Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 9: Rounding Up Latest Expert Advice on the Web
There are a million and one different ways to settle the always tricky start-or-sit debates facing fantasy football managers on a weekly basis.
You could keep it simple and go with your gut or flip a coin. You could go super complex and deep dive into the stat sheet, the matchup or even the weather report. You could consult your friend group, post a poll on social media or find a way in which your pets can make the call.
Or you could ditch the debates entirely and let the fantasy experts decide.
That's the route we'll take here as we examine a pair of start and sit recommendations for Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season.
Start: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Buffalo Bills)
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Joe Burrow's early calf troubles are becoming a distant memory as he seems to have reclaimed his spot among fantasy football's elite.
His play has caught the attention of NFL.com's Michael Florio, who sees Burrow as a starter in Week 9 and perhaps every other game that follows it.
"Burrow is coming off his best game of the season after throwing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He added 43 yards on the ground, which is a huge indication that his calf is healthy, and finished with 27.62 fantasy points," Florio wrote. "He has now thrown multiple passing touchdowns in three straight games. A fully healthy Burrow is a must-start QB and he looks fully healthy again."
In Burrow's first four outings, he managed just two touchdowns with two interceptions. Over his last three contests, he's at eight touchdowns against two interceptions.
Sit: Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers (vs. Los Angeles Rams)
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Four games into this season, Jordan Love was the third-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy, per FantasyPros. He threw for a combined eight scores in those contests and rushed for two others, signaling the potential arrival of the next great fantasy option at quarterback.
That may as well have been a lifetime ago, though, as Green Bay's signal-caller has regressed in a major way. CBS Sports' Jamey Eisenberg has seen all he needed to see to include Love among his sits for Week 9.
"Love hasn't topped 19.6 Fantasy points in four games in a row, and he continues to make mistakes heading into Week 9 against the Rams," Eisenberg wrote. "He has a five-game interception streak dating back to Week 3, and he's thrown five touchdowns to eight interceptions over that span."
Love's early success was mostly the result of an unsustainably high touchdown count. Those scores have considerably slowed since, and his inaccuracy (57.7 completion percentage) has started manifesting into more interceptions. There are way too many red flags to trust him in this spot.
Start: Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Miami Dolphins)
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Isiah Pacheco is the lead running back in a pass-first offense, so volatility in his production is almost a guarantee.
His upside can be enormous, but every now and then, the bottom just completely drops out on him, like it did in Week 8, which he finished with only 11 touches and 37 scrimmage yards.
Still, Yahoo Sports' Dalton Del Don likes Pacheco's chances of a bounce-back performance in Germany on Sunday.
"Pacheco is coming off a couple of quieter games but remains Kansas City's lead back," Del Don wrote. "He could see added work Sunday in Germany with Clyde Edwards-Helaire out and Jerick McKinnon banged up. ... The Chiefs have the highest implied team total this week against a Dolphins defense yielding the sixth-most EPA/rush. Expect a major bounce-back performance from Patrick Mahomes, with Pacheco benefiting."
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Sit: Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers (vs. Los Angeles Rams)
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Green Bay hasn't topped 20 points since Week 2, so it isn't at all surprising to find multiple fantasy experts warning everyone to avoid this offense.
In fact, SI.com's Michael Fabiano made Aaron Jones his sit of the week at running back.
"I'm not sure if it's his hamstring or just a bad rushing offense (maybe both), but Jones has been a dud for most of the year," Fabiano wrote. "He's failed to score more than 8.7 points in each of his last three games, and Jones continues to lose work to AJ Dillon. He'll be a shaky RB2 or flex this week against the Rams, who have allowed the fifth-fewest points per game to runners."
Jones scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) in the season opener, but he hasn't found the end zone in any of his three outings since. He also averaged an entirely forgettable 39 scrimmage yards in those games.
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