It's been a volatile fantasy football season. In the Week 8 cheat sheet, I touted Justin Fields (yay). In Week 7, I propped up Mac Jones (ouch). If you're shooting better than 50% in your calls, you're having a great season. Predictability gets easier as the season wears on and we have more and more data to use as a reference point. This is the time of year when we separate ourselves as bye weeks and injuries accumulate.
For the rest of this Week 9 Cheat Sheet, I don't want to spend much time focusing on the marquee fantasy players across the league, and instead I want to focus on borderline players who are either at the end of your starting lineup, the end of your bench or near the top of a 12-team league's waiver wire.
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1. Joshua Bomber Palmer
Sure, if Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are out, Joshua Palmer's expanded role is an obvious play. But I'm highlighting him because I believe he's a top-12 option against a porous Falcons defense. D.J. Moore, Terrace Marshall, Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Donovan Peoples-Jones, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry have all posted 12 or more points against Atlanta. And five of those performances went for 22 or more points. In their last three games, the Falcons have allowed receivers to catch 53 passes for 823 yards and six touchdowns. That's about 58 PPR points per game! Atlanta will also likely be without its top corner, A.J. Terrell, who I talked about a time or two last season as the Falcons’ only great player, and... not much has improved around him. In deeper formats, you should also consider the Chargers’ No. 2 wideout, DeAndre Carter.
2. Robert Tonyan Time
The tight end position has never felt so top-heavy. O.J. Howard was the TE2 in Week 1. After Week 3, Tyler Conklin was the TE3. Taysom Hill is a top-five TE despite only having two games with 10 or more points. I've avoided recommending tight ends, as you either have a good one or you don't. But it's worth double-checking your team's waiver wire to see if Robert Tonyan is available ahead of Week 9. His 1.55 yards per route run, while not particularly impressive, is ninth-best among tight ends with at least 100 routes run.
In Week 9, the Packers travel to Detroit and the Lions allow the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends. The Lions are also very banged up on defense with a handful of injuries in their secondary and four or five rookies likely starting. And it shows, as no team has allowed more points (225). And check out these two abysmal stats: rush first down percentage allowed (29.9%, last) and pass first down percentage allowed (41.6%, last). They've generated the second-fewest sacks (11) and second-fewest INTs (2). Point being, the Packers should finally have breathing room to generate some points, and we're hoping Tonyan can be one of those touchdown-dependent tight ends in Week 9.
3. My Week 9 Stick A Fork In 'Em
I'm starting a new recurring section. It’s a "safe to drop Player X,” but that's usually too easy. I'm going after players and teams here. I'm only going to target top 20 QBs, top 50 RBs, top 60 WRs and top 20 TEs.
RB Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams
With only two top-20 RB finishes among the Rams' seven contests this year, Henderson has been forgettable and I don't trust the Boy Wonder Sean McVay to play-call this team back into success. The Rams rank dead-last in carries (147), second-to-last in yards per carry (3.3) and last in first-down rushes (27). With limited opportunities over a large sample size, we need to accept what the numbers are telling us. Even with all this in mind, the fact that they sabotaged Cam Akers's trade value by limiting his touches and still didn't trade him tells me this team is operating on pure ego. I don't know what Akers did to McVay, but he deserved to be allowed to move on before the trade deadline. I put it all on McVay.
4. My Week 9 Friggin' Bums
Every week, I'll highlight eight players (two at each position) that I like who are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues. You can think of them as desperation plays or salary punts in DFS contests.
- QB Tannehill/Willis, TEN (vs. KC)
- QB Andy Dalton, NO (vs. BAL)
- RB Caleb Huntley, ATL (vs. LAC)
- RB Deon Jackson, IND (at NE)
- WR Joshua Palmer, LAC (at ATL)
- WR Isaiah McKenzie, BUF (at NYJ)
- TE Will Dissly, SEA (at ARI)
- TE Cade Otton, TB (vs. LAR)
5. Week 9 SI Fantasy Must-Reads
Before setting your lineups, make sure you check out some of the world-class fantasy lowdown from our SI Fantasy analysts:
- Week 9 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: QB | RB | WR | TE | K/DST
- Week 9 Projections: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Michael Fabiano's Week 9 PPR Rankings
- Week 9 DFS Picks
- Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9
- Week 9 Trade Targets: Buy Herbert, Sell Cook
- Good News, Bad News: Fields, Pittman Jr. and Broncos RBs
- Fantasy Impact: Lions Trade T.J. Hockenson to Vikings
- Fantasy Impact: Bears Trade For Chase Claypool From Steelers
- Fantasy Impact: Dolphins Trade for Jeff Wilson Jr. From 49ers
- Week 9 Dynasty Stock Watch: Justin Fields, Jonathan Taylor
- Midseason Fantasy Football Report Card
- Top 10 Midseason Fantasy Takeaways
- Bold Fantasy Predictions for the Second Half
- Welcome Back, D.J. Moore and Alvin Kamara
- Week 9 IDP Waiver Wire
- Week 9 Eiarly Waiver Wire Pickups
6. FanNation Updates
Welcome to a new addition to the Cheat Sheet... Our friends at FanNation, who are closely tied with teams around the league, will be joining us with some late fantasy-related updates:
Baltimore Ravens
Wide receiver/returner Devin Duvernay is the first player in franchise history to post a kickoff return for a touchdown, a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown in a career. He’s also the NFL’s only player with a touchdown in each of those three categories this season. On the season, Duvernay has caught 24 passes on 32 targets for 313 yards. Look for him to get even more targets with Rashod Bateman on IR with a foot injury. — Todd Karpovich, Raven Country
Chicago Bears
The Bears have starting left guard Cody Whitehair back from an injured knee, as he was activated after a month on injured reserve. They could also have starting right tackle Larry Borom back from a concussion. Borom cleared the NFL concussion protocol and had a full practice on Friday, so he was removed from the injury report for the game. However, because he has only one practice in the last two weeks it’s possible they may let Riley Reiff start in his place for the second straight game. — Gene Chamberlain | BearDigest: All Eyes Are Now Focused on Justin Fields
Detroit Lions
The Lions have ruled out four players ahead of their game against the Packers. Running back D’Andre Swift is questionable, while wideout Josh Reynolds is listed as doubtful. It is still a wise play to start running back Jamaal Williams at home, as he has recorded four multi-touchdown games in 2022. – John Maakaron | All Lions
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are 26th in points scored. The Lions are 32nd in points allowed. Something’s got to give. Four key members of the Packers’ offense are questionable for Sunday, including receivers Allen Lazard (shoulder) and Christian Watson (concussion). If those two are available, the Aaron Rodgers-led passing attack could gain a big dose of much-needed confidence. If not, do the Packers have the firepower to keep pace with a Lions offense that is averaging about 36 per game at home? — Bill Huber, Packer Central: Did Packers close Aaron Rodgers’ championship window?
Indianapolis Colts
Superstar running back Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is back on the injury report this week and will miss Sunday's game in order to rest. With Nyheim Hines being traded this week, the backfield work falls primarily on Deon Jackson as the starter. Phillip Lindsay, although on the practice squad, is the logical RB2 for the week since Zack Moss just arrived in the trade for Hines. – Jake Arthur
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jamal Agnew is the only Jaguar on the injury report this week, which doesn’t have many fantasy ramifications for the Jaguars. It truly is a coin-flip on whether he actually plays vs. the Raiders. Agnew has been targeted more than once just one time this season, drawing six targets in Week 4 when the Jaguars were without Zay Jones. If he is out, though, that could mean more screen work for Travis Etienne and JaMycal Hasty.— John Shipley, Jaguar Report
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are nearly to full health among players on their active roster, with the exception of backup tight end Jody Fortson, who will not play. Andy Reid said Friday that he expects to have new WR Kadarius Toney suit up on Sunday, but he shouldn’t crack any fantasy football starting lineups just yet. — Joshua Brisco, Arrowhead Report
Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels will have his full complement of players. The Raiders were embarrassed by the Saints this past week, and McDaniels is determined to reestablish the running game. If you have Josh Jacobs, he is a must-play, and Davante Adams should have solid numbers receiving. — Hondo S. Carpenter Sr., Raider Maven / Josh McDaniels final thoughts ahead of the Raiders vs. Jaguars
