Week 9 Fantasy Football Running Backs: Who To Pick-Up, Drop or Ignore

Welcome to my first day with fantasy football articles on Bleacher Report. 

As an avid fantasy football player, this column will not be one of those that spends time giving you the shocking advice that Chris Johnson and Peyton Manning should start for your team. I will not be suggesting you trip over yourself to pick up a second-string wide receiver after one week of shredding a bad defense. 

This will take a good solid look at players that not only provide a true upside (or downside), but can hopefully help your fantasy team for more than just one week.

Here we look at some running backs you might be considering to move on as we go into Week 9.

Pick-ups

LeGarrette Blount, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

If you were one of those wait-and-see guys, wait no more. 

Blount smoked on Sunday and should be picked up ASAP in every fantasy league. His size, athletic moves, and hard running should continue going forward, and QB Josh Freeman's play should make it hard for defenses to load up on Blount.

Mike Hart, Indianapolis Colts

Hart ran hard Monday night.

Even when Addai comes back, he should warrant a roster spot. 

Hart ran with heart, but worth note is his ankle injury, which should be your only concern here.

Ignores (Running backs who Might Be the Topic of Headlines, but Shouldn't Impact Your Team)

Julius Jones, New Orleans Saints 

He saw some time, but c'mon. 

It's Julius Jones, one of the biggest teases in fantasy football history.

Chris Ivory, New Orleans Saints

Ivory saw as much time as Jones did against the Steelers, but don't count him out yet. 

While the running back situation in New Orleans makes any RB there hard to start, Ivory isn't going to play the Steelers every week and has big-play potential as long as Bush and Thomas remain out. 

If you have him, keep him for now.

Javarris James, Indianapolis Colts

With more running backs banged up, James saw some time in Indy this week. 

He might be the cousin of a former superstar, and the Indy roster might be starting to look like that scene from Gone With The Wind, where all the injured soldiers are laying around. But I wouldn't suggest dumping anyone to pick up James right now.

Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers

It's just a tease.

With Tolbert and Sproles around, Mathews will still continue as a fantasy dud this year.

Drop/Trade (QBs in Many Leagues are Too Valuable to Drop a Lot of the Time, but Can Be Good Trade Bait)

Tim Hightower, Arizona Cardinals 

I saw a lot of people drop Hightower last week, only for others to pick him up and start him. 

He got one carry for zero yards. 

Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

No way after Blount's performance we see the Caddy taken out of the garage much from here. 

He still holds a little value in deep PPR leagues, but not much else. Too few miles per gallon to expect many carries against the better-performing new model.