Sleeper Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - NFL Week 9: Lineup Tricks and Treats Amidst Injury Chaos

Week 9 commences on Halloween, and fantasy managers would prefer to be treated to touchdowns and not tricked with injuries or shocking subpar production — themes that have been all too familiar this NFL season.

The litany of long-term injuries grew after Week 8, as Christian Kirk and Stefon Diggs were lost for the season. If the injury chaos is affecting your lineup, be sure to check out Sleeper’s Week 9 waiver wire guide. 

With the calendar flipping to November by the end of this week’s slate, most fantasy managers will be faced with six more weeks to qualify for the fantasy playoffs. There is still time to make that postseason run, so keep making moves and keep an eye on the matchups you can exploit or avoid to your benefit. (And get those trades in before your league’s deadline!) 

As for this week, our list of suggested starts (all of whom are being started in 70% or less of Sleeper leagues at time of writing) kicks off with an underrated running back who could become a coveted league-winner down the stretch.

STARTS

RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

vs. Las Vegas; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET 

Brown continues to be overlooked by fantasy managers, as he is being started in just 47% of Sleeper leagues. The emerging second-year back has wrestled lead-back duties away from Zack Moss due to solid production both through the air and on the ground. 

On Sunday, Brown faces a Raiders defense that has surrendered 10 rushing touchdowns this season, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. The overall RB28, who is averaging 14.5 PPR points over his last five games, should easily surpass Sleeper’s Week 9 projection of RB21 (11.6 PPR points).

WR Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

at Cincinnati; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET 

After missing the previous two games with an ankle injury, Meyers returned to action last week and posted his second-best PPR performance of the season (17.2 points). The veteran wideout, who hauled in six receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs, is the Raiders’ clear WR1 with Davante Adams now in New York. 

Meyers, who should dominate the Vegas target share alongside star rookie TE Brock Bowers, is poised to be a reliable WR2/3 for the rest of the season. In Week 9, he draws a favorable matchup against a Cincinnati pass defense that has allowed 12 opposing wideouts to post double-digit fantasy points.  

WRs Michael Pittman/Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts 

at Minnesota; Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET  

The Colts announced that they’re benching starting QB Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco for their Sunday night showdown with the Vikings – and going forward. Fantasy managers who have shares of Pittman and Downs are surely rejoicing upon the news. 

Pittman, who posted 12+ PPR fantasy points in three games with Flacco, only averaged 6.3 points in five games with Richardson. Meanwhile, Downs posted 22.2, 15.9 and 19.5 PPR points in the three games Flacco was under center.

On Sunday, Indy’s starting WR duo will encounter a Vikings secondary that has allowed the fifth-most passing yards (2,004) and the sixth-most passing touchdowns (14). Over the last four games, the Vikings have allowed 10 touchdowns to opposing wideouts.

With the plus-matchup, fantasy managers should start both of the Colts’ WRs with renewed confidence. 

QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

at Green Bay; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET 

It is certainly puzzling to see Goff only starting in 45% of Sleeper leagues, despite the QB’s elite play this season. After his three-TD performance in Week 8 against Tennessee, Goff has thrown for 12 scores over his last five games.

A deeper dive shows that Goff, who has led the Lions to a 3-0 mark on the road this season, thrives historically when playing the Packers. The midseason NFL MVP contender owns an outstanding 12:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio in seven career starts against the Lions’ NFC North foe.

In Week 9, Goff faces a Packers defense that has surrendered the sixth-most passing plays of 20+ yards this season (26). The Lions are armed with arguably the best ground game in the NFL, so expect the veteran signal-caller to utilize play-action and take his shots down the field. 

Goff, who has completed 83.7% of his passes over the Lions’ five-game winning streak, should easily eclipse Sleeper’s projection of 16.5 points.

WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans

vs. New England; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

The lone bright spot in the Titans’ 52-14 debacle at Detroit was the performance of their much-maligned wideout, who thrived playing in the club’s first game since trading DeAndre Hopkins to Kansas City. Ridley, who had only produced 12.5 PPR fantasy points over his previous four games, exploded for 22.6 points against the Lions.

The talented wide receiver, who is only being started in 36% of Sleeper leagues, draws a favorable matchup against a Patriots defense that is allowing an average of 12.4 receptions and 156 receiving yards to opposing wideouts. Sleeper’s projected WR36 (10.8 PPR points) is primed to surpass that projection when facing a soft New England secondary that has allowed 12 opposing wideouts to post double-digit fantasy points. 

SITS

RB Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

vs. LA Chargers; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

There was excitement after Chubb posted 10.2 PPR fantasy points in his 2024 debut in Week 7 against the Bengals. But in Week 8, the veteran back only produced 5.3 points despite 16 rushing attempts. Chubb has lacked explosiveness in his return from a serious knee injury, averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per rush. And after the upset win over the Ravens last week, head coach Kevin Stefanski shared that Chubb is still on a snap-count restriction. 

In Week 9, he draws a tough matchup against a Chargers defense that has allowed only 84.3 rushing yards per game and just one rushing touchdown total (and it came in Week 1!) to opposing running backs this season.

TE Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers

vs. Detroit; Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET  

Kraft has outperformed preseason expectations, ranking as the overall TE5 in fantasy football. But in Week 9, he draws a tough matchup against a Lions defense that is only allowing an average of 30 receiving yards and one touchdown total to opposing tight ends. 

On top of that, with Jordan Love (groin) likely out, the downgrade to Malik Willis under center cannot be overlooked, as the backup only averaged 162 passing yards per game in his two games as a starter in place of the injured Love.

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

at Philadelphia; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET 

Take a bow if you know who the overall QB12 is without looking it up. Despite guiding the Jaguars to an abysmal 2-6 record, Lawrence sneaks in as the final QB1 (speaking in terms of 12-team leagues) after eight weeks. 

Despite averaging 16.2 points, Lawrence needs to be benched after losing all three of starting wide receivers to injury in Week 8. While Christian Kirk (collarbone) was lost for the season, and standout rookie Brian Thomas Jr. (chest) could miss multiple weeks, while Gabe Davis (shoulder) could still be limited if he doesn’t have to miss any games.

In Week 9, Lawrence draws a tough matchup against an Eagles’ defense that has allowed the fifth-fewest passing yards (1,497) this season. Over the last three weeks, Philadelphia’s improving secondary has only surrendered 507 passing yards (169 per game) and one passing touchdown.

Potentially faced with turning to Parker Washington and Tim Jones as his starting wideouts, Lawrence is a QB fantasy managers need to avoid. 

RB Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos

at Baltimore; Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Williams ranks as a mid-tier RB3 with alluring flex appeal, averaging 10.2 PPR fantasy points per game, but he enters Week 9 after a massive disappointment. 

Williams headed into a favorable matchup against a woeful Panthers defense on the heels of quietly averaging 14.2 PPR fantasy points over Weeks 4-7; however, he produced only 52 total yards on 21 touches. 

Next, Williams and the Broncos have a brutal matchup against a Ravens defense that has allowed the fewest rushing yards (559) and only four rushing touchdowns to opposing running backs. Armed with the data that no opposing running back has topped 52 rushing yards against Baltimore this season, fantasy managers need to pivot to similarly ranked PPR RBs such as Chuba Hubbard, Kareem Hunt or Rachaad White.

TE Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

at Arizona; Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET  

Thanks to posting 49.7 PPR points combined in Weeks 3 and 6, Kmet slots in as the overall TE8 in fantasy football; however, he has only averaged 5.5 PPR points in his five other games. 

On Sunday, Kmet will encounter an Arizona defense that has shut down opposing tight ends this season. In eight games, the Cardinals have only allowed two opposing TEs to exceed 36 receiving yards while only surrendering one touchdown to the position this season. 

Kmet sits fourth on the Bears in total targets (31) behind the WR trio of D.J. Moore (51), Rome Odunze (37) and Keenan Allen (32). Without the volume to support him, Kmet needs to be left on the bench in a difficult matchup.

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