Fantasy Football Week 9: Updated Rankings for Sunday's Action

The early occupants of positional fantasy football rankings usually entail a veritable assortment of superstars. Week 9, however, looks bleak on the mountaintop with six teams on a bye.

If all of those inactive squads didn't hurt enough, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are now off the table after playing on Thursday night. The condensed playing field will lead to some unusual names sneaking up into the top tiers of this week's rankings.

No position is safe from this weekend's star scarcity. Alas, the show must go on. The prepared, savvy gamer more than ever will gain a leg up on the competition for exploiting his or her encyclopedia of knowledge deep down the player well.

Let's rank away before it's time for another football Sunday.

Quarterback

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Peyton Manning	at New England
2	Andrew Luck	at NY Giants
3	Tom Brady	Denver
4	Philip Rivers	at Miami
5	Colin Kaepernick	St. Louis
6	Nick Foles	at Houston
7	Russell Wilson	Oakland
8	Ben Roethlisberger	Baltimore
9	Carson Palmer	at Dallas
10	Andy Dalton	Jacksonville
11	Alex Smith	NY Jets
12	Joe Flacco	at Pittsburgh
13	Eli Manning	Indianapolis
14	Ryan Tannehill	San Diego
15	Tony Romo	Arizona

Notably buried down the list, Tony Romo's uncertainty to play expelled him from the top 12 quarterback plays.

The quarterback left Monday night's surprising loss to Washington with a back injury, putting his Week 9 availability in turmoil. Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has not made an announcement yet, and ESPN.com's Todd Archer reported that he refuses to write off his veteran signal-caller for this Sunday's pivotal NFC showdown against the 6-1 Arizona Cardinals.

"He's not ruled out for this game by any means," Garrett said. "He's getting himself mentally ready. He's in the meetings. He's a part of our football team, and hopefully as the week goes on, it feels better and he can function and it'll give him a chance to play."

It's cruddy timing for Romo's fantasy owners, as the Cardinals hold the NFL's worst passing defense, allowing 302.9 yards per game through the air. If healthy, he's a top-five play with many top names out of consideration.

Let's shift gears to Dallas' opponent, as Carson Palmer has tallied two touchdowns in all four games played this season while amassing at least 250 yards during each contest. 

Dallas' defense has outperformed expectations, but the unit got lit up by Colt McCoy for 299 yards with a 83.3 completion percentage. With so many viable passers out of commission this weekend, Palmer becomes one of the best remaining options.

QB Sleeper: Robert Griffin III, Washington (at Minnesota Vikings)

Running Back

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Jamaal Charles	NY Jets
2	DeMarco Murray	Arizona
3	Arian Foster	Philadelphia
4	Andre Ellington	at Dallas
5	Marshawn Lynch	Oakland
6	LeSean McCoy	at Houston
7	Le'Veon Bell	Baltimore
8	Ronnie Hillman	at New England
9	Ahmad Bradshaw	at NY Giants
10	Lamar Miller	San Diego
11	Jeremy Hill	Jacksonville
12	Alfred Morris	at Minnesota
13	Ben Tate	Tampa Bay
14	Branden Oliver	at Miami
15	Justin Forsett	at Pittsburgh
16	Jerick McKinnon	Washington
17	Frank Gore	St. Louis
18	Chris Ivory	at Kansas City
19	Denard Robinson	at Cincinnati
20	Shane Vereen	Denver
21	Andre Williams	Indianapolis
22	Bobby Rainey	at Cleveland
23	Trent Richardson	at NY Giants
24	Tre Mason	at San Francisco
25	Lorenzo Taliaferro	at Pittsburgh

LeSean McCoy has not scored a touchdown since Week 2, yet his owners should still feel confident that they avoided a true crisis with their first-round selection.

The star running back terrified owners when he combined for 39 total yards on 29 carries during Weeks 3 and 4. Gaining 86 yards on 28 touches the following week against the St. Louis Rams certainly didn't halt screeches of panic either, but the 26-year-old has played much better in his past two games.

Against the New York Giants, he generated his first 100-yard rushing output of the season, finishing with 149 yards on the ground. Even though last week's 83 yards on 21 carries doesn't look spectacular, it happened against the Arizona Cardinals, who entered Week 8 boasting the NFL's premier rushing defense.

Andy Dalton has one more rushing touchdown than McCoy, who totaled 2,146 yards from scrimmage last year. Touchdowns are unpredictable, but a rusher who regularly gets 20 carries for a top-five offense is primed to receive some goal-line looks.

The Houston Texans are above-average against the run, but not enough to shy away from McCoy. They're ranked No. 12 in rushing defense and No. 15 with 4.1 yards allowed per carry, a far more manageable opponent than Arizona. Don't be surprised if this is the week McCoy goes off for an all-encompassing fantasy performance.

RB Sleeper: Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers (vs. St. Louis Rams)

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Antonio Brown	Baltimore
2	Demaryius Thomas	at New England
3	Dez Bryant	Arizona
4	Jeremy Maclin	at Houston
5	T.Y. Hilton	at NY Giants
6	Steve Smith	at Pittsburgh
7	Andre Johnson	Philadelphia
8	Emmanuel Sanders	at New England
9	A.J. Green	Jacksonville
10	DeSean Jackson	at Minnesota
11	Mike Wallace	San Diego
12	DeAndre Hopkins	Philadelphia
13	Rueben Randle	Indianapolis
14	Keenan Allen	at Miami
15	Mohamed Sanu	Jacksonville
16	Brandon LaFell	Denver
17	Vincent Jackson	at Cleveland
18	Odell Beckham Jr.	Indianapolis
19	Terrance Williams	Arizona
20	Pierre Garcon	at Minnesota
21	Michael Floyd	at Dallas
22	Larry Fitzgerald	at Dallas
23	Doug Baldwin	Oakland
24	Michael Crabtree	St. Louis
25	Andrew Hawkins	Tampa Bay

The Indianapolis Colts allowed 522 passing yards, six passing touchdowns and 51 points last week. Eli Manning is on pace to set career bests in completion percentage (64.9), quarterback rating (96.8) and QBR (78.4), ranking fourth behind Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers in ESPN's quarterback concoction.

He's a solid plug-in who barely missed the top-10 cut at quarterback, but his two wide receivers are more interesting. 

Even before Victor Cruz suffered a season-ending injury, Rueben Randle gradually enjoyed a high usage rate. Since a dreadful season opener, the third-year wideout is averaging 9.2 targets per game. Chris Raybon of 4for4football.com further detailed his heavy involvement in the New York Giants passing game:

Despite all those looks deep down the field, Randle has only two touchdowns to his name. As always, there's a hearty dose of random variance there, but Odell Beckham Jr. has given him some healthy competition with three scores through as many games.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

The first-round pick has 10 catches and 106 receiving yards over that trio of contests, so Randle is still the better option despite accumulating fewer touchdowns. Yet Beckham has touted great speed that will eventually get utilized deeper down the field, giving him a chance to truly break out.

Either one is worth a start against the slumping Colts.

WR Sleeper: Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. New York Jets)

Tight End

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski	Denver
2	Julius Thomas	at New England
3	Antonio Gates	at Miami
4	Jordan Reed	at Minnesota
5	Dwayne Allen	at NY Giants
6	Travis Kelce	NY Jets
7	Jason Witten	Arizona
8	Zach Ertz	at Houston
9	Larry Donnell	Indianapolis
10	Vernon Davis	St. Louis

Tight end is not a position that can withstand the blemish of a diminished talent pool. Top-10 stalwarts Martellus Bennett and Delanie Walker are on a bye, and Jimmy Graham and Greg Olsen already suited up on Thursday night.

For those scratching your head wondering how Dwayne Allen and Jordan Reed stumbled into the top five, there you go. Pickings are slim at the moment.

Allen and Reed have very little in common. While Allen has reached the end zone in five of his last six games, Reed is still searching for his first touchdown of 2014.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

While Allen is a massive target for Andrew Luck, who rarely struggles to generate red-zone opportunities, the tight end now has six scores on 22 receptions and 35 targets. Expecting that stretch to continue is a dicey proposition, but now is not the week to bank on regression to the mean.

Reed, meanwhile, has 21 catches on 25 targets through four games. Last year, he averaged five catches and 55 yards per game with Robert Griffin III running the show. Those aren't revolutionary numbers, but a fantasy owner can derive much worse from the position, especially with 12 NFL games remaining on the Week 9 schedule.

TE Sleeper: Clay Harbor, Jacksonville Jaguars (at Cincinnati Bengals)

Defense

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	Cincinnati Bengals	Jacksonville
2	Kansas City Chiefs	NY Jets
3	Seattle Seahawks	Oakland
4	San Francisco 49ers	St. Louis
5	Cleveland Browns	Tampa Bay
6	Philadelphia Eagles	at Houston
7	Minnesota Vikings	Washington
8	Washington Redskins	at Minnesota
9	Indianapolis Colts	at NY Giants
10	Houston Texans	Philadelphia Eagles

This is a difficult week to stream a defense. The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are both gift-wrapped tremendous matchups, but chances are those squads are already accounted for. 

Despite disappointing starts, few owners have given up on the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. That patience will get rewarded with friendlier competition in Week 9. If you can get your hands on one of those four defenses, by all means do it. For everyone else, locating a bye-week replacement or matchup play is tougher.

Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

In a week with few tremendous options, the Cleveland Browns are the best choice on the board. They can thank the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who rank last in total offense. Cleveland is no defensive juggernaut, and the club didn't fully capitalize on other fruitful matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders.

Again, nobody is swimming in guaranteed points from defense this weekend. It's better than counting on the Broncos and Patriots not engaging in a shootout.

D/ST Sleeper: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys (if Romo doesn't play)

Kicker

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Stephen Gostkowski	Denver
2	Justin Tucker	at Pittsburgh
3	Adam Vinatieri	at NY Giants
4	Steven Hauschka	Oakland
5	Brandon McManus	at New England
6	Chandler Catanzaro	at Dallas
7	Phil Dawson	St. Louis
8	Mike Nugent	Jacksonville
9	Cody Parkey	at Houston
10	Blair Walsh	Washington

Lost in the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive explosion against the Colts is a defense that has yielded 88 points during their past three games. Kickers benefit from facing the Steel Curtain, submitting the fourth-most fantasy points in ESPN standard scoring. 

Justin Tucker deserves most of the credit, as he converted four field goals during their Week 2 clash. The Baltimore Ravens kicker booted two 50-plus yarders last weekend and hoists a pristine 90.5 percent success rate on all attempts since joining Baltimore in 2012.

Four sentences too many for a kicker? Sorry. Start Tucker.

K Sleeper: Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. New York Jets)