Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: Projections to Love and Matchups to Exploit

The early returns confirm it: Week 9 won't be an easy one for fantasy football owners.

Owners got an expected strong showing from Tyrod Taylor of the Buffalo Bills while his team went down at the hands of the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. But what most didn't expect was an outburst from Bills wideout Deonte Thompson or a return to form for Jets running back Matt Forte.

With a brutal slate on tap, let's outline rankings and projections for every team based on Yahoo standard leagues.

Week 9 Schedule

Atlanta at Carolina

Baltimore at Tennessee

Cincinnati at Jacksonville

Denver at Philadelphia

Indianapolis at Houston

L.A. Rams at N.Y. Giants

Tampa Bay at New Orleans

Arizona at San Francisco

Washington at Seattle

Kansas City at Dallas

Oakland at Miami

Detroit at Green Bay

Quarterbacks

Player	Projected Points
Carson Wentz	20
Drew Brees	20
Dak Prescott	19
Jacoby Brissett	18
Cam Newton	17
Matthew Stafford	17
Matt Ryan	16
Brett Hundley	15
Jameis Winston	15
Jared Goff	14
Kirk Cousins	14
Alex Smith	12
Marcus Mariota	12
Derek Carr	12
Blake Bortles	11

Some owners might find it a little surprising to see New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees as a focal point in Week 9.

Makes sense—for all the good that comes with Brees, he has only scored 20 or more points three times this year. He's held to a higher standard than most, so his recent 11.76-point outing might have some down on his stock.

But it's time to elevate it again thanks to a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brees suits up at home against a defense allowing the sixth-most points to opposing quarterbacks on average, including 28.56 to Case Keenum.

Speaking of good matchups, don't be too surprised to see Jacoby Brissett of the Indianapolis Colts with the big dogs in the Week 9 rankings.

Brissett has seemingly improved each week and just posted 16.92 points with two touchdowns last time out. Now he gets to take on an injured Houston Texans defense that coughs up the third-most points to quarterbacks.

Those Texans allowed 36.08 points to the position in Week 8 and have allowed 26.86 or more three times.

Running Backs

Player	Projected Points
Todd Gurley	21
Mark Ingram	20
Kareem Hunt	19
Leonard Fournette	18
Devonta Freeman	17
Adrian Peterson	17
Doug Martin	15
Alvin Kamara	14
Aaron Jones	13
Lamar Miller	12
DeMarco Murray	12
Alex Collins	12
Chris Thompson	11
Joe Mixon CIN	11
Christian McCaffrey	11
Carlos Hyde	11
Ameer Abdullah	11
Tevin Coleman	11
C.J. Anderson	10
Kenyan Drake	10
Orleans Darkwa	10
Marshawn Lynch	10
Derrick Henry	8
Alfred Morris	8
Marlon Mack	8

It's all about Saints running backs this week as well, starting with Mark Ingram.

Ingram has been especially hot as of late, scoring 17 or more points in two out of his past three outings. Over the same span, he has received at least 18 carries in every game, a clear change in approach by the coaching staff after a Week 5 bye.

The usage isn't going anywhere against a Buccaneers defense that not only ranks among the 11 worst defenses against backs from a fantasy perspective, but is sure to struggle on the road against the Brees-led attack.

Outside of New Orleans and the other usual superstars, watch out for Kansas City Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt. He's fallen silent after starting the year with 22.9 or more points in three consecutive games, including 6.8 in Week 8.

But a game against the Dallas Cowboys and a defense ranked right in the middle of the pack against backs and a game flow figuring to lean toward a run-first affair has Hunt looking good.  He's carried it 18 or more times in each of the past two weeks, so everything adds up to what should be a monster day.

Wide Receivers

Player	Projected Points
Mike Evans	19
Dez Bryant	18
Julio Jones	18
Michael Thomas	16
DeAndre Hopkins	15
Marvin Jones	14
Tyreek Hill	14
Jarvis Landry	14
Michael Crabtree	13
Amari Cooper	13
Doug Baldwin	12
A.J. Green	12
Demaryius Thomas	12
Larry Fitzgerald	11
Golden Tate	11
T.Y. Hilton	11
Jordy Nelson	11
Devin Funchess	11
Devante Parker	11
Will Fuller	10
Alshon Jeffery	10
DeSean Jackson	10
Ted Ginn	9
Sterling Shepard	8
Emmanuel Sanders*	8
Paul Richardson	8
Davante Adams	8
Rishard Matthews	7
Mohamed Sanu	7
Nelson Agholor

Did anyone mention Buccaneers-Saints is good for fantasy owners?

On the other side of the coin, the Buccaneers will have to pass often in an effort to keep up with Brees. The Saints, though, don't have anyone who can keep pace with Mike Evans (most teams don't).

Few players have a sheer floor like Evans, who has seen at least eight targets in every game this year. He's had double-digit targets four times, including two in a row.

While the Saints don't rank overly badly against wideouts, the matchup, potential game flow and Evans' usage sets up for a huge week.

Elsewhere, keep an eye on Marvin Jones of the Detroit Lions. He isn't a name fantasy owners have heard often because he didn't have his first double-digit week until Week 6. But he's posted consecutive double-digit outings while seeing 11 or more targets in each game.

It's a great development going into a game against the Green Bay Packers, the defense allowing the 10th-most points to opposing wideouts. The game won't be the shootout it could have been with Aaron Rodgers out, but the shift in attention for the Lions creates a potential giant performance here.

Tight Ends

Player	Projected Points
Zach Ertz*	10
Jimmy Graham	10
Travis Kelce	10
Jack Doyle	9
Cameron Brate	9
Evan Engram	9
Delanie Walker	8
Vernon Davis	8
Jason Witten	8
Jared Cook	7
Tyler Kroft	7
Ed Dickson	7
Austin Hooper	7
Benjamin Watson	6
George Kittle	6

Jimmy Graham of the Seattle Seahawks is one of the top names to know in Week 9.

Graham had a miserable start to the season, posting a total of .9 points over his first two games. He didn't hit double digits until Week 7, either.

Since, though, Graham has scored in double digits twice and scored three touchdowns, a clear shift in priority for the offense after the Week 6 bye. Just in time too because Graham gets to beat up on a Washington Redskins defense allowing the fourth-most points to the position.

Owners shouldn't turn away from Jack Doyle of the Colts, either. He just posted a strong 18.1-point outing in Week 8. While he's likely due to regress, he has 11 or more targets in two out of his past three outings, with seven or more in four in a row and counting.

The usage and recent outburst bode well going into a game against a Houston defense permitting the sixth-most points to the position, even if he might regress a tad.

Defense/Special Teams

Unit	Projected Points
Philadelphia Eagles	11
Jacksonville Jaguars	10
Los Angeles Rams	9
Seattle Seahawks	9
Houston Texans	8
Arizona Cardinals	7
Baltimore Ravens	7
Detroit Lions
New Orleans Saints	6
Cincinnati Bengals	6

The Philadelphia Eagles look like arguably the best team in the league in large part because of a strong defense owners can exploit each week.

These Eagles already have 22 sacks and nine interceptions to their name this year while having yet to allow an opponent to hit the 30-point mark.

They get to take on a Denver Broncos team struggling so much offensively it allows the second-most points to opposing defenses. The Broncos are so desperate for help on that side of the football the coaching staff is going back to Brock Osweiler at quarterback.

Still not convinced? Opposing defenses have scored 22, 27 and 20 points against the Broncos over their past three games.

Kickers

Player	Projected Points
Justin Tucker	10
Harrison Butker	10
Jake Elliott	9
Ka'imi Fairbairn	9
Greg Zuerlein	8
Will Lutz	7
Blair Walsh	7
Matt Prater	6
Ryan Succop	6
Mike Nugent	6

Boring? Maybe, but a Justin Tucker week is a Justin Tucker week.

Like many have mentioned, the Baltimore Raven had a slow start to the season, failing to hit double digits until Week 5.

Since? Money—Tucker has 12 or more points in four games and counting. And it's a streak that surely won't end against the Tennessee Titans, the team coughing up the fifth-most points to opposing kickers.

It almost sounds silly to track such a stat, but the Titans have allowed 14, 19 and 21 points to opposing kickers this year. Adding Tucker to the list as a fourth around those marks seems fair enough.

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.