Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Guide for Top Players and Sleepers

NFL Week 9 features some of the league's top teams—and therefore fantasy players—on bye weeks, which should make for some interesting moves in leagues this week. 

The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, New England Patriots and Washington will all be out the action in Week 9, which means fantasy owners are searching for replacements for everyone from tight end Rob Gronkowski to running back David Johnson and from quarterback Tom Brady to wide receiver A.J. Green. 

Let's take a look at the projected top players at each position group heading into this week's matchups, as well as some projected sleepers. 

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team	Week 9 Opponent
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	vs. IND
2	Drew Brees	NO	@ SF
3	Andrew Luck	IND	@ GB
4	Matt Ryan	ATL	@ TB
5	Dak Prescott	DAL	@ CLE
6	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	@ BAL
7	Cam Newton	CAR	@ LA
8	Jameis Winston	TB	vs. ATL
9	Philip Rivers	SD	vs. TEN
10	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	vs. NYJ
11	Marcus Mariota	TEN	@ SD
12	Sam Bradford	MIN	vs. DET

Top Player: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Is Aaron Rodgers back?

After a slow start to the season, the Packers passer shined against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, passing for 246 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

He also completed 73.7 percent of his passes. Oh, and he did it all without three of his top targets, wide receivers Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery and tight end Jared Cook.

Rodgers hasn't shown enough consistency this season but appears to be on the upswing at the perfect time of the year for fantasy owners. He faces an Indianapolis Colts secondary in Week 9 that is giving up 287.7 passing yards per game, the second-most in the league. 

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team	Week 9 Opponent
1	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	@ CLE
2	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	@ BAL
3	DeMarco Murray	TEN	@ SD
4	Devonta Freeman	ATL	@ TB
5	Jay Ajayi	MIA	vs. NYJ
6	Melvin Gordon	SD	vs. TEN
7	Carlos Hyde	SF	vs. NO
8	Devontae Booker	DEN	@ OAK
9	Christine Michael	SEA	vs. BUF
10	Spencer Ware	KC	vs. JAC
11	Matt Forte	NYJ	@ MIA
12	Todd Gurley	LA	vs. CAR
13	LeSean McCoy	BUF	@ SEA
14	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	@ LA
15	Terrance West	BAL	vs. PIT
16	Frank Gore	IND	@ GB
17	Matt Asiata	MIN	vs. DET
18	Mark Ingram	NO	@ SF
19	Isaiah Crowell	NO	@ SF
20	Latavius Murray	OAK	vs. DEN
21	Rashad Jennings	NYG	vs. PHI
22	Antone Smith	TB	vs. ATL
23	Theo Riddick	DET	@ MIN
24	Derrick Henry	TEN	@ SD
25	Tim Hightower	NO	@ SF
26	Bilal Powell	NYJ	@ MIA
27	Duke Johnson	CLE	vs. DAL
28	Darren Sproles	PHI	@ NYG
29	Ryan Mathews	PHI	@ NYG
30	Mike Gillislee	BUF	@ SEA
31	Peyton Barber	TB	vs. ATL
32	Chris Ivory	JAC	@ KC

Sleeper: Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jacquizz Rodgers might miss the Buccaneers' Thursday night matchup against the Atlanta Falcons with a sprained foot, as ESPN's Jenna Laine reported.

Rodgers' fantasy owners have the option of taking advantage of Tampa Bay's proven production at the position by looking to one of the Bucs' backup rushers.

The problem is knowing whether Peyton Barber and Antone Smith will see more touches. Barber had 61 yards and a touchdown in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers, but when Rodgers suffered the foot injury in Week 8, Smith who saw most of the action. 

That suggests Barber is more of a sleeper in Week 9, but given his previous outings this season, he also seems to have a higher upside. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team	Week 9 Opponent
1	Antonio Brown	PIT	@ BAL
2	Julio Jones	ATL	@ TB
3	Mike Evans	TB	vs. ATL
4	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	vs. PHI
5	T.Y. Hilton	IND	@ GB
6	Brandin Cooks	NO	@ SF
7	Dez Bryant	DAL	@ CLE
8	Jordy Nelson	GB	vs. IND
9	Amari Cooper	OAK	vs. DEN
10	Jarvis Landry	MIA	vs.NYJ
11	Randall Cobb	GB	vs. IND
12	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	@ OAK
13	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	@ LA
14	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	@ MIA
15	Michael Crabtree	OAK	vs. DEN
16	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	@ OAK
17	Ty Montgomery	GB	vs. IND
18	Terrelle Pryor	CLE	vs. DAL
19	Stefon Diggs	MIN	vs. DET
20	Kenny Britt	LA	vs. CAR
21	Michael Thomas	NO	@ SF
22	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. BUF
23	Allen Robinson	JAC	@ KC
24	Jeremy Maclin	KC	vs. JAC
25	Quincy Enunwa	NYJ	@ MIA
26	Mike Wallace	BAL	vs. PIT
27	Donte Moncrief	IND	@ GB
28	Marvin Jones	DET	@ MIN
29	Willie Snead	NO	@ SF
30	Jordan Matthews	PHI	@ NYG
31	Tyrell Williams	SD	vs. TEN
32	Kendall Wright	TEN	@ SD

Sleeper: Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

Packers receiver Ty Montgomery is most likely ranked higher than teammate Davante Adams heading into Week 9 because he also receives a lot of targets out of the backfield, but don't underestimate Adams' potential for production.

In fact, he's caught enough passes over the last two games to make Packers history, as ESPN's Rob Demovksy pointed out:

Sure, Adams' targets may see a dip if Randall Cobb and Montgomery both return to the lineup against the Colts. But Aaron Rodgers has proved time and time again that he'll continue to go to whichever of his weapons is hot and open, meaning that his receivers often end up with lopsided targets and total receptions. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Team	Week 9 Opponent
1	Greg Olsen	CAR	@ LA
2	Delanie Walker	TEN	@ SD
3	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	vs. DET
4	Travis Kelce	KC	vs. JAC
5	Jimmy Graham	SEA	vs. BUF
6	Antonio Gates	SD	vs. TEN
7	Gary Barnidge	CLE	vs. DAL
8	Dennis Pitta	BAL	vs. PIT
9	Coby Fleener	NO	@ SF
10	Julius Thomas	JAC	@ KC
11	Cameron Brate	TB	vs. ATL
12	Jack Doyle	IND	@ GB

Top Target: Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Tennessee's Delanie Walker is quickly climbing the list of top-scoring tight ends in fantasy this season.

Heading into Week 9, he's situated at No. 5 with 58.80 points on the year, helped greatly by his 14.40 points in Week 7.

Walker has also been good for big-play production on a consistent basis in recent weeks. As ESPN's Field Yates noted, Walker has had a catch of at least 20 yards in 10 consecutive games:

Walker has a favorable matchup in Week 9 with a San Diego Chargers secondary giving up 275.1 passing yards and 26.5 points per game. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Week 9 Opponent
1	Chiefs	vs. JAC
2	Vikings	vs. DET
3	Broncos	@ OAK
4	Seahawks	vs. BUF
5	Rams	vs. CAR
6	Panthers	@ LA
7	Packers	vs. IND
8	Eagles	@ NYG
9	Chargers	vs. TEN
10	Titans	@ SD
11	Dolphins	vs. NYJ
12	Lions	@ MIN

Top Unit: Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs defense has been solid in 2016, ranking sixth in total points with 73. That includes 14 sacks, 11 interceptions, five fumble recoveries and three defensive touchdowns. 

They look to be one of the top units in Week 9 with a matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are only averaging 19.9 points per game.

The Jaguars offensive line has also allowed Blake Bortles to take 17 sacks this season. 

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team	Week 9 Opponent
1	Adam Vinatieri	IND	@ GB
2	Mason Crosby	GB	vs. IND
3	Stephen Hauschka	SEA	vs. BUF
4	Matt Bryant	ATL	@ TB
5	Justin Tucker	BAL	vs. PIT
6	Cairo Santos	KC	vs. JAC
7	Dan Bailey	DAL	@ CLE
8	Brandon McManus	DEN	@ OAK
9	Josh Lambo	SD	vs. TEN
10	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	@ NYG
11	Blair Walsh	MIN	vs. DET
12	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	vs. DEN

Top Player: Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts

James Kenney/Associated Press

As much as a kicker can dominate, Adam Vinatieri continues to do so in 2016. He continues to lead all kickers in field goals of 50 or more yards, with five, and is also tied for the second-most successful field goals of 40-49 yards, with six. 

Vinatieri still leads all fantasy kickers in points with 84.

The Colts offense is good enough to consistently get into field-goal range, but not good enough to consistently reach the end zone and convert scores therein, which creates a perfect scenario for Vinatieri owners. 

Rankings, scoring leaders, average draft position and ownership stats via NFL.com and current as of Wednesday, Nov. 2.