Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Latest Position-by-Position Rundown

Coming up with a winning fantasy football lineup during any given week is difficult enough with a full allotment of weapons, but the task becomes even tougher when byes enter the equation.

That is the case in Week 9, as six teams are off, including fantasy-friendly squads such as the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. With so many elite contributors unavailable this week, fantasy owners have no choice but to get creative.

At the same time, there are still plenty of top-flight options available, and fantasy participants will need their stud players to come through this week in particular.

Here is a rundown of rankings at every position for Week 9 as well as a closer look at some of the biggest potential scorers.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Peyton Manning	DEN	NE
2	Tom Brady	NE	DEN
3	Andrew Luck	IND	NYG
4	Russell Wilson	SEA	OAK
5	Colin Kaepernick	SF	STL
6	Philip Rivers	SD	MIA
7	Andy Dalton	CIN	JAC
8	Nick Foles	PHI	HOU
9	Carson Palmer	ARI	DAL
10	Eli Manning	NYG	IND
11	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	BAL
12	Robert Griffin III	WAS	MIN
13	Alex Smith	KC	NYJ
14	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	SD
15	Brian Hoyer	CLE	TB
16	Tony Romo	DAL	ARI
17	Ryan Fitzpatrick	HOU	PHI
18	Joe Flacco	BAL	PIT
19	Michael Vick	NYJ	KC
20	Teddy Bridgewater	MIN	WAS

No player in the NFL is more matchup-proof than Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. He is the No. 1 signal-caller in fantasy football regardless of who he faces, and that remains true this week when he takes on the rival New England Patriots.

The Pats have actually been tough on opposing quarterbacks this season, as they are allowing just 211 passing yards per game, but Manning is absolutely locked in right now. With 14 touchdown passes over his past four games, it can be argued that No. 18 is playing better now than ever before.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has had to go up against Manning on many occasions over the years, and he has nothing but good things to say about the future Hall of Famer, according to Lee Schechter of ESPNBoston.com:

"

I mean, (Manning is) great, he's obviously a great quarterback. The best quarterback I've coached against. ... Not to take anything away from the (Joe) Montanas, (Dan) Marinos and (John) Elways or whoever is up there with those guys, but (Manning) is tough. ... He's good at everything. He's good at everything. I see no weaknesses in his game.

"

Belichick just so happens to coach an all-time great quarterback as well in the form of Tom Brady. Since Brady figures to have a strong statistical performance in his own right, Manning will have no choice but to keep pace.

This game has all the makings of a shootout, which means that both quarterbacks—as well as their main targets—will be in for a fantasy bonanza.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Jamaal Charles	KC	NYJ
2	DeMarco Murray	DAL	ARI
3	Arian Foster	HOU	PHI
4	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	OAK
5	Andre Ellington	ARI	DAL
6	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	BAL
7	Lamar Miller	MIA	SD
8	LeSean McCoy	PHI	HOU
9	Ahmad Bradshaw	IND	NYG
10	Alfred Morris	WAS	MIN
11	Ronnie Hillman	DEN	NE
12	Frank Gore	SF	STL
13	Ben Tate	CLE	TB
14	Branden Oliver	SD	MIA
15	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	WAS
16	Jeremy Hill	CIN	JAC
17	Justin Forsett	BAL	PIT
18	Denard Robinson	JAC	CIN
19	Andre Williams	NYG	IND
20	Shane Vereen	NE	DEN
21	Chris Ivory	NYJ	KC
22	Bobby Rainey	TB	CLE
23	Darren McFadden	OAK	SEA
24	Lorenzo Taliaferro	BAL	PIT
25	Darren Sproles	PHI	HOU
26	Tre Mason	STL	SF
27	Jonas Gray	NE	DEN
28	Trent Richardson	IND	NYG
29	Charles Sims	TB	CLE
30	Juwan Thompson	DEN	NE

The league-wide running back situation has largely been enigmatic all season long, and that doesn't get any easier when a bunch of startable rushers are on a bye. Kansas City Chiefs back Jamaal Charles is one of the NFL's few workhorses, though, and he is in line for a fantasy outburst Sunday against the New York Jets.

Despite the Jets defense ranking fifth against the run at 85 yards allowed per game, there is reason to believe that Charles will thrive. That is due to the fact that New York recently let a pair of small, speedy backs crack the 100-yard barrier in the form of San Diego Chargers rookie Branden Oliver and Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman.

Charles fits that profile, but he is also far more accomplished than Oliver and Hillman. After accruing nearly 2,000 total yards last season, Charles is once again in fine form with a yards-per-carry average of 4.6 and six total touchdowns.

Charles is playing so well, in fact, that he seems to have Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson a bit on edge, per Seth Walder of the New York Daily News:

"

You also see highlight tapes, too, so I don't have to sit here and repeat why he's good. I don't want to ride his jockstrap. He's good. Alright? That's it.

"

The Jets are reeling as a whole right now, and Charles will take advantage of that in Week 9 with another great outing.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Antonio Brown	PIT	BAL
2	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	HOU
3	T.Y. Hilton	IND	NYG
4	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	NE
5	Dez Bryant	DAL	ARI
6	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	NE
7	DeSean Jackson	WAS	MIN
8	A.J. Green	CIN	JAC
9	Steve Smith	BAL	PIT
10	Mike Wallace	MIA	SD
11	Andre Johnson	HOU	PHI
12	Rueben Randle	NYG	IND
13	Doug Baldwin	SEA	OAK
14	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	PHI
15	Brandon LaFell	NE	DEN
16	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	DAL
17	Keenan Allen	SD	MIA
18	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	JAC
19	Julian Edelman	NE	DEN
20	Pierre Garcon	WAS	MIN
21	Michael Floyd	ARI	DAL
22	Vincent Jackson	TB	CLE
23	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	IND
24	Allen Robinson	JAC	CIN
25	Michael Crabtree	SF	STL
26	Wes Welker	DEN	NE
27	Terrance Williams	DAL	ARI
28	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	TB
29	Percy Harvin	NYJ	KC
30	Torrey Smith	BAL	PIT

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown broke out in a big way last season with nearly 1,500 yards in his first year as a No. 1 guy. Brown is on pace to surpass that in 2014 with over 850 yards and seven touchdowns through seven games, and there is reason to believe that he will continue to roll in Week 9.

Brown will go up against a solid Baltimore Ravens defense, but he managed to catch seven balls for 90 yards against the unit earlier in the season. In fact, Brown doesn't have less than five receptions for 84 yards in any contest this year.

He is coming off his best game, as he made 10 grabs for 133 yards and two touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts. Brown is playing MVP-caliber football, which prompted Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to compare his level of play to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, according to NFL on ESPN:

The validity of that comparison is up for debate, but Brown's dominance certainly isn't. He is as automatic as they come from a fantasy perspective, and he will once again put up big numbers in Week 9 despite the tough divisional matchup.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	DEN
2	Julius Thomas	DEN	NE
3	Antonio Gates	SD	MIA
4	Jordan Reed	WAS	MIN
5	Larry Donnell	NYG	IND
6	Jason Witten	DAL	ARI
7	Dwayne Allen	IND	NYG
8	Travis Kelce	KC	NYJ
9	Vernon Davis	SF	STL
10	Zach Ertz	PHI	HOU
11	Heath Miller	PIT	BAL
12	Tim Wright	NE	DEN
13	Jace Amaro	NYJ	KC
14	Jared Cook	STL	SF
15	Coby Fleener	IND	NYG
16	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	JAC
17	Charles Clay	MIA	SD
18	Clay Harbor	JAC	CIN
19	Mychal Rivera	OAK	SEA
20	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TB	CLE

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been plagued with injuries over the past couple seasons, but Gronk finally appears to have returned to form.

He isn't quite at the level he was in 2011 when he caught 90 passes for over 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns; however, he isn't too far off. Gronkowski currently has 558 yards and seven scores to his credit despite being eased back into action during the opening month following offseason surgery.

The Chicago Bears simply couldn't handle Gronk last week, as he found the end zone three times. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Brady simply couldn't miss when throwing to either Gronkowski or wide receiver Brandon LaFell:

Denver has a solid pass defense that is allowing 243 yards per contest through the air, but Gronk is a matchup nightmare whom the Broncos simply won't have an answer for.

Gronkowski has arguably surpassed both Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints and Broncos star Julius Thomas as the No. 1 tight end in fantasy, and he will show everyone why in Week 9.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	DEN
2	Adam Vinatieri	IND	NYG
3	Cody Parkey	PHI	HOU
4	Steven Hauschka	SEA	OAK
5	Dan Bailey	DAL	ARI
6	Phil Dawson	SF	STL
7	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	DAL
8	Justin Tucker	BAL	PIT
9	Brandon McManus	DEN	NE
10	Cairo Santos	KC	NYJ
11	Nick Novak	SD	MIA
12	Mike Nugent	CIN	JAC

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent
1	Bengals	CIN	JAC
2	Chiefs	KC	NYJ
3	Seahawks	SEA	OAK
4	49ers	SF	STL
5	Browns	CLE	TB
6	Eagles	PHI	HOU
7	Ravens	BAL	PIT
8	Dolphins	MIA	SD
9	Colts	IND	NYG
10	Vikings	MIN	WAS
11	Cardinals	ARI	DAL
12	Steelers	PIT	BAL

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