Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

Halloween is a pretty amazing holiday, but certain behaviors would just be weird at a different time in the year.

Can you imagine asking a random stranger for candy in the middle of the summer? Or randomly dressing up in a superhero costume on some random day in the spring (Comic-Con attendees are obviously the exception)? Or decorating your yard with skeletons and witches for Christmas?

The point is, some activities are best done on certain days or alongside certain activities. Halloween plus pumpkin beer is a great combination. St. Patrick's Day plus pumpkin beer is not. 

Below, I think I've found a few perfect combinations for your fantasy lineup, as I matched some of fantasy's top options with the best matchups of the week. It's all treat and no trick, I promise.

Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 2	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 3	Time (ET)
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	Projected Points
1	Andrew Luck	24
2	Peyton Manning	23
3	Tom Brady	20
4	Colin Kaepernick	19
5	Russell Wilson	18
6	Philip Rivers	18
7	Tony Romo*	17
8	Nick Foles	17
9	Eli Manning	16
10	Andy Dalton	15
11	Alex Smith	15
12	Joe Flacco	15
13	Ben Roethlisberger	14
14	Carson Palmer	14
15	Ryan Tannehill	13

What's not to like about Tom Brady right now?

All he's done in his last four games is earn fantasy owners 106 points, with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in that time. He's red-hot, folks, and he'll be facing the Denver Broncos in a game that has "shootout" written all over it. 

The Broncos are giving up 17.4 fantasy points per week, 24th in the NFL, and the other quarterback in this game, Peyton Manning, is going to throw the ball around all night and put plenty of points on the board and ensure that Brady has to keep the Pats chugging along through the air to keep up. 

This game should be a boon for fantasy owners. Enjoy the show.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

And then there's Colin Kaepernick facing the St. Louis Rams, a team he torched for 28 fantasy points in Week 6. That should be enough to convince you that Kaepernick is a great selection, but he's also coming off a bye so he's had an extra week to prepare, and the Rams gave up 36 fantasy points to another mobile quarterback, Russell Wilson, in Week 7. 

You can practically see the fantasy points piling on top of one another, can't you? Get Kaepernick in those starting lineups. 

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Marshawn Lynch	20
2	Arian Foster	20
3	Ahmad Bradshaw	18
4	Jamaal Charles	17
5	LeSean McCoy	16
6	DeMarco Murray	16
7	Ronnie Hillman	15
8	Giovani Bernard*	15
9	Alfred Morris	14
10	Andre Ellington	14
11	Le'Veon Bell	14
12	Lamar Miller	14
13	Frank Gore	13
14	Branden Oliver	12
15	Justin Forsett	12
16	Chris Ivory	11
17	Darren Sproles*	10
18	Trent Richardson	10
19	Jerick McKinnon	9
20	Ben Tate	9
21	Denard Robinson	9
22	Shane Vereen	8
23	Andre Williams	7
24	Lorenzo Taliaferro	6
25	Darren McFadden	6

You might think that picking Marshawn Lynch is a bit of a cop-out, but he's scored only six fantasy points in three consecutive games. Beast Mode has been more like Pie A La Mode for opposing defenses of late. 

Still, if the Oakland Raiders defense had a nickname it would probably be E-Z Pass, since they let opposing offenses drive right through them. They are particularly accommodating to opposing running backs, and have given up 20 or more fantasy points to the position five times and 30 or more points twice. 

If fantasy points were Skittles, Lynch owners would probably end up with a few cavities on Sunday.

Ahmad Bradshaw has been awesome for the fantasy players who scooped him up this season. He has double-digit points in all but two weeks and has gone for eight or more points in seven of eight weeks. While his touchdown production probably isn't sustainable—he already has six touchdown receptions!—his role on the Indianapolis Colts will keep his value high.

The New York Giants aren't about to change that. The Giants have now given up 20 or more fantasy points to opposing running backs in four consecutive games. While Trent Richardson might dip into that pool of fantasy points, expect Bradshaw to earn the bigger piece of the pie. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Dez Bryant	20
2	Antonio Brown	19
3	Jeremy Maclin	18
4	A.J. Green*	17
5	Demaryius Thomas	17
6	Andre Johnson	15
7	DeAndre Hopkins	15
8	Steve Smith	14
9	Mike Wallace	13
10	T.Y. Hilton	13
11	DeSean Jackson	13
12	Emmanuel Sanders	12
13	Pierre Garcon	11
14	Michael Crabtree	11
15	Torrey Smith	10
16	Vincent Jackson	10
17	Terrance Williams	10
18	Anquan Boldin	10
19	Mike Evans	9
20	Mohamed Sanu	9
21	Michael Floyd	8
22	Larry Fitzgerald	8
23	Brandon LaFell	8
24	Julian Edelman	8
25	Percy Harvin	7
26	Eric Decker	7
27	Rueben Randle	6
28	Odell Beckham Jr.	6
29	Keenan Allen	6
30	Malcom Floyd	6

DeMarco Murray might get all of the hype, but Dez Bryant is once again having an excellent season in his own right, with 48 receptions for 620 yards and five touchdowns on 77 targets. And it's really hard to imagine how the Arizona Cardinals are going to slow him down.

The Cardinals are giving up a whopping 27.4 fantasy points to opposing wideouts per week, 31st in the NFL, and they just allowed Jeremy Maclin to score 30 fantasy points against them last week. If Brandon Weeden ends up having to start, Bryant's upside is hurt somewhat, but he's still a safe bet to post big numbers against Arizona.  

You also have to love Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins against the beleaguered secondary of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Birds have allowed opposing wide receivers to total 32 or more fantasy points four times this season, so both Johnson and Hopkins could absolutely feast this week. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	18
2	Julius Thomas	16
3	Travis Kelce	14
4	Antonio Gates	13
5	Dwayne Allen	11
6	Jordan Cameron	10
7	Larry Donnell	9
8	Jason Witten	9
9	Owen Daniels*	8
10	Zach Ertz	8
11	Vernon Davis	7
12	Jordan Reed	7

The Kansas City Chiefs don't have many great options out wide in the passing attack, but with Travis Kelce at tight end they at least have a weapon for Alex Smith to utilize. 

This week, they face a New York Jets defense that has given up 22 passing touchdowns this year—yes, you read that correctly, 22 passing touchdowns!—easily the worst mark in the NFL. Tight ends have accounted for nine of those scores, and the Jets have given up 10 or more fantasy points to opposing tight ends in five of their last six games.

Kelce has slumped a bit in his last two games, with just seven total fantasy points, but he should get out of the slump in a big way this week. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Defense	Projected Points
1	Seattle Seahawks	15
2	Cincinnati Bengals	13
3	Kansas City Chiefs	13
4	San Francisco 49ers	12
5	San Diego Chargers	11
6	Miami Dolphins	10
7	Indianapolis Colts	9
8	Minnesota Vikings	9
9	Philadelphia Eagles	8
10	Baltimore Ravens	8

I'm sorry, Jacksonville Jaguars fans, but I literally pick the defense that is playing your team for this slot almost every single week. And every single week, the Jags prove me correct. 

My hands are tied here. The Jags give up 15.1 fantasy points per week to opposing defenses, easily the worst in the league. The fewest points they've given up to an opposing defense is eight, and they've only done that once. Every other week, they've sacrificed double-digit points. I mean, this section literally writes itself. 

The Cincinnati Bengals haven't been great on defense this year, but I virtually guarantee they'll look like world beaters this week.

Kickers

Rank	Kicker	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	15
2	Adam Vinatieri	14
3	Justin Tucker	13
4	Randy Bullock	13
5	Shaun Suisham	12
6	Cody Parkey	11
7	Blair Walsh	11
8	Chandler Catanzaro	10
9	Nick Novak	10
10	Dan Bailey	10

Did you read the part earlier about the Broncos and Patriots likely dueling in a shootout? Then you can understand why Stephen Gostkowski—who is also the top kicker in fantasy this season, by the way—has a matchup I love this week. 

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than a J.J. Watt selfie.