Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings: Projecting the Top Players at Each Position

You want to know who to start or sit in your fantasy lineup? Look no further.

Fantasy football is always changing. The players that dominated last week will not always succeed in the next game. For that reason, you have to make sure that you adjust your lineup weekly to give yourself the best chance at success.

Here are complete rankings for the major positions in fantasy football for Week 9 of the NFL season.

Quarterbacks

The Arizona Cardinals allowed Alex Smith to post a near-perfect 157.1 quarterback rating. Aaron Rodgers should be able to torch the same defense, regardless of what receivers are catching the ball.

Matt Ryan will likely slow down this week against the No. 3 pass defense in the NFL. 

Two sleepers this week are Michael Vick and Cam Newton. Both of these players have struggled this year, but they are facing poor defenses this week.

Each one is also facing tough criticism and might not have many more chances with another bad performance. 

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	Ari
2	Drew Brees	NO	Phi
3	Peyton Manning	Den	Cin
4	Robert Griffin III	Was	Car
5	Matt Stafford	Det	Jac
6	Cam Newton	Car	Was
7	Ben Roethlisberger	Pit	NYG
8	Matt Ryan	Atl	Dal
9	Michael Vick	Phi	NO
10	Carson Palmer	Oak	TB

Running Backs

The No. 1 fantasy player against the No. 32 rush defense in the NFL is almost unfair. Anyone who has Arian Foster on their team could win with his contributions alone.

LeSean McCoy should also get back into a rhythm this week against the New Orleans Saints. The running back had two touchdowns last week and will remind people this week why he was drafted so high in most leagues.

Trent Richardson is also coming off a big week and is facing the Baltimore Ravens, who have allowed over 175 rushing yards in each of the last three games.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Arian Foster	Hou	Buf
2	Ray Rice	Bal	Cle
3	LeSean McCoy	Phi	NO
4	Trent Richardson	Cle	Bal
5	Alfred Morris	Was	Car
6	Marshawn Lynch	Sea	Min
7	Matt Forte	Chi	Ten
8	Adrian Peterson	Min	Sea
9	Reggie Bush	Mia	Ind
10	Willis McGahee	Den	Cin
11	Doug Martin	TB	Oak
12	Darren McFadden	Oak	TB
13	Chris Johnson	Ten	Chi
14	Mikel Leshoure	Det	Jac
15	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	Pit
16	Michael Turner	Atl	Dal
17	Alex Green	GB	Ari
18	Rashad Jennings	Jac	Det
19	C.J. Spiller	Buf	Hou
20	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	Cin	Den

Wide Receivers

A.J. Green has scored in each of his last six games and even produces when he has a bad week. He will remain the No. 1 receiver until someone knocks him out of that spot.

Steve Smith owners should be happy to see his name near the top of the list, as he is poised for his best week of the year. He has been targeted 38 times in the last three weeks and is facing the worst pass defense in the NFL. 

It should be about time for him to finally get into the end zone as well.

Be careful with Victor Cruz. He has been great this season but faces the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL in the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is a veteran team that knows how to stop the opponent's most effective player.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	A.J. Green	Cin	Den
2	Brandon Marshall	Chi	Ten
3	Demaryius Thomas	Den	Cin
4	Reggie Wayne	Ind	Mia
5	Vincent Jackson	TB	Oak
6	Steve Smith	Car	Was
7	Percy Harvin	Min	Sea
8	Victor Cruz	NYG	Pit
9	Calvin Johnson	Det	Jac
10	Marques Colston	NO	Phi
11	Mike Wallace	Pit	NYG
12	Julio Jones	Atl	Dal
13	Roddy White	Atl	Dal
14	Denarius Moore	Oak	TB
15	Eric Decker	Den	Cin
16	Randall Cobb	GB	Ari
17	Miles Austin	Dal	Atl
18	Andre Johnson	Hou	Buf
19	Larry Fitzgerald	Ari	GB
20	DeSean Jackson	Phi	NO

Tight Ends

The list of tight ends is relatively weak with Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Vernon Davis on byes. 

Jimmy Graham represents the most potential, and the rest of the top five are all very big parts of the offense and should have solid days.

After that, however, is a group that leaves people hoping for a touchdown to have any production.

Brandon Myers is a nice sleeper pick as someone who is a consistent part of the Raiders offense. Tampa Bay has one of the worst pass defenses in the league and should leave an opening or two for the tight end. 

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	Phi
2	Jason Witten	Dal	Atl
3	Owen Daniels	Hou	Buf
4	Heath Miller	Pit	NYG
5	Tony Gonzalez	Atl	Dal
6	Greg Olsen	Car	Was
7	Brent Celek	Phi	NO
8	Brandon Myers	Oak	TB
9	Brandon Pettigrew	Det	Jac
10	Jermaine Gresham	Cin	Den

Defense/Special Teams

The Bears have had an incredible amount of success as a fantasy defense this year. The unit has already produced six touchdowns, and it does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon.

If you own the Bears defense, keep it in your lineup and thank your lucky stars that you drafted the right team.

Other teams will have big weeks based on matchups, like the Atlanta Falcons. The Dallas Cowboys can score points, but Tony Romo has been unable to hold on to the ball this season. This could mean good things for the Falcons.

One team on the decline is the Arizona Cardinals. The unit had a poor performance against the San Francisco 49ers last week and has a rough upcoming schedule with the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons coming up.

Although this is the No. 5 scoring defense in standard leagues, do not be afraid to release this group onto waivers. 

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	Bears	Ten
2	Texans	Buf
3	Falcons	Dal
4	Packers	Ari
5	Dolphins	Ind
6	Broncos	Cin
7	Giants	Pit
8	Lions	Jac
9	Steelers	NYG
10	Seahawks	Min

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