Fantasy Football Week 9 Quarterback Preview: Starts, sits, streamers, DFS plays and more
Everything you need to know about quarterback for Fantasy Football in Week 9
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2 min read
This time of year it is easy to get caught up in the scramble to make up for injuries and bye weeks and just feel constant lament about the lack of good starting options. Everyone is feeling it. The one place you shouldn't feel it is at quarterback. It has been a truly remarkable year at the position. Through eight weeks we have six quarterbacks averaging at least 25 Fantasy points per game. And we expect five of those six to play this week. Another 10 QBs are averaging at least 21 FPPG. We expect eight of them to play this week.
That is a big reason why when I look at my early Week 9 projections I see 18 QBs projected to score at least 19 Fantasy points. One of them is available on the waiver wire, I will discuss him in that section below. But one shocking name is not a part of those 18 QBs: Bo Nix.
It is shocking because Nix has scored 75.8 Fantasy points in his last two outings. How in the world could you sit a guy who has done that recently? Well, he's facing the Texans. Houston is allowing a league-low 11.1 FPPG to QBs this year. We all know how elite the Broncos pass defense is, right? The Texans are giving up 4.1 fewer points per game to QBs than the Broncos. Mac Jones and Baker Mayfield are the only QBs to score more than 15 Fantasy points against them. No QB has thrown for more than 245 yards against the Texans all year. They have more interceptions than passing touchdowns allowed. You get the point.
As incredible as Nix has been, you should not need to start him this week. I have him ranked 19th this week, which is exactly the same place Jamey Eisenberg has him in his rankings. Find a different QB.
Let's get to the rest of the preview:
Week 9 QB Preview
QB Preview
Numbers to know
- 32.5 -- Patrick Mahomes is averaging 32.5 FPPG since Week 4. He is QB1 this week, rest of season, and maybe in Dynasty again.
- 32.0 -- The Giants are giving up 32 points per game to opposing QBs in their last three games. The secondary is gutted by injuries. They face either Mac Jones or Brock Purdy in Week 9.
- 296 -- Justin Herbert leads the NFL with 296 pass attempts. Thank you Greg Roman.
- 33 -- The Ravens have given up 33 points in their last two games combined. They gave up 35.4 per game the first five weeks. Do not let full-season stats fool you into thinking you want to start Tua Tagovailoa in this matchup.
- .29.1 -- Sam Darnold is averaging just 29.1 drop-backs per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL. He has been very efficient but it is tough to produce starter-worthy Fantasy points in this manner.
- 28.3 -- The Cowboys are giving up a league-high 28.3 FPPG to QBs. If Kyler Murray is starting for the Cardinals, he is starting for my Fantasy team.
- 3.64 -- Jaxson Dart's time to throw in Week 8 was 3.64 seconds, nearly a third of a second longer than any other QB since Week 4.
- 21 -- Even after his bye week Trevor Lawrence leads the NFL with 21 passes dropped. He is in a great spot this week if his receivers can hold on to the ball.
QB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Adds/Streamers (QB Preview)
Jacksonville is coming out of their bye and I am hoping they have recovered from their drops, which aren't generally very predictive. We saw Travis Hunter get more involved in Week 7, if that continues and Brian Thomas Jr. starts catchign the football again, Lawrence could shred this defense. The Raiders have given up at least 20 Fantasy points to four of the last six QBs they have faced. One of the two who didn't reach that mark was Cam Ward.
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Mac Jones would actually be my favorite streamer this week if Brock Purdy was ruled out. But as of Tuesday that is still up in the air. Jones bounced back nicely in a very bad matchup to become only the second QB to score at least 20 Fantasy points against the Texans. Now he faces a depleted Giants secondary that has given up 96 Fantasy points to QBs over the past three weeks. If Jones is starting for the 49ers, he's a good option for your Fantasy team.
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Darnold is playing some of the best football of his career. The only question each week is whether he will throw enough to perform well in Fantasy. The Commanders have given up at least 19 Fantasy points to seven straight Qbs but six of those Qbs threw at least 29 passes. Darnold has hit that mark three times in seven starts.
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One To Stash (QB Preview)
The Cowboys are on bye in Week 10 so our stashing recipe is a little messed up. With Justin Fields' performance in Week 8 he now has 20 or more Fantasy points in four of seven games. You won't want to start him in Week 10 against the Browns, but if he has the job after that, and also has Garrett Wilson back, he will be right back in that "high upside, low end QB1" conversation.
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QB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
The Bengals and Bears have an over/under of 51.5 in Week 9, making this one of the top games to target for DFS. Since Joe Flacco is battling a shoulder injury we'll put Caleb Williams in our cash game lineups. His price is depressed due to recent struggles but this is a bounce back spot against one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Lawrence projects as a top 13 QB for me in a good matchup against the Raiders. He is priced below $7,000 on FanDuel for good reason and everyone seems pretty much done with him, which should keep his roster rate low. If his receivers play up to his potential, Lawrence has the upside to score 30 Fantasy points against the Raiders.
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QB Preview
Heath's projections
My full set of Week 9 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 9. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
