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

The first eight weeks of the NFL season have come and gone, and the trade deadline has passed. This means that, for the most part, teams are going to be what they are for the remainder of the year.

In the fantasy world, though, you have the freedom to switch up your team on a weekly basis, in order to have your best players in the lineup at all times and in order to exploit favorable matchups.

The trick, of course, is determining who the best players are each week and which matchups are worth exploiting. Well, that's exactly what we're going to examine here. We're going to rank the top players at each skill position—based on factors like past production, health and projected role—and take a closer look at the matchups that carry the highest upside.

All rankings are based on PPR scoring, all fantasy statistics via FantasyPros.

Quarterbacks

1. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns

3. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots

4. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers

6. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams

7. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions

8. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

9. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers

10. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans at Denver Broncos

Cam Newton vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has had his ups and downs during his NFL career, but when he's up, he's one of the toughest signal-callers in the league to defend

Newton is dangerous—and is a fantasy star—because he can beat a defense both through the air and on the ground. He has 1,646 yards passing, 309 yards rushing and 17 total touchdowns with just four interceptions this season.

This week, Newton gets a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who rank 31st in pass defense (318.4 yards per game allowed), 29th in total defense (415.3) and 32nd in points allowed (33.3). Tampa has also allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Newton is usually a safe start in fantasy. This week, it would be downright foolish to not start him.

Running Backs

1. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns

2. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams

3. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

5. Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks

6. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

7. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys vs, Tennessee Titans

8. Adrian Peterson, Washington Redskins vs, Atlanta Falcons

9. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs

10. James White, New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers

Nick Chubb vs. Kansas City Chiefs

New Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens isn't worried about style points. He wants to put a game plan together that helps put Cleveland in the win column.

"The No. 1 thing I would like to bring is a win, and one more point than the other team. That is all," Kitchens said.

The best game plan for the Browns against the Kansas City Chiefs is to run the ball with rookie back Nick Chubb—who is averaging 6.1 yards per carry—and then run it some more. This is both because it can help keep Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense off the field, and because the Chiefs are terrible against the run.

Kansas City is currently allowing an average of 127.6 yards rushing per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Only the Arizona Cardinals are allowing more fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

Johnson is a great play in Week 9. Fellow Browns back Duke Johnson becomes a sleeper pick because of the matchup, especially in PPR leagues.

Wide Receivers

1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams

2. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions

3. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans at Denver Broncos

4. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots

5. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns

6. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

7.Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

8. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins

9. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

10. Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks at New Orleans Saints

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Rams gave wide receiver Brandin Cooks a fat five-year, $81 million deal in the offseason. While Cooks (643 yards, two touchdowns) has played well, fellow wideout Robert Woods (673 yards, three touchdowns) has been just as valuable.

This week, Woods gets a favorable matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints defense is capable of making some big plays, but it regularly gives up passing yards (300 per game). New Orleans has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

Last week, Minnesota Vikings wideouts Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen each topped the 100-yard mark and scored a touchdown. We could easily see Woods and Cooks do the same this week.

Tight Ends

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns

2. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs

3. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers

4. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

5. O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

6. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins vs. Atlanta Falcons

7. Trey Burton, Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills

8. Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots

9. Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions

10. Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

O.J. Howard at Carolina Panthers

We like Panthers quarterback Cam Newton against a bad Buccaneers defense. We also like Tampa Bay tight end O.J. Howard against a Carolina defense that has struggled to contain tight ends. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

This makes for a very favorable matchup for Howard, who has been a significant piece of the Buccaneers offensive game plan. He already has 419 yards and three touchdowns this season. He had 222 of those yards in the first three games of the season, when Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starter.

Fitzpatrick will be the starter against Carolina, and Howard becomes a must-start in all scoring formats.