Fantasy Football Rankings, sleepers, streamers, cheat sheets for NFL Week 9, 2025 in PPR, standard leagues

Three rookie running backs who have been Fantasy football start/sit decisions all year made huge impacts on Sunday. RJ Harvey scored three touchdowns, Woody Marks went over 100 scrimmage yards and TreVeyon Henderson had a career-high of 75 total yards. Their Week 9 Fantasy football rankings likely received a boost, compared to the week prior, but does that warrant any of them a spot in Week 9 Fantasy football lineups?

Speaking of rookie ball carriers, Cam Skattebo is no longer an option as a Fantasy football pick after dislocating his ankle. Tyrone Tracy Jr. is seemingly the next man up in New York, but what do the Week 9 Fantasy football projections forecast for veteran Devin Singletary? Before making your Week 9 Fantasy football picks, be sure to check out the Week 9 Fantasy football rankings from the proven computer model at SportsLine. 

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When it comes to ranking players, SportsLine's model beat human experts in Fantasy football for the past several seasons, especially when there were big differences in ranking. Over the course of a season, that could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home empty-handed.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, including being ahead of the curve on players like A.J. Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara and Jahmyr Gibbs. Anybody who banked on players like those could have made a run at their league title.

Now, the model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, has revealed its Fantasy football rankings for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

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Top Week 9 Fantasy football picks 

One surprise in Week 9: The model is fading Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, a two-time 1,000-yard wideout who has touchdowns in three of his last four games. However, Higgins hasn't been quite as productive, as a whole, as he's been in previous years. He's averaging career lows in both yards per game (45) and receptions per game (3.1), thus making his reliance on touchdowns a risky proposition for his Fantasy owners.

Higgins' touchdown reception in his last game was his lone catch of the game and now has to face a Chicago defense, whose strength is versus the pass. The Bears are allowing just 9.4 receptions per game to opposing wide receivers, which is the second-fewest in the league. Chicago hasn't allowed a single wideout to reach 100 yards since Week 2, and only one receiver has more than five catches over that span. Sitting outside the top 25 in Week 9 Fantasy football WR rankings, Higgins may not warrant a spot in Fantasy football lineups.

Another curveball: The model is high on Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II. The fifth-round rookie has made a name for himself over the last three weeks and ranks second amongst tight ends in Fantasy points over this stretch. He had a 5-77-1 stat line last Thursday, which followed seven receptions for 164 yards and a score in his previous outing. Gadsden has started just two games this year but still has as many redzone receptions (four) as Chargers wideouts Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.

He now gets a dream matchup versus the Titans, who rank 29th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed. Tennessee has given up at least 50 receiving yards or a touchdown to tight ends in each of the last three weeks. Gadsden wasn't on the Fantasy radar a few weeks ago but now finds himself among the top five in positional rankings for this week, making him a must-start for Week 9 Fantasy football lineups. For more start/sit Fantasy football advice, be sure to check out the rest of the Week 9 Fantasy football rankings.

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How to set Week 9 Fantasy football rankings

The model is also calling for a surprising running back you aren't even thinking about to finish in the top 12 of its Week 9 Fantasy football rankings. This pick could be the difference between winning big and going home with nothing. See the model's entire Week 9 Fantasy football rankings for PPR and standard leagues here.

So who should you start and sit this week, and which surprising running back could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 9 Fantasy football rankings for every position, plus see which running back is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 12, all from the model that has outperformed experts big-time.