Week 9 Fantasy Football Projections: Stat Predictions for Top 100 Players

Week 8 in the NFL was quite possibly one of the highest-scoring weeks in fantasy football history.

Ben Roethlisberger torched the Indianapolis Colts for a preposterous 522 yards and six scores. Three other quarterbacks surpassed 400 yards, another five passed the 300-yard mark and 11 in total scored at least 20 fantasy points.

Unsurprisingly (someone has to catch the passes), wide receivers and tight ends were similarly off the charts. Twelve players tallied at least 100 yards and a touchdown, including Emmanuel Sanders and Rob Gronkowski, who each found the end zone thrice.

In the running game, Arian Foster joined the three-touchdown club, DeMarco Murray finished with more than 200 yards from scrimmage, Mark Ingram had the best game of his career and several others ate like it was Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, with a whopping six teams on bye, Week 9 isn't going to be nearly as kind to fantasy owners. Let's take an early look at projections for the top 100 individual players.

Thursday, Oct. 30	Time (ET)
Sunday, Nov. 2	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 3	Time (ET)
New Orleans at Carolina	8:25 p.m.
Washington at Minnesota	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Arizona at Dallas	1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Houston	1 p.m.
NY Jets at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
San Diego at Miami	1 p.m.
St. Louis at San Francisco	4:05 p.m.
Denver at New England	4:25 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle	4:25 p.m.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh	8:30 p.m.
Indianapolis at NY Giants	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projections
1	Peyton Manning, DEN	285 PAS, 3 TD, 1 INT
2	Andrew Luck, IND	360 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
3	Drew Brees, NO	335 PAS, 3 TD
4	Cam Newton, CAR	245 PAS, 45 RUS, 2 TD, 1 INT
5	Tom Brady, NE	250 PAS, 2 TD
6	Philip Rivers, SD	275 PAS, 3 TD, 1 INT
7	Nick Foles, PHI	300 PAS, 1 TD, 2 INT
8	Carson Palmer, ARI	300 PAS, 2 TD
9	Russell Wilson, SEA	245 PAS, 20 RUS, 2 TD
10	Tony Romo, DAL	235 PAS, 1 TD, 1 INT
11	Colin Kaepernick, SF	280 PAS, 30 RUS, 2 TD
12	Andy Dalton, CIN	280 PAS, 1 TD
13	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	275 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
14	Eli Manning, NYG	290 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
15	Ryan Tannehill, MIA	225 PAS, 50 RUS, 1 TD
16	Joe Flacco, BAL	250 PAS, 2 TD, 2 INT
17	Alex Smith, KC	230 PAS, 25 RUS, 2 TD
18	Colt McCoy, WAS	255 PAS, 20 RUS, 1 TD
19	Brian Hoyer, CLE	265 PAS, 2 TD
20	Austin Davis, STL	185 PAS, 1 TD, 1 INT

Sleeper: Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

Alex Smith is the game-manager-iest game manager who ever game managered. He is 28th in the NFL in both pass attempts per game (30.6) and passing yards per game (213.7). Jimmy Garoppolo, T.J. Yates, Zach Mettenberger and Mohamed Sanu are among the list of players who have completed a longer pass than him.

Sunday was another example of his downfield limits, as noted by Pro Football Focus' Pat Thorman:

Smith doesn't turn the ball over and is a reason the Chiefs are 4-3, so he's fine in real life, but that kind of offense just isn't conducive to great fantasy success. Except against the Jets.

Take a look at how opposing quarterbacks have fared against New York's porous secondary:

Player	Yds	TD	Int	Fan Pts
Derek Carr, OAK	151	2	0	13.94
Aaron Rodgers, GB	346	3	0	28.64
Jay Cutler, CHI	225	2	0	16.40
Matthew Stafford, DET	293	2	0	26.52
Philip Rivers, SD	288	3	1	21.82
Peyton Manning, DEN	237	3	0	21.48
Tom Brady, NE	261	3	0	22.44
Kyle Orton, BUF	238	4	0	26.12

Granted, that's an absolutely brutal stretch from Weeks 2 through 8, but Kyle Orton's insane 1.54 fantasy points per pass attempt on Sunday suggests this is a matchup to take advantage of.

Smith's yardage upside is limited, but he's a sneaky bet for multiple touchdowns in this one. With Orton, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers all on a bye, Smith is a top-15 option.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projections
1	DeMarco Murray, DAL	95 RUS, 45 REC, 1 TD
2	Arian Foster, HOU	100 RUS, 30 REC, 2 TD
3	Andre Ellington, ARI	60 RUS, 60 REC
4	Jamaal Charles, KC	55 RUS, 40 REC, 1 TD
5	LeSean McCoy, PHI	105 RUS, 20 REC, 2 TD
6	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	55 RUS, 75 REC
7	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	125 RUS, 2 TD
8	Ronnie Hillman, DEN	85 RUS, 25 REC
9	Lamar Miller, MIA	75 RUS, 20 REC
10	Mark Ingram, NO	120 RUS, 1 TD
11	Ahmad Bradshaw, IND	45 RUS, 50 REC, 1 TD
12	Jerick McKinnon, MIN	95 RUS, 30 REC, 1 TD
13	Branden Oliver, SD	55 RUS, 45 REC, 1 TD
14	Ben Tate, CLE	85 RUS, 1 TD
15	Justin Forsett, BAL	80 RUS, 25 REC
16	Frank Gore, SF	75 RUS
17	Giovani Bernard, CIN	50 RUS, 50 REC
18	Chris Ivory, NYJ	65 RUS, 15 REC
19	Jonas Gray, NE	30 RUS
20	Denard Robinson, JAX	80 RUS
21	Alfred Morris, WAS	85 RUS, 1 TD
22	Andre Williams, NYG	60 RUS
23	Trent Richardson, IND	30 RUS, 15 REC
24	Darren McFadden, OAK	45 RUS, 20 REC
25	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	60 RUS
26	Shane Vereen, NE	20 RUS, 25 REC
27	Tre Mason, STL	45 RUS
28	Lorenzo Taliaferro, BAL	30 RUS, 1 TD
29	Travaris Cadet, NO	65 REC, 1 TD
30	Chris Johnson, NYJ	15 RUS, 20 REC

Sleeper: Travaris Cadet, New Orleans Saints

USA TODAY Sports

With Pierre Thomas almost assuredly out for Thursday night's contest against the Carolina Panthers, Travaris Cadet will continue to handle many of the passing downs for the Saints.

The third-year back is unlikely to see any carries, but in his last four games, he has racked up 19 catches for 169 yards. Although he's a much more desperate play in standard leagues, he holds RB2 upside in PPR leagues, especially against the Panthers.

Carolina is getting gashed on the ground, but it has also struggled to reel in pass-catching running backs.

Joique Bell had six catches against the Panthers. Matt Forte pulled in a season-high 12. Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill had four each in the same game. Marshawn Lynch would have had a receiving touchdown on Sunday if not for a drop.

Cadet will be a PPR gold mine on Thursday.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projections
1	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	125 REC, 1 TD
2	Antonio Brown, PIT	100 REC
3	Dez Bryant, DAL	80 REC, 1 TD
4	Jeremy Maclin, PHI	75 REC
5	T.Y. Hilton, IND	130 REC, 1 TD
6	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	60 REC
7	A.J. Green, CIN	80 REC
8	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR	105 REC, 1 TD
9	Steve Smith, BAL	75 REC
10	Mike Wallace, MIA	65 REC, 1 TD
11	Andre Johnson, HOU	75 REC
12	Doug Baldwin, SEA	55 REC, 1 TD
13	Brandon LaFell, NE	65 REC
14	Rueben Randle, NYG	90 REC, 2 TD
15	Vincent Jackson, TB	115 REC, 1 TD
16	Keenan Allen, SD	60 REC, 1 TD
17	Marques Colston, NO	65 REC
18	Pierre Garcon, WAS	40 REC
19	Reggie Wayne, IND	45 REC
20	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	50 REC
21	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	95 REC, 1 TD
22	Andrew Hawkins, CLE	90 REC
23	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	75 REC
24	Mohamed Sanu, CIN	85 REC, 1 TD
25	Brandin Cooks, NO	80 REC, 20 RUS
26	Andre Holmes, OAK	45 REC
27	Wes Welker, DEN	30 REC
28	Allen Robinson, JAX	85 REC
29	Julian Edelman, NE	30 REC
30	Anquan Boldin, SF	75 REC
31	Michael Floyd, ARI	80 REC, 1 TD
32	DeSean Jackson, WAS	105 REC, 1 TD
33	Terrance Williams, DAL	65 REC
34	Eric Decker, NYJ	70 REC, 1 TD
35	Dwayne Bowe, KC	75 REC

Sleeper: Rueben Randle, New York Giants

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

In the last five games, Rueben Randle has amassed 48 targets, with 16 of those coming inside the red zone. That's an average of 9.6 and 3.2, respectively.

While he hasn't been able to produce spectacular numbers, the opportunity is there. And with Victor Cruz sidelined for the rest of the season, the opportunity will continue to be there.

"The other guy that can do certain things in the slot for us is Reuben because he's smart and he's a big target in the middle of the field," wide receivers coach Sean Ryan said, via NJ.com's Jordan Raanan.

Moreover, Randle, coming off a bye week, gets a tantalizing matchup in Week 9. The Indianapolis Colts are coming off an embarrassing effort against Ben Roethlisberger, and the status of stud corner Vontae Davis may continue their defensive woes, as Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke noted:

If Davis is inactive, Randle is going to have a massive week.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projections
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	105 REC, 2 TD
2	Julius Thomas, DEN	45 REC, 2 TD
3	Jimmy Graham, NO	80 REC, 1 TD
4	Antonio Gates, SD	50 REC, 2 TD
5	Greg Olsen, CAR	60 REC
6	Jordan Reed, WAS	75 REC
7	Vernon Davis, SF	50 REC
8	Dwayne Allen, IND	45 REC, 1 TD
9	Heath Miller, PIT	30 REC
10	Zach Ertz, PHI	85 REC, 1 TD
11	Jared Cook, STL	65 REC
12	Travis Kelce, KC	70 REC, 1 TD
13	Jason Witten, DAL	25 REC
14	Larry Donnell, NYG	70 REC
15	Charles Clay, MIA	50 REC

Sleeper: Mychal Rivera, Oakland Raiders

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Pretty much nonexistent from the passing game in the previous two weeks, Mychal Rivera exploded for 83 yards on seven receptions against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

The Tennessee product is talented and can get plenty of separation, as he proved in his rookie campaign, and he's on the field a lot, as the Contra Costa Times' Steve Corkran pointed out:

Talent plus opportunity. That's a recipe for fantasy success. All that's left is developing chemistry with rookie quarterback Derek Carr, and it would appear that's beginning to happen.

Typically playing anyone against the Seahawks in Seattle is a no-no. But while Pete Carroll's squad did a nice job shutting down Greg Olsen this week, the 'Hawks are dealing with a slew of injuries at linebacker and have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends already this season.

If you're without Martellus Bennett or Delanie Walker, roll the dice with Rivera.