants.

By now, everyone knows Manning tossed six scores last week for 38 points, good for his fifth double-digit outing. It's unlikely he gets six again, but it wouldn't be the biggest shock against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the team letting up the third-most points to the position, including a minimum of 24 points three times.

Running Backs

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

It's once again all about Devonta Freeman.

Perhaps this year's biggest breakout star, Freeman and the Atlanta Falcons get a shot at the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, a defense allowing the third-most points to backs.

Call it icing on the cake, really, because not only does Freeman pick up large chunks on the ground, he now has five or more catches in five contests. Atlanta will air it out on the road, then grind it out on the ground. Freeman does both.

While it takes a leap of faith, Philadelphia Eagles lead back DeMarco Murray also sits in one of the weekend's most attractive matchups.

Murray has a date with the Dallas Cowboys, his old team, the one letting up the fifth-most points to backs. He only posted five points against them in Week 2, but that was before the team used its running backs properly, as Murray only saw 13 carries.

Over the course of his team's past three outings, Murray has a minimum of 18 carries, going for 17 points or more in two. Recommitted to the ground game, Murray's going to have a major outing.

Wide Receivers

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

Don't expect a big game by Freeman to get in the way of Julio Jones. 

The leaky 49ers also happen to give up the fourth-most points to wideouts. Jones is fantasy's top scorer at the position, posting 12 or more points in six games this year with a stunning 12 or more catches in three games.

Volume and productivity from Jones won't disappear on the road, as the 49ers cannot seem to run with any wideouts this year, let alone top names. In games featuring top wideouts such as Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald and Odell Beckham, the unit allowed a minimum of 30 points to the position.

Jones will simply be the latest.

Don't expect Julian Edelman of the New England Patriots to be too far behind, though. One of the league leaders in targets, Tom Brady's favorite wideout has six or more catches five times this year.

Up next for Edelman is Washington, one of the 10 worst teams against his position on average. The unit has allowed two or more scores to wideouts four times already this year, meaning Edelman has a strong shot at hitting paydirt when combing that factor with his usage.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	14
2	Antonio Gates	10
3	Greg Olsen	10
4	Delanie Walker	10
5	Martellus Bennett	8
6	Heath Miller	8
7	Charles Clay	7
8	Jason Witten	7
9	Benjamin Watson	6
10	Jacob Tamme	6
11	Richard Rodgers	5
12	Vernon Davis	5

Given the unreliable nature of the tight end spot, would it really be a shock if Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans exploded in Week 9?

Maybe not. Walker has plenty of big games under his belt in past seasons, although this year he's cracked double digits and scored just once—a startling revelation given the presence of a rookie under center.

Things figure to improve for Walker this week with a game against the New Orleans Saints. They are allowing the fifth-most points to the position this year, and while the unit has done well in recent weeks against it, Tennessee doesn't have anywhere else to go through the air as it guns and tries to keep pace.

Remember Heath Miller? He's only owned in 51.2 percent of leagues, but the man's back to fantasy relevancy with Big Ben back under center. He scored eight and nine points, respectively, over the first two weeks of the season before the quarterback's injury, then posted 10 on as many catches last week during his return.

This year's rule of starting any tight end who plays the Raiders has new life, folks.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Broncos	12
2	Jets	10
3	Rams	11
4	Falcons	9
5	Packers	9
6	Bills	9
7	Vikings	8
8	Patriots	7
9	Titans	7
10	Cowboys	6

John Bazemore/Associated Press

It's quite easy to overlook the Falcons when it comes to defense—scroll up and look at the attention the offense commands. 

But owners need to understand that the Falcons rank among the 10 best scorers on average at the position this year, scoring 10 or more points three times. The unit has allowed more than 30 points just once, has scored three times and picked off eight passes.

Call it the perfect scenario against the hapless 49ers, who will trot out Blaine Gabbert under center this weekend—the guy who has completed 53.2 percent of his passes on his career with 23 touchdowns to 24 interceptions.

Road game or not, the Falcons are the best matchup play.

Kickers

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

Starting whichever kicker lines up against the Jacksonville Jaguars is a pretty good idea each week, no matter how surprising and competitive they may or may not look this year.

This time it's Nick Folk of the New York Jets. He doesn't get most of the headlines at the position, but he does have seven or more points in every single game this year—although just one trip to double digits.

Expect double digits again with the Jaguars in town, though. The visitors let up the second-most points to the position with four outings of 11 points or more for the opposition.

Folk is just next in line.

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.