Can you believe that it’s already Week #9 of the NFL season? Neither can we. It’s gone by so quickly, but that doesn’t mean that your daily fantasy football performance should be suffering. It can be tough to pay attention to scores and statistics at this point in the season, so we’ve put together another resource for you when it comes to helping put together your fantasy roster for the week. If you are considering any of the players mentioned here, this should be a good guide for how to structure your team.
Quarterback
Derek Carr: Carr had an amazing weekend last week. He put up 4 touchdowns and had 513 yards in passing. While this is certainly indicative of some great talent, this is not the week to go all in on him. Carr is going up against the Denver Broncos in Week #9 and they happen to have the number one defense in the NFL against QBs. Carr is showing us that he’s good, and he has the overall strong fantasy numbers that we would normally love to see at his price. However, against Denver this is not a week to jump on the Carr train. We recommend fading on him this time around.
Dak Prescott: Prescott’s fantasy numbers are not nearly as good as Carr’s right now, but they are pretty similar. The glaring difference is that Carr has 17 passing touchdowns this season, and Prescott has only 9. But Prescott can run the ball and has more rushing TDs than Carr. In most leagues, these count for more points. Also, Prescott has only 2 interceptions so far. The differences put Prescott just behind Carr in an average fantasy setting. The selling point on Prescott this week is the team that his Dallas Cowboys are going against. The Cleveland Browns are ranked 29th in the NFL in terms of defending the QB. Not only does this imply that his stats will be above average, it opens the door for his running game to improve, too. Prescott will be a much better value pick than Carr.
Wide Receiver
T.Y. Hilton: With Antonio Brown being questionable at this point, Hilton looks like the top pick at WR. The pair of Hilton and QB Andrew Luck is impressive, and the Green Bay Packers have only performed at an average level against the pass this season. Hilton isn’t too expensive this week, and has great potential to have a strong game here. He has only 4 touchdowns, but we are expecting to see this number improve. It’s his average of 88.6 yards per game that impresses us more, and that’s a number that we definitely believe will be surpassed this week.
Brandin Cooks: Cooks is posting fantasy numbers almost identical to Hilton’s, and he’s likely to be a bit cheaper than Hilton this week, which may lead you to consider drafting him. Although he could work here, consider that the San Francisco 49ers have slightly stronger passing defense than the Packers do, and this could bring down his performance level a bit. Plus, Cooks has a slightly lower yards per game average than Hilton. So even though he might be cheaper, he is not the better play here.
Running Back
Ezekiel Elliott: Elliott is having a strong season, and despite the fact that there are suspension rumors swirling around him, he is still active this weekend. Even if he is the most expensive RB in your league, he’s a good pick this weekend. The Browns have a weak rushing defense and this opens up the door for Elliott to see a lot of carries. QB Dak Prescott has already shown him a lot of favoritism, and this is a spot where he’s likely to keep doing so. His 114.1 yards per game average isn’t too shabby, either.
Jay Ajayi: Ajayi has had one of the best back to back game performances ever from a RB, and he is pretty cheap this week. That would often imply an instant draft, but don’t be too quick here. The New York Jets have a horrible passing D right now, but their defense against the rush is not bad. We expect the Dolphins to rely a bit less on Ajayi this week thanks to that. He should still get some carries, but there’s no reason to expect the insane showings we’ve seen from him over the past few weeks.
