What Are the Comfort Levels for Fantasy Studs Heading into Week 9?

By Week 9 of the fantasy football season, we've pretty much figured out who our studs are and who aren't.

Of course, that can all change quickly due to injuries—something that has been way to prevalent this season.

Fortunately, Week 8 didn't bring too much in the way of injury in terms of quantity, but we did see perhaps the worst and most serious.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller is not only in danger of his career being over after dislocating his knee, but he could perhaps lose his leg.

That's scary as hell.

For this week, we have seven players on the docket with varying degrees of comfortability.

Let's start with an Oakland Raiders wide receiver.

Michael Crabtree, WR, Oakland Raiders

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While the Oakland Raiders as a team may be sputtering out of control to the point where they are 3-5 and might not make the playoffs, wide receiver Michael Crabtree has been one of their bright spots.

After an embarrassing defeat in Week 8 at the Buffalo Bills, the Raiders will have a chance to rebound on Sunday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins are another team that is descending after a 40-0 shellacking by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, too. 

According to Football Outsiders, the Dolphins rank 26th and 31st against No. 1 and No. 2 wide receivers, respectively.

The point? They can't defend wide receivers, never mind someone with the pedigree and talent of Crabtree.

In Miami, expect the Raiders and Crabtree to bounce back. Start Crabtree with confidence.

Comfort Level: The opposite of how Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore felt after his second pick-six in Week 8

Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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In his rookie season, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette has proven that he is essentially matchup proof in fantasy football.

It doesn't matter the team, Fournette seems to continue to rack up fantasy points.

A big part of that has to do with his usage—Fournette gets the ball a ton, averaging over 24 touches per game.

Remember: He missed Week 7, so that does factor in.

Coming off an absence and a Week 8 bye, Fournette is likely going to be as rested as he's ever been.

However, the Jaguars are hosting the Bengals this week and they can hold their own against opposing running backs.

Sure, this is Fournette and I mentioned he's matchup proof, but this may not be one of his bigger games this season.

Of course, if the Jaguars defense front equipped with the newly-added Marcel Dareus are able to bulldoze this Bengals offensive line and control the game, Fournette could just see so many touches that it doesn't matter if the Bengals are good against the run or not.

Looking at Football Outsiders, the Bengals rank sixth in DVOA against the run and eighth in DVOA against pass-catching running backs.

Of course, Fournette doesn't catch the ball much (15 receptions on the year), but it's worth noting.

Will the rest help Fournette to the point where he can shed the statistical stigma, or does the Bengals run-stuffing defense show up?

Tune in to Week 9 to see.

Comfort Level: When you ask for sauce at McDonald's and you don't receive it.

Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Michael Perez/Associated Press

There's not many statistics to point out here to prove my point of being a bit nervous regarding San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde, but it does have a lot to do with their quarterback.

Yeah, C.J. Beathard isn't any good, for your information.

However, this Beathard stigma may only last one more week or so: the 49ers have traded for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, according to Adam Schefter.

With that said, the 49ers and Hyde still have Beathard to deal with.

With Beathard under center, Hyde's production is almost totally based around his pass-catching.

While that's fine in PPR league, it's not exactly something you want to rest your hat on regarding perhaps your RB1.

Hyde doesn't get as many carries per game as he did earlier in the season either, which also limits his production.

If there is a saving grace, it's that the 49ers are going up against the Drew Stanton-led Arizona Cardinals.

Both teams are horrible, so maybe Hyde can outshine the competition.

Either way, as long as Beathard is quarterback, Hyde's production is going to suffer minus Beathard throwing the ball his way a ton of times.

Comfort Level: *whispers* His quarterback in Week 9 is likely to be C.J. Beathard. Need I say more?

Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

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Known for being really good at football, it has been quite some time since we've seen New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas reach the end zone.

In fact, he hasn't done it in the United States since Week 3 (he did score in London in Week 4).

Well, fast-forward all the way to Week 9 and this is the prime opportunity for Thomas to find pay dirt once again.

At home, the Saints will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who get absolutely torched by opposing wide receivers.

Against a highly inconsistent Carolina Panthers team in Week 8, the Bucs surrendered a touchdown to the much-less-talented Kelvin Benjamin.

Ranking 27th in DVOA against opposing No. 1 wide receivers, the Bucs are not going to be able to slow down Thomas. Double-digit catches and a score coming in Week 9.

Comfort Level: $1000 says he scores

Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

Being one of the most surprising PPR running backs of the 2017 campaign, Washington Redskins running back Chris Thompson will put those pass-catching skills to the test against a stout, anti-running back defense in the Seattle Seahawks.

After Week 8 in an absolute shootout with the Houston Texans, the Seahawks obviously have some holes. Heck, we knew their defense had holes prior to that game.

With that said, they are tough against pass-catching running backs, ranking first in DVOA against them.

However, the Seahawks do rank 23rd in DVOA against the run, so maybe Thompson will have to utilize his ball carrying skills here—if the Redskins ever let him.

Thompson averages just over 6.5 carries per game and that's including an outlier in Week 6 where he carried the rock 16 times.

If the Seahawks manage to pull away from the Redskins by a sizable margin, we could see checkdown city hit Thompson, but if this game remains competitive, Thompson might have trouble getting anything going.

Be weary of Thompson in Week 9. 

Comfort Level: When you stub your toe off of a doorframe first thing in the morning

Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is incredible, isn't he?

Through the first seven games of his NFL career, Watson has 19 touchdown passes, breaking Kurt Warner's record of the most touchdown passes through a players first seven career games.

It was nice to see Warner acknowledge the accomplishment on Twitter.

In Week 8, Watson threw four more touchdown passes against the Seattle Seahawks in their building, lighting up the scoreboard.

Although it was a loss, the Texans put up 38 more points.

This week, Watson gets to feast on the Indianapolis Colts who rank 30th in DVOA against the pass.

There's no need more to to continue to ramble on and on—Watson is matchup proof and he's going to shred the Colts.

Comfort Level: Seeing Jesus before your eyes

Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

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Playing like an MVP candidate, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could be in for his toughest challenge of the 2017 season.

In Week 9, Wentz will oppose the Denver Broncos, a defense that may not be totally it's same elite self from years past, but it's up there.

While they rank 17th in DVOA against the pass, they have a pass rush unlike any other.

In that 17th ranked DVOA defense, the Broncos still have some incredible playmakers in cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris.

When you take into account their pass rush, coupled with the playmakers they do have in their secondary, this could be a tough statistical outing for Wentz.

The Eagles will win this game due to the Broncos inept offense, but this could be lower scoring and more of a grind-it-out game than you'd initially think.

Eagles win 17-9 while Wentz struggles to get a ton of momentum in the passing attack.

Perhaps look elsewhere if your league has quality waiver wire quarterbacks or if you have a backup.

Comfort Level: Watching a concert in the pouring rain.

Statistics courtesy of Football Outsiders and NFL.com.