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IDP Start/Sit Advice & Rankings for Week 9 (Fantasy Football)

IDP Start/Sit Advice & Rankings for Week 9 (Fantasy Football)

Here are players to consider starting and sitting this week, along with analysis to help you make your IDP roster decisions.

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Start

Jerry Hughes (DL – BUF)
Hughes has been magnificent this year and part of the reason the Bills defense has been so respectable. He’s totaled 4.5 sacks but has also piled up 10 tackles for loss over the last seven games. The Bears offensive line took a hit losing Kyle Long last week, and it’s not as if left tackle Charles Leto is a brick wall. Despite being rather mobile, Mitch Trubisky and the Bears offense have allowed 22.2 points per game to opposing defensive ends, which ranks as the 13th-most in the league.

Mario Addison (DL – CAR)
Addison has been all over the stat sheet this year, totaling 16 tackles, including seven for a loss, 4.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. The Bucs have been ultra-generous to defensive ends this year, allowing 25.6 points per game, which is the second-most in the NFL. Let’s not pretend that Ryan Fitzpatrick has Jameis Winston‘s mobility, either. Against Donovan Smith, Addison should walk into a sack this weekend.

Robert Quinn (DL – MIA)
The acquisition of Quinn hasn’t quite worked out for the Dolphins to this point, as he and Cameron Wake were supposed to form a dynamic pass-rushing duo, though they’ve combined for just 2.0 sacks all season. Are the Jets their cure? The Dolphins have had 10 days to prepare for this game, and when these two teams met back in Week 2, that’s when Quinn got his only sack of the year.

Danny Trevathan (LB – CHI)
With Khalil Mack ailing the last three weeks, Trevathan has played up to the challenge, posting 25 total tackles in that time. On the season, Trevathan has totaled at least 6.5 fantasy points in each game, though this may be one of his biggest ones yet. The Bills have been a linebacker funnel defense, allowing a league-high 52.4 points per game to them, which is more than two points more than the next closest team. Between Trevathan and Roquan Smith, you should have two startable linebackers on the Bears roster, though Trevathan is the preferred option.

Tahir Whitehead (LB – OAK)
It’s tough to find players to start on the Raiders defense, but Whitehead stands out among the linebackers. He’s totaled at least six solo tackles in three of the last four games, including two tackles for loss last week against the Colts. Teams are going to continue to run on them, which should allow for more opportunities against the 49ers team that have some issues at quarterback and may run more than usual. On the season, they’ve allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing linebackers, so Whitehead should provide a rock-solid floor in this game.

Roquan Smith (LB – CHI)
Similar to Danny Trevathan, Smith has played much better over the last three weeks, making up for the lack of Khalil Mack. In that time, he’s posted 23 total tackles, including two for a loss, and a sack. The Bills have shut-down opposing defensive tackles, allowing a league-low 7.6 points per game to them, which funnels right back to the inside linebackers, and why they’ve allowed a league-high 52.4 points to them.

Justin Reid (DB – HOU)
Reid has been thrust into the starting lineup as a rookie, and he’s lived up to the third-round pick the Texans spent on him, deflecting five passes and intercepting two through eight games. The Broncos and Case Keenum allow the most points to opposing safeties this year, and knowing they’re down to playing Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson at cornerback, Reid is going to be asked to clean-up a lot more than usual. He was up to the task last week, piling up nine total tackles.

Mike Adams (DB – CAR)
Adams has been rather consistent as of late, totaling at least 6.5 fantasy points in each of the last four weeks (which is when Eric Reid was acquired), and doing it in a variety of ways. He totaled six tackles in three of them, while intercepting three passes during that stretch, and deflecting six others. The Bucs have been ultra-generous to opposing safeties, allowing a combined 53.8 points per game to them.

Sit

Akiem Hicks (DL – CHI)
After a hot start where he totaled three sacks in the first four games, Hicks has been quiet over the last few games, totaling just five total tackles the last two weeks. The Bills matchup might sound like a good idea, but they’ve actually allowed the second-fewest points to opposing defensive tackles, with most of the fantasy points funneling to the linebacker position. You don’t want to say he’s a terrible play, but the stat sheet says that he’s not a great one.

Larry Ogunjobi (DL – CLE)
It’s tough enough for two defensive linemen on the same team to be fantasy relevant week over week, though Ogunjobi and Myles Garrett have done it. The issue with relying on it this week is that the Chiefs allow the absolute fewest points to defensive linemen. On the year, opposing teams of linemen average just 23.7 points per game against them, which includes just 5.0 sacks. It’s going to be tough for both of them to succeed this week.

Jarran Reed (DL – SEA)
Reed has been fantastic this year and currently sits as the No. 6 defensive tackle in IDP. Unfortunately, he’s running into a matchup with the Chargers, who have been stout up the middle and have allowed just 10.4 points per game to opposing defensive tackles, which is the eighth-fewest in the league. Philip Rivers has only been sacked nine times all season, so this week isn’t likely to be a big one for Reed.

Christian Kirksey (LB – CLE)
While Joe Schobert has missed some time with his hamstring injury, Kirksey has boosted his stats the last few weeks, piling up 17 total tackles the last two weeks. The issue is that he’s heading into a matchup with the team who allows the fewest fantasy points per game to defenses. The Chiefs have allowed a combined 99.7 fantasy points per game to opposing teams, while some teams allow that much to the opposing front-seven alone. You’ll have to rely on tackles alone, as Mahomes has only been sacked twice by a linebacker, which drags down the potential.

Darron Lee (LB – NYJ)
Opponents of the Dolphins haven’t had much luck in IDP formats. They’ve allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points overall, and that has shown in the results for linebackers. Through eight games, they’ve allowed just 152 total tackles or 19.0 per game. Don’t forget that Avery Williamson is still there with him and has 13 more tackles than Lee on the season.

Raekwon McMillan (LB – MIA)
We’ve seen both Kiko Alonso and Jerome Baker outperform McMillan this year, as he’s totaled just 47 tackles with just 1.5 for a loss on the season, and keep in mind they still haven’t had their bye week. The Jets have allowed the absolute fewest fantasy points per game to linebackers, allowing just one sack on the year and 130 total tackles. He’s not playable in this game.

Kevin Byard (DB – TEN)
Knowing that Byard has been a disappointment this season with just 35 total tackles and one interception, it’s going to be difficult to trust him against the Cowboys, who run just 60.4 plays per game, which ranks as the seventh-lowest in the league. The Titans themselves run just 58.7 plays (fourth-lowest), so this figures to be a slow-paced game, and Dak Prescott hasn’t been prone to turnovers.

Jahleel Addae (DB – LAC)
The Chargers defense as a whole has been playing better, but Addae hasn’t been startable most weeks. There have been just three games all season where he’s totaled more than five tackles, including just once over the last four games. The Seahawks don’t give many opportunities to opposing safeties, and it’s why they’ve allowed the second-fewest points per game (20.1) to them. Keep him on fantasy benches.

Here are my full IDP rankings for the week.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.

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