Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Each Position's Flex and PPR Projections

Fantasy football owners who treat the flex position with as much importance as any other win leagues.

It's really that simple going into Week 9, one week removed from sly flex options such as San Diego Chargers wideout Malcom Floyd (21 points) and St. Louis Rams wideout Tavon Austin (21) posting strong outings.

Given the, well, flexibility of the flex slot, it's perhaps the most difficult to nail down on a week-to-week basis. Here's a look at rankings by the position based on points-per-reception (PPR) leagues.

Running Backs

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

The usual suspects line the running back ranks, but one of the surprise names near the top would be Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead man Doug Martin. 

Martin has turned out to be the workhorse back for the Buccaneers after some projected a committee approach this year in Tampa Bay. He has his elite play to thank considering he's rushed for 612 yards and three scores on a 4.6 per-carry average this year.

Sigmund Bloom of FootballGuys.com summed up the situation well:

It's hard to argue, especially in PPR formats considering Martin has three or more catches in four of his last five outings. He's the definition of an every-down back, nothing but a good thing going into a matchup with the New York Giants, a team that has allowed four consecutive 100-yard rushers.

Also a surprise would be the presence of Chicago Bears backup Jeremy Langford near the top. 

It's what happens in Chicago, though, when Matt Forte goes down with an injury that will hold him out for at least this week. This means the versatile Langford will step into an every-down role and see Forte's minimum of 15 carries in six of the team's last seven, as well as his four or more catches in five during that span.

Touches equal production, a case study Langford will confirm this weekend.

Wide Receivers

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

It's shake-up time atop the PPR rankings at wideout. 

Long story short, Antonio Brown is back to relevance in all formats thanks to the return of Ben Roethlisberger under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While Big Ben watched from the sidelines, Brown hit on a stretch of games with no more than five catches. To make the situation worse, his last score came in Week 2 with a healthy Big Ben.

ESPN Stats & Info captured the full extent of the desperate situation:

Last week, though, Bell rebounded with his man under center, catching six passes and a score.

Expect the good budding trend to continue this weekend with the Oakland Raiders in town considering the defense has surrendered 13 or more catches to wideouts in every game since Week 2. 

Also shaking the rankings up is Miami Dolphins No. 1 wideout Jarvis Landry. He isn't the first name owners think of most of the time, but he's reliable in PPR formats, with six or more catches four times this year.

While he has only two receiving touchdowns to his name, Landry next gets the Buffalo Bills, who have allowed at least 13 grabs to wideouts in five games and allowed the position to score a pair of touchdowns in four games.

Back in Week 3, Landry tallied eight grabs for 67 yards against the Bills. Similar production plus a touchdown isn't outlandish the second time out.

Tight Ends

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

Greg Olsen might not get the attention Rob Gronkowski does each week, but he's right there in PPR formats most of the time. 

The top receiving target in the Carolina Panthers passing game, Olsen has six or more catches in four games this year and boasts as many scores to show for it.

He has a floor of another six this weekend against the Green Bay Packers. The visitors can't seem to stop the position, having allowed five or more grabs four times already, and they have allowed a pair of 100-yard performances in each of their last two outings.

It's time for owners to fall back in love with the idea of Heath Miller too, especially in PPR formats.

Miller fell off the face of the Earth with Big Ben out, but he grabbed eight catches in Week 1, scored in Week 2 and this past weekend caught 10 passes.

Next? A date with Oakland, which Alex Gelhar of NFL.com summarized quite well:

Miller would be in for a massive PPR day without Big Ben under center.

The fact that his quarterback's in the fold and they posted strong numbers together last week makes him a top option.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of November 6. Detroit, Kansas City, Arizona, Seattle, Baltimore, Houston on bye.