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

Like most things in 2020, fantasy football keeps becoming trickier to navigate.

The injury bug is relentless. George Kittle may not take the field again this season. Kenny Golladay could be shelved for some time with a hip injury. T.Y. Hilton didn't make it through Week 8 with a groin ailment.

The bye weeks aren't going away. Another four teams will be off this weekend: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.

There's plenty to process, but remember, that's the case for your league mates, too. If you ace your roster management, you'll still be positioned for success. Let's do everything possible to make that happen with a look at our Week 9 rankings and top sleeper at each offensive spot.

Quarterbacks

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Top 10

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CAR)

2. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (at BUF)

3. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans (at JAC)

4. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (vs. MIA)

5. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (vs. SEA)

6. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (at SF)

7. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (at IND)

8. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)

9. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. NO)

10. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (at DAL)

Sleeper: Cam Newton, New England Patriots (at NYJ)

The Patriots offense is teetering on the brink of being unusable in most matchups, but the winless Jets aren't like most opponents. New York is where scuffling offenses go to find themselves, and this could be exactly what Newton needs to right the ship.

While Newton's passing productivity is nearly nonexistent—fewer than 175 yards in five of six games, two touchdowns against seven interceptions—he's still squeezing enough out of his rushing game to maintain some level of fantasy relevance. He has six rushing scores already, and he has run for more than 50 yards in three different outings.

The Jets have allowed the third-most passing yards and seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, per Yahoo. For this specific matchup, the arrow is pointing straight up for Newton.

Running Back

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Top 20

1. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings (vs. DET)

2. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints (at TB)

3. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans (vs. CHI)

4. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers (at KC)

5. James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. HOU)

6. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)

7. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers (at DAL)

8. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers (at SF)

9. Chase Edmonds, Arizona Cardinals (vs. MIA)

10. Todd Gurley, Atlanta Falcons (vs. DEN)

11. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CAR)

12. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys (vs. PIT)

13. Antonio Gibson, Washington (vs. NYG)

14. David Johnson, Houston Texans (at JAC)

15. Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins (at ARI)

16. J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens (at IND)

17. David Montgomery, Chicago Bears (at TEN)

18. D'Andre Swift, Detroit Lions (at MIN)

19. Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. NO)

20. Melvin Gordon, Denver Broncos (at ATL)

Sleeper: Le'Veon Bell, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CAR)

Much to the chagrin of those rostering Edwards-Helaire, Bell has already transformed Kansas City's running back group into a committee. Through two games with the Chiefs, Bell has 12 carries and three receptions. Over that same stretch, Edwards-Helaire has rushed 14 times and caught four passes.

These two may limit each other going forward, but there should be enough opportunities for them to both post numbers this weekend. The Panthers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs this season, and that's actually an improvement from last season when it landed at the bottom of the category.

Carolina is allowing a league-worst 7.3 running back receptions per game and is one of four defenses surrendering at least 50 receiving yards to the position each week. If Kansas City wants to throw to its backs, that should be good news for Bell, who has 384 career catches and eight touchdown receptions.

Wide Receiver

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Top 20

1. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers (at SF)

2. DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals (vs. MIA)

3. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks (at BUF)

4. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons (vs. DEN)

5. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CAR)

6. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (at BUF)

7. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills (vs. SEA)

8. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. NO)

9. A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans (vs. CHI)

10. Terry McLaurin, Washington (vs. NYG)

11. Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings (vs. DET)

12. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)

13. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (at TB)

14. Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers (at KC)

15. Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears (at TEN)

16. Will Fuller V, Houston Texans (at JAC)

17. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (vs. DET)

18. DJ Moore, Carolina Panthers (at KC)

19. Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys (vs. PIT)

20. Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)

Sleeper: Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (vs. GB)

If your default reaction is to avoid any member of the 49ers offense right now, that's understandable. This roster has been ripped apart by injuries, and it will be making a quick turnaround into this Thursday night collision with a backup quarterback under center.

But whatever this offense can muster might be funneled through Aiyuk. The rookie receiver keeps grabbing bigger shares of the passing game, and that trend is unlikely to stop with all of the injury absences.

In Week 6, he hauled in his first touchdown catch. In Week 7, he cleared 100 receiving yards for the first time. In Week 8, he turned season highs of 11 targets and eight receptions into 91 yards and his second touchdown grab. All the momentum is with him.

Tight End

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Top 10

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. CAR)

2. Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)

3. Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. NO)

4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (at IND)

5. T.J. Hockenson, Detroit Lions (at MIN)

6. Jonnu Smith, Tennessee Titans (vs. CHI)

7. Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)

8. Noah Fant, Denver Broncos (at ATL)

9. Jared Cook, New Orleans Saints (at TB)

10. Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers (at SF)

Sleeper: Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears (at TEN)

There isn't much depth at the tight end position, so we're willing to overlook Graham's low ceiling while embracing his high(ish) floor and hoping he can find the end zone.

He's pretty touchdown-dependent at this stage of his career, as he has just a single game with more than 34 receiving yards. But he has scored four times on the season, and he keeps getting chances. He has had at least five targets in all but one contest, and Sunday was his fourth game with at least seven passes thrown his way.

Four tight ends have been targeted five or more times against the Titans. Three of them scored, and the other finished with six receptions for 50 yards. This should be at least a solid week for Graham, and it could be a good one if he corrals a touchdown pass.