Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Welcome back to the Rookie Report! Raise your hand if you’re tired of hearing the phrase ‘National Tight Ends’ Day’. I promise I’ll keep mentions of it to a minimum this week, but there’s no question big tight end performances were all the rage last week. 6 of the top-7 tight ends by average draft position this year matched or bested their highest fantasy point total of the year in week 8, but there was plenty of non-TE action to be excited about as well.

We DID get our showdown between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels after Daniels was able to battle through a rib injury to be able to play, and the game didn’t disappoint. Caleb struggled for 3 quarters before righting the ship and leading a comeback that should’ve won the game, but Daniels connected on a Hail Mary that won’t be forgotten in DC or Chicago for decades. We also saw great performances by Bo Nix, Marvin Harrison Jr., Ladd McConkey, Tryone Tracy, and Keon Coleman, and hopefully we’ll be treatied to more scintillating rookie showings in week 9. Let’s not waste any more time reminiscing about last week - you’ve got new matchups to win.

A couple of housekeeping notes for the players listed below – All players listed under the same header at the same position are listed in the order that I would play them this week. All usage rates (snap share, target rate, air yardage share, etc.) are from the MB Fantasy Life Utilization Tool from Dwain McFarland, and all references to fantasy points and points allowed rankings are based on half-PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Let’s get into week 9…

Rookies You Already Know You Should Start:

QB Jayden Daniels, WAS (Wk. 9: @ NYG): Daniels surprised me by being active last week. I really thought Dan Quinn was deploying some gamesmanship when he said last Friday that Daniels might play through his rib injury, but he wasn’t lying. Daniels made the start, and thanks to a fortuitous bounce on a Hail Mary, he finished as a top-12 QB for the 6^th time in 7 full games played this season. Interestingly enough, the one time he failed was against the Giants in week 2, but I expect a much better showing this time around. Washington wasn’t letting Daniels throw the ball downfield in his first couple of games this year, something he’s done much more regularly in recent weeks, and the Giants have allowed the 6^th-most QB rushing yards per game. Those factors are enough for me to trust Jayden as a solid QB1 once again this week

WR Malik Nabers, NYG (Wk. 9: vs. Was.): Nabers certainly would be putting up gaudier numbers if he were getting better QB play, but his production this season is nothing to scoff at. He’s now earned higher than a 30% target share in each of the last 5 games he’s played, and he earned a 50% or higher air yardage share in 4 of those games (42% in the other). He hasn’t finished lower than the PPR WR35 in any game he’s been active for this season. You already know he should be locked into your lineup. He posted a line of 10-127-1 in his first meeting with the Commanders this year, and while their secondary has been playing much better in recent weeks, Benjamin St-Juste is still a very burnable individual matchup for Nabers. Nabers is a top-10 WR play this week.

WR Brian Thomas Jr., JAX (Wk. 9: @ Phi.): Thomas left last week’s game early with a chest injury and was in a route on just 49% of the Jaguars’ passing dropbacks…and he still finished the week as a fantasy WR2. There was concern that the injury would keep Thomas out for multiple weeks, but that diagnosis changed quickly and there’s a very real chance BTJ is active this week after logging limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday. If he plays, you should find a way to get him into your lineups. He faces a Philly defense that allows the 10^th-most WR points per game, and the Jags will be playing without Christian Kirk and possibly Gabe Davis as well. Those absences likely mean an even higher target share than normal for Thomas if he’s able to suit up. He’s a solid WR2 play again this week if he’s active. Just keep in mind that the Jaguars play in the late afternoon window, so you’ll need a replacement option who plays at least that late as a backup plan in case the rookie can’t get cleared to play.

TE Brock Bowers, LV (Wk. 9: @ Cin.): Bowers posted a ho-hum stat line of 5-58 on 5 targets last week, but on National Tight Ends’ day, that performance was good enough for just a TE18 finish for the week. It’s a little troubling that Bowers earned just a 20% target share with Jakobi Meyers back in the lineup, but don’t let that cause you to waver on starting him this week. The Bengals allow the 7^th-most TE points per game, Bowers is still running a route on more than 80% of the team passing dropbacks, and there should be plenty of passing volume this week with the Raiders a 7.5-point underdog. Bowers should be locked in as a top-10 TE play as usual.

Borderline Rookies I’d Lean Toward Starting:

QB Bo Nix, DEN (Wk. 9: @ Bal.): Nix put on a passing clinic against the hapless Panthers last Sunday, posting season-highs with 284 passing yards, 3 TD tosses, and a 124.2 passer rating. He also added 6+ fantasy points with his legs for the 6^th time this season. The Broncos’ rookie has quietly topped 19 fantasy points in 4 of his last 6 games and 21 points in 3 of his last 4. He’s worked his way up to the QB14 in PPG for the season. He faces the Ravens this week, and while the Ravens’ offense has been a juggernaut, their pass defense has been a sieve. Baltimore has allowed the 3^rd-most QB points per game and has given up more than 30 more passing yards per game than any other team in the league. They’ve allowed 4 of the last 6 QBs they’ve faced to throw for 330+ yards, and 5 of the last 6 to score at least 20 fantasy points. It all adds up to the improving Nix having huge upside this week. I’d treat him as a borderline top-10 QB option in week 9.

QB Caleb Williams, CHI (Wk. 9: @ Ari.): Williams’ performance last week in a plus matchup against the Commanders is one we’d like to forget. He did enough to have his team in a position to win before they gave up a stunning Hail Mary completion, but through 3 quarters of that game Caleb had completed just 4 of 14 passes for 36 yards. Maybe the nerves of playing in front of his hometown crowd against fellow top rookie QB Jayden Daniels got to him. Maybe Shane Waldron just called a terrible game. But either way, it was a rough performance prior to the comeback effort in the 4^th. Caleb gets another favorable matchup this week against the Cardinals. Arizona ranks 29^th in FTN’s pass defense DVOA and has allowed the 7^th-most QB points per game, and more importantly, they aren’t likely to pressure Caleb on nearly 40% of his dropbacks like the Commanders did last week. Arizona blitzes at the 2^nd-lowest rate in the league, and generates pressure at the 4^th-lowest rate. That extra time to throw should help Caleb have a much better performance. QB fantasy performances against the Cardinals this season have had some interesting groupings. One QB was held below 7 points against them. 3 QBs scored more than 25 points against them. The other 4 all scored in the narrow range between 14 and 16 fantasy points. QBs vs the Cardinals have typically either put up a middling fantasy score or an excellent one (and that one terrible one). It’s worth mentioning that the Cardinals gave up 25+ to the opposing QB in 2 of the 3 games where they traveled east for 1 PM EST starts. This week’s game is in the late afternoon. I’m not sure if the trend will hold, but somewhere around 16 points for Caleb wouldn’t surprise me. I think he’s a high end QB2 this week.

RB Tyrone Tracy, NYG (Wk. 9: vs. Was.): Tracy’s situation bears watching this week as he was diagnosed with a concussion on Monday night and still needs to clear the protocol, but the Giants are optimistic he’ll be able to play, and if they’re right, he should be treated as an RB2 with upside in a favorable matchup against the Commanders. Washington ranks just 24^th in run defense DVOA, and has allowed a top-24 fantasy finish to an opposing back in 7 of 8 games this season. It became clear this week that Devin Singletary wasn’t just being eased back in after his injury in week 7, he’s now the backup. The duo had equal involvement in the passing game on Monday night, but Tracy played 60% of the snaps and handled 83% of the rushing attempts. He’s now scored a TD in two of his last 3 games and topped 100 rushing yards in two of the last 4. He’s a great RB2 option as long as he’s able to clear the protocol.

WR Marvin Harrison, Jr., ARI (Wk. 9: vs. Chi.): Harrison got back on track in a big way last weekend, finishing with 6-111-1 on 7 targets in a tough matchup with the Dolphins. Harrison accounted for nearly half of Arizona’s air yards and was in a route on 97% of the team’s passing dropbacks. He gets another tough matchup this week against the Bears. Chicago allows the 9^th-fewest WR points per game and ranks 6^th in pass defense DVOA, but Marv’s usage and talent gives him weekly WR1 upside. We’ve seen his floor more often than the we have with Nabers or Brian Thomas, so he’s still in the Borderline section for now, especially in a tougher matchup like this, but he’s got the ability to earn his way back up to auto-start status. I’d treat him as a lower-end WR2 this week.

WR Ladd McConkey, LAC (Wk. 9: @ Cle.): Like Marvin Harrison Jr., McConkey finished week 8 with 6 catches for 111 yards, but McConkey did so on just 6 targets rather than 7, and he found the end zone twice rather than just once. It was easily Ladd’s best fantasy game of the season, but it was also the 3^rd time in the last 4 games that he’s finished as a WR3 or better. The Chargers have been throwing the ball more in recent weeks, and as a result McConkey has been turning the corner in fantasy. Justin Herbert was averaging just 23 pass attempts per game before the team’s week 5 bye, but he’s averaged 35 per game in the 3 games since. This week’s matchup is also a favorable one for Ladd. The Browns allow the 5^th-most WR points per game, and they play man-to-man defense at the highest rate in the league. McConkey averages a whopping 0.92 PPR points per route run against man coverage, and his counterpart this week, Cleveland slot corner Greg Newsome II, has a PFF coverage grade of just 51.2 for the season. McConkey could feast again. He’s a solid WR3 this week.

WR Xavier Worthy, KC (Wk. 9: vs. TB): Worthy has been targeted 8+ times twice this season, and both of those happened in the last 2 games since the team lost JuJu Smith-Schuster to injury. I do expect DeAndre Hopkins’ playing time will increase in the coming weeks and eventually eat into Worthy’s targets a bit, but this week’s matchup seems well set up for Worthy’s deep ball ability. The Bucs have allowed the 4^th-most completions of 20+ yards this season, and they’re tied for the 3^rd-most completions of 40+ yards allowed. There’s always going to be an element of risk with Worthy (he’s caught just 51.4% of his targets this year), but he’s finished as a PPR WR3 or better in 3 of the last 4 games, and he’s got some extra upside this week against a Tampa defense that has struggled to limit splash plays in the passing game.

Borderline Rookies I’d Lean Toward Sitting:

QB Drake Maye, NE (Wk. 9: @ Ten.): Maye left last week’s contest with a concussion, and at this point, it’s still up in the air whether or not he’ll get cleared to play this weekend. If he’s able to start, he’ll be taking on a Tennessee defense that has shown cracks in recent weeks, but still ranks 12^th in pass defense DVOA and has allowed the fewest passing yards per game this season. Only 2 of the 7 QBs the Titans have faced reached 200+ passing yards, and one of those was a bizarre outlier game against Malik Willis. The other was against Josh Allen. Maye was impressive in his two starts this year, throwing for over 500 yards and 5 TDs, and rushing for over 50 yards to boot, but betting on another big performance in a tough matchup, coming off a concussion, feels like a risky proposition to me. I’d view Maye as a low-end QB2 this week, but the upside is there for more.

QB Spencer Rattler, NO (Wk. 9: @ Car.): Derek Carr should return to the lineup in week 9, relegating Rattler back to the bench. If that doesn’t happen, Rattler could get a start against a Carolina defense that ranks 31^st in pass defense DVOA and allows the 5^th-most QB points per game. It would be a scenario where he could be a serviceable QB2 for fantasy lineups, but keep in mind that he’s been pulled for Jake Haener in each of his last 2 starts. In week 8, he was pulled while it was still a competitive game. He’s risky here, even as a QB2, if he gets the starting nod again.

RB Bucky Irving, TB (Wk. 9: @ KC): Irving was a PPR weapon in week 8, piling up 7 catches and 84 scrimmage yards as the Bucs played without their top-2 receivers for the first time this year, but the workload split with Rachaad White wasn’t much different than what we’ve been accustomed to this season. There were some positive signs – Bucky out-carried and out-targeted White against Atlanta. It was just the 2^nd time this season he’s out-carried White when both were active, and the 1^st time he’s out-targeted him, but White still played 10 more snaps and ran 12 more routes than Irving. With that sort of usage, there’s no guarantee that Irving continues to see more opportunities. It does look like the duo has at least relegated Sean Tucker to a distant RB3 role again, and it also looks like the injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are going to lead to more targets for the running backs going forward. None of that makes Bucky a great play against a Chiefs’ team that allows the fewest running back points per game and ranks 2^nd in run defense DVOA. Only Bijan Robinson and Alvin Kamara have reached 12+ PPR points against Kansas City this season. Earning only half of the backfield work against a very difficult matchup, Bucky is just an RB3/flex option this week.

RB Braelon Allen, NYJ (Wk. 9: vs. Hou.): Allen had seemingly been fading away from the Jets’ offense since Todd Downing took over play calling a few weeks ago, but he was back with a vengeance in week 8, handling 43% of the team rushing attempts en route to a 12-32-1 rushing performance and a RB31 finish for the week. The issue here is that we don’t know if he’ll continue to play that much going forward, and the Texans are a much tougher matchup for RBs than the Patriots were last week. Houston has allowed the 4^th-fewest RB points per game and rank 4^th in run defense DVOA. I can’t recommend starting Braelon in that matchup when the upside case is that he’ll play 35-40% of the offensive snaps.

RB Jonathan Brooks, CAR (Wk. 9: vs. NO): Brooks is practicing in full this week and seems poised to finally make his NFL debut. He may be returning at the right time – the Panthers face a New Orleans defense that ranks dead last in run defense DVOA, and Chuba Hubbard is coming off his worst fantasy performance since week 1 and has averaged fewer than 4 yards per carry in each of the last 2 contests. Unfortunately, I still think the Panthers are going to slow play Brooks’ roll out. I expect Chuba to still see the lion’s share of the backfield work with Brooks mixing in with Miles Sanders for backup opportunities. You should definitely be monitoring Brooks’ performance this week if he’s still on your league waiver wire, but I wouldn’t consider starting him this week unless you like to live very dangerously.

WR Keon Coleman, BUF (Wk. 9: vs. Mia.): Coleman continues to be an enigma for me. He struggled to break through for much of the first 6 weeks of the season when he averaged 3.3 targets and 33 yards per game. Somehow, the team trading for Amari Cooper has triggered a Coleman breakout where he’s posted lines of 4-125 and 5-70-1 over the last two weeks on 7 targets in each game. It’s easy to say that the addition of Cooper has reduced the defensive attention paid to Coleman, but that doesn’t hold up when you realize that Cooper wasn’t on the field for any of Coleman’s week 7 targets. At any rate, the Cooper addition has clearly been good for Coleman. I wouldn’t fault you if you wanted to get him in lineups again this week, but against a Miami defense that allows the fewest WR points per game, he’s just on the wrong side of the cut line for me. I expect Amari’s playing time to continue to climb, and I think it’ll be tougher for Coleman to hit the big plays that have really carried him in the last couple weeks. Miami has allowed the 7^th-fewest completions of 20+ yards this season, and have allowed just 1 connection of 40+ yards. Four of Coleman’s nine catches in the last 2 weeks have gone for 20+ yards, and 2 of them went for 40+.

WR Jalen McMillan, TB (Wk. 9: @ KC): McMillan slotted in as the Bucs’ WR1 last weekend as expected with Chris Godwin done for the year and Mike Evans sidelined for a few weeks. Jalen was in a route on 90% of the team passing dropbacks and earned a 28% air yardage share, but he earned just 15% of the targets as the passing game flowed through the running backs and tight ends. Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Cade Otton combined for 50% of the teams’ total targets. McMillan finished the week with 4 catches on 7 targets and 52 scrimmage yards, and that was in a good matchup against Atlanta’s bottom-10 pass defense in a game where the Bucs threw the ball 50 times. Passing volume should be plentiful again as an 8.5-point underdog against KC, but the Chiefs allow just the 7^th-fewest WR points per game and rank 8^th in pass defense DVOA. I’d view McMillan as more of a risky WR4 than a WR3 option this week.

WR Rome Odunze, CHI (Wk. 9: @ Ari.): Odunze faces a favorable matchup this week as the Cardinals allow the 9^th-most WR points per game, and rank 29^th in pass defense DVOA. He also saw promising usage last week, earning a 30% target share and 41% air yardage share, but those positive indicators aren’t enough for me to overlook the overall lack of production from Odunze this season. He’s finished as a PPR WR3 or better just once this year. The usage last week points to good things to come for Odunze in weeks where the Bears have passing success, and they very much should have that success against the Cardinals this week, but it’s hard to recommend Odunze as anything more than an upside WR4/5 option.

WR Jalen Coker, CAR (Wk. 9: vs. NO): Coker posted his best fantasy game of the season last week (4-78-1 on 6 targets) as Bryce Young surprisingly managed to put up a respectable passing performance against the stingy Broncos’ defense. Now the Panthers have traded away Diontae Johnson and opened up more playing time for the other receivers. Everything should be looking up for Coker going forward, right? Not so fast, my friends. Adam Thielen could be on the cusp of returning, and if he does, there’s a real risk that Coker loses a LOT of playing time. Thielen’s primary role with the Panthers has been slot receiver. He’s spent over 65% of his snaps with Carolina lined up in the slot while Coker has lined up there on 71.7% of his snaps this season. You’d hope the Panthers would find a way to work around Thielen’s return and keep their exciting rookie on the field, but Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo, and David Moore are all more experienced on the perimeter and are likely to cut drastically into Coker’s snaps if Thielen is indeed back this week. If Thielen sits again, or you’re confident in Coker not losing snaps this week, he’s an intriguing WR3/flex option against a New Orleans defense that allows the 7^th-most WR points per game. There’s enough risk here for me that I’d recommend against plugging him in.

WR Devaughn Vele, DEN (Wk. 9: @ Bal.): Vele gets to face off with a Baltimore defense that allows the 2^nd-most WR points per game, but the Ravens play man coverage at the 11^th-highest rate in the league, and all of Vele’s production this year has come vs zone coverage. Vele has just 1 catch for 3 yards vs man coverage all season long, and his playing time has been decreasing since he returned to action a few weeks ago. His route participation rate has gone from 71% in week 6, to 58% in week 7, to 39% in week 8. His dwindling playing time, and his struggles against man coverage make this a bad week to trust Vele to find his way to a respectable PPR score.

TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, CAR (Wk. 9: vs. NO): Sanders’ positive momentum toward the TE1 ranks was derailed last week by the returns of Tommy Tremble and Bryce Young to the lineup. Sanders has undoubtedly been more successful than Tremble as a receiver this season, but the coaching staff has consistently treated Tremble as their top TE when healthy. Tremble was in a route on 51% of the Panthers’ team passing dropbacks last weekend compared to 44% for Sanders. Sanders has also struggled to put up any kind of production this year when Bryce Young is under center. He has below a 5% target share from Bryce and has totaled just 4-19 on 4 targets in Young’s 3 starts this season. The Saints are a middling TE defense, allowing the 15^th-fewest TE points per game, but you just can’t count on production here with Bryce at QB.

TE Theo Johnson, NYG (Wk. 9: vs. Was.): Johnson posted a respectable 3-35 line on 4 targets in week 8. It was his best fantasy performance of any game Malik Nabers has been active for this season. In fact, prior to week 8, Johnson had a combined total of just 3 catches for 37 yards on 8 targets in the other 5 game games Nabers played in this year. While it’s a promising sign to see Theo produce with Nabers in the lineup, it’s worth noting that 3 of the targets came in the 4^th quarter while the Giants were mounting a comeback effort, and he put up 2 catches for 28 yards on the game’s final drive. It’s possible the Giants find themselves in similar situations this week, but against a Washington defense that allows the 9^th-fewest TE points per game, I’m not going to bet on a repeat performance for Johnson here. With increased tight end production league-wide in recent weeks, even if he does post another 6–8-point performance, it’s just not that useful from your starting tight end in 12-team leagues right now.

Rookies You Already Know You Should Sit:

RB Ray Davis, BUF (Wk. 9: vs. Mia.): Davis gets a good matchup this week – Miami ranks 28^th in run defense DVOA and allows the 9^th-most RB points per game, but he’s played 25% or more of the snaps with James Cook active just once all year. The Bills have made a point to get him 5-8 touches per game (he carried 6 times for 29 yards last weekend), but he basically has to get in the end zone to return value on that kind of workload. That’s a risky bet to make when he’s seen just 1 carry inside the 5-yard line all season.

RB Blake Corum, LAR (Wk. 9: @ Sea.): Corum was on the field for just 11% of the snaps in the Rams’ upset win over the Vikings last week, finishing with just 18 yards on 5 touches. He’s the clear RB2 in this backfield, but this backfield remains a one-man show.

RB Kimani Vidal, LAC (Wk. 9 : @ Cle.): Vidal’s week 8 usage was less than optimal for his outlook going forward. The Chargers played mostly from ahead, but Vidal played his lowest snap share in 3 weeks and ceded more receiving routes to JK Dobbins than usual, which is especially alarming since the Chargers have been throwing the ball more in recent weeks. Vidal finished the game with 6 carries for 16 yards and zero targets. I expected him to see an increase in playing time with the Chargers comfortable favorites, and instead, his usage went in the other direction. I wouldn’t recommend considering him against Cleveland, who allows the 6^th-fewest RB points per game.

RB Jaylen Wright, MIA (Wk. 9: @ Buf.): Wright has been below a 10% snap share in each of the last two games with Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane both healthy. He’s been effective when he gets carries, but the carries have been sparse, and there’s no reason to expect that to change this week, barring an injury ahead of him.

RB Trey Benson, ARI (Wk. 9 : vs. Chi.): Benson has played just 8 snaps in the last two weeks, totaling 1 carry and zero targets. He’s not on the fantasy radar right now.

RB Carson Steele, KC (Wk. 9: vs. TB): After 3 straight weeks of playing exactly a 19% snap share, Steele’s playing time finally changed in week 8 - it dropped to 10%. He’s a distant 3^rd in the Kansas City backfield, scoring fewer than 5 total PPR points over the last 4 games, and at some point, Isiah Pacheco is going to return as well.

RB Audric Estime, DEN (Wk. 9: @ Bal.): I was optimistic that Estime would see at least a handful of garbage time touches last weekend against the Panthers, but Sean Payton couldn’t let me have that. The Broncos ran 19 offensive plays in the 2^nd half with a 3-touchdown lead last Sunday, and Estime logged just one touch in that span. Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams combined for 12 opportunities in those 19 plays as Payton kept his starters in. If Estime can’t get opportunities in blowout wins, it’s hard to envision a path to getting them this week, when the Broncos are 9.5-point underdogs.

RB Marshawn Lloyd, GB (Wk. 9: vs. Det.): At some point Lloyd is going to return from IR. And when that happens, he’ll have work to do before he can move ahead of Chris Brooks or Emmanuel Wilson on the depth chart here. If Lloyd’s active this week, anything more than a few snaps would be a surprise, and the Lions allow the 3^rd-fewest RB points per game.

RB Will Shipley, PHI (Wk. 9: vs. Jax.): Shipley handled the first 10 carries of his career in the last two games, and nearly scored his first career TD last Sunday had it not been called back on a hold, but it doesn’t mean you need to have Shipley on your radar. All 10 of his carries came in garbage time with the Eagles leading by 17points in the 4^th quarter.

WR Ja’Lynn Polk, NE (Wk. 9 : @ Ten.): Polk should be able to return from a week 7 concussion this week, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll play a significant number of snaps or that he’ll have Drake Maye throwing him the football as Maye recovers from a concussion of his own. Polk’s playing time was already headed in the wrong direction before he suffered the injury, with Kayshon Boutte, Demario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne serving as the team’s top 3 wide receivers. If Maye is out, starting Polk shouldn’t even be a thought in your head as potentially the WR4 against a Tennessee defense that allows the 6^th-fewest WR points per game. Jacoby Brissett hasn’t thrown for more than 168 yards in a game this year. If Maye is able to get cleared, it adds a little bit of upside to Polk, but the matchup and the playing time will still be problems.

WR Jordan Whittington, LAR (Wk. 9: @ Sea.): I was hopeful for Whittington for the rest of the season last week when Cooper Kupp trade rumors were swirling. Now that Sean McVay has put those trade rumors to bed and Kupp and Puka Nacua are back in the lineup, you can probably drop Whittington in most standard redraft leagues. Kupp and Nacua will be locked into full-time roles while healthy, and that’ll leave Whittington to split WR3 work with Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell.

WR Mason Tipton, NO (Wk. 9: @ Car.): Bub Means will likely miss a few weeks with a high ankle sprain, and Derek Carr is expected to return this week, but I’m not sure those things move the needle enough for Tipton to be a real consideration for lineups. Tipton has exceeded 15 receiving yards just once this season, and it happened in a contest where the Saints were playing without Chris Olave and threw nearly 40 times in a blowout loss. The Saints are favored by 7.5 points this week, so I’d expect the passing volume to be significantly lower (they threw 24 times in their blowout win over Carolina in week 1), and much of that volume will run through Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara. If you’re looking for a Saints’ sleeper in this matchup, I’d much rather target Taysom Hill or Jamaal Williams in the run game than Tipton in the passing game.

WR Luke McCaffrey, WAS (Wk. 9: @ NYG): McCaffrey nearly scored his first touchdown last Sunday, but was shoved out of bounds in the end zone before he could get his feet down for the score. It was the closest thing he had to a highlight as he finished the day with 1 catch for 8 yards on 2 targets. He logged his lowest route participation rate of the season and continued to split the WR3 snaps with Olamide Zaccheaus and Dyami Brown.

WR Jermaine Burton, CIN (Wk. 9 : vs. LV): Tee Higgins was a surprising inactive last week after suffering a late-week quad injury, but the injury forced Burton into extended action for the first time since week 2. He set new season-highs in route participation rate (43%) and targets (3), and he hauled in a 41-yard catch. I’d bet against a repeat this week though. The Bengals are optimistic Higgins will be back for week 9, and Burton’s best path to fantasy usefulness is the deep ball. The Raiders haven’t allowed a completion of 40+ yards all season long.

WR Malik Washington, MIA (Wk. 9: @ Buf.): With Tua back under center in week 8, Washington’s route participation rate was back down to 30%, and Tua barely even looked his way in the game, let alone throw to him. It was a positive sign that Washington still ran more routes than Odell Beckham Jr., but I doubt we see much fantasy relevance from the rookie this year unless the Dolphins fall fully out of playoff contention and try to get the young guys some opportunities.

TE Erick All, CIN (Wk. 9: vs. LV): All’s most productive weeks this season were in September when Tee Higgins was sidelined and then working his way back into form. Erick wasn’t playing massive snap shares back then, but he was being targeted when he was on the field. Unfortunately, that high target rate for All didn’t return last weekend with Higgins sidelined again. The rookie was in a route on 38% of the team’s passing dropbacks, but he was targeted just twice. The 2-32 line he finished with is similar to the type of production he was putting up in the first few weeks of the season, but 5-7 PPR points from a tight end just isn’t as useful in lineups anymore as tight end production has increased league wide. Bringing up National Tight Ends’ day was popular last weekend, and tight end scores in week 8 were the best we’ve seen all season, but it was the 3^rd time in the last 4 weeks that at least 16 tight ends scored 10+ PPR points.

TE Cade Stover, HOU (Wk. 9: @ NYJ): Stover has seen a small uptick in his playing time and usage in recent weeks as the Texans have played without Nico Collins and now Stefon Diggs. He set new season-highs in target share and PPR points last Sunday, but he totaled just 2 catches for 19 yards on 3 targets. That sort of usage probably declines when Nico Collins returns, and this week’s opponent, the Jets, allow the 8^th-fewest TE points per game.

TE Ben Sinnott, WAS (Wk. 9: @ NYG): Sinnott scored his first NFL touchdown in week 7 garbage time with Marcus Mariota in at QB, but in week 8 he was back to running a handful of target-less route. He’s still not an option in fantasy leagues.

Deep League Sleepers and Stashes:

WR Xavier Legette, CAR (Wk. 9: vs. NO): Legette is probably a bit too established to list here in the ‘Sleepers’ section of the column, but be honest…were you giving serious consideration to starting him this week with Bryce Young under center again and Adam Thielen likely returning? My guess is no, but I think you should. With Diontae Johnson gone, Legette is now the team’s top perimeter target, and the Saints, who already allow the 7^th-most WR points per game, are likely going to be playing without their top 2 perimeter cornerbacks, Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo. The Saints play man-to-man coverage at the 8^th-highest rate in the league per PFF, and Legette’s 0.61 fantasy points per route run vs man coverage is far and away the best mark among the Panthers’ receivers. There’s still a lot of uncertainty here with Thielen returning, and I know we’re not ready to trust Bryce just yet, but Young was much better last week than he was prior to his benching, and I think Legette will be the biggest beneficiary if Young keeps it up this week. I’d treat him as a WR4 option and would prefer Legette over any other Carolina WR.

WR Troy Franklin, DEN (Wk. 9: @ Bal.): Like Devaughn Vele, Franklin saw his playing time go in the wrong direction last week as the Broncos heavily utilized their tight ends in the passing game. Unlike Vele, Franklin has not struggled against man-to-man coverage this season. The Ravens play man-to-man at the 11^th-highest rate in the league, and Franklin has averaged 0.73 fantasy points per route run (top-10 in the league) and earned a whopping 45.5% target rate when facing man coverage. If he’s on the field, and the other team is playing man-to-man, Bo Nix throws in his direction nearly half the time, which means he has big upside against a Ravens’ defense that allows the 2^nd-most WR points per game. This can certainly backfire if Franklin is in a route on less than 40% of the dropbacks again like he was last week, but there aren’t many guys who are rostered in as few leagues as Franklin is (he’s 12% rostered in redraft leagues on Sleeper) that have the kind of upside he does this week. If you’re scrounging the wire for a deep plug-and-play option, Franklin is your guy.

WR Adonai Mitchell, IND (Wk. 9: @ Min.): I’m not sure I can tell you with a straight face to start Mitchell this week. After all, he’s posted more than 5 PPR points just once this season, but the return of Joe Flacco to the starting lineup does make him more intriguing as a stash. I keep repeating it every week – Mitchell earns targets at a high rate when he’s on the field. He’s been targeted on at least 30% of his routes run in 6 straight games. The problem is that he’s not on the field enough, and that those targets aren’t connecting often enough. According to Dwain McFarland’s (MB Fantasy Life) Utilization Tool, just 53% of Mitchell’s targets this season have been catchable. That’s largely due to Anthony Richardson’s abysmal 55.6% on-target rate. Joe Flacco is at 71.2% on the year, and Flacco was at QB for the one game where Mitchell scored more than 5 points. With Alec Pierce making less of an impact in recent weeks, there may finally be an opening for Mitchell to start logging route participation rates above 30%, and once that happens, we’re not going to be too far off from Adonai becoming a viable fantasy WR. This week’s opponent, the Vikings, do allow the most WR points per game, so there’s some YOLO appeal for the deepest of leagues this week, but I mostly mention Mitchell as a stash for the back half of the season.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Hopefully it helps you sort through your lineup decisions and find your way to a win this weekend. Feel free to hit me up on Twitter/X (@Shawn_Foss) if you have any questions or want to yell at me about anything written above, and always make sure to apply what’s written in the context of your own league rules and roster. Keep a close eye on the injury report throughout the week if you have any guys who are questionable and do a final pre-game check to make sure you don’t start any inactive players. As always: Good luck, trust your gut and have fun. It’s just a game.