Last year in Week 9, Adam Humphries broke out for 25 fantasy points while Maurice Harris also finished among the top ten fantasy receivers. Likewise, Cordarrelle Patterson outscored Davante Adams, Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill among several other stars. Over at quarterback, Nick Mullens came out of nowhere to outproduce Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady. Raheem Mostert was a surprise RB1 and Jeff Heuerman was a top-five tight end.

The point is that while everything you are about to read may seem crazy, this is a league where crazy things happen every week. I am merely trying to forecast which scenarios are possible in advance like last week when we hyped up Jonnu Smith.

I’ll be posting this article every Saturday, and while these are all players I feel strongly about for the week, these are not my projections by any means. Rather, a bold prediction is something that most people would say has less than 10% chance of happening, but I’ll give it two or even three times better odds. So perhaps use one of these guys in a DFS GPP or if you need help breaking a tie on a start/sit decision. By the way, here is my new weekly article called Quick Grades. It has all my start/sit recommendations in a quick-hitting format.

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#1 Washington will finish with a top-five defense
If anyone wrote those words a month ago, even in a bold prediction piece, they’d have been fired immediately. Somehow, though, Washington has now looked strong defensively in three straight contests, allowing just 44 points in that time. In fact, they have 14 sacks in the last four games. That still wouldn’t be exciting enough since it is Washington, but they take on a turnover machine in Josh Allen. The wind will be howling and the ball will be wet so don’t be surprised if they force multiple turnovers and keep the score low.
Final Prediction: 16 pts allowed, 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 TD

#2 Mitch Trubisky will outscore Carson Wentz
This one may seem outlandish because there is no one in the world who would deny the fact that Wentz is the superior real-life quarterback, but we are talking about fantasy football. In fantasy, volume matters, and Wentz will be going up against a run-funnel defense and in a run-friendly game script. Expect them to pound the ball on the ground. Meanwhile, Mitch will likely be playing from behind and Philly has one of the best run defenses in football so they will have to throw all game, and perhaps 40+ times. What’s more, is that Trubiksy can pile up yards on the ground too.
Final Prediction: Trubisky (27 for 42, 286 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT, 8 carries, 55 yds), Wentz (21 for 28, 245 yds, 1 TD, 1 carry, 2 yds)

#3 Trey Edmunds will pull a good version of the Tra Carson
With James Conner now listed as doubtful and Benny Snell Jr. already ruled out, the assumption is that Jaylen Samuels will receive the lion’s share of the Steelers backfield touches. While this is, of course, a strong possibility, there is reason to doubt it as well. Samuels underwent knee surgery less than a month ago and it was presumed at that time that he would miss at least a month. Perhaps he is ready, but it is entirely possible we find out one possession into the game that he was rushed back a bit too fast. If that happens, Edmunds would get the vast majority of the touches behind a stellar offensive line.
Final Prediction: Samuels (8 car, 21 yds, 3 rec, 24 yds), Edmunds (14 car, 87 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec, 15 yds)

#4 Mark Walton will end up among the top 15 backs
Kenyan Drake‘s strong performance against the 49ers made it clear just how hard it is to rack up yards in Miami’s abysmal offense, but this week may be the lone exception. You see, the Jets were having a hard time stopping the run to begin with then they traded Leonard Williams (their best run stopper) and lost C.J. Mosley (their 2nd best) to injury for a month. If Miami is ever going to have success on the ground, it would be this week, and fortunately for Walton, he should see the majority of the touches.
Final Prediction: 14 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD, 6 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD

#5 Chris Conley will be a top 25 wideout
D.J. Chark and Dede Westbrook have been hands-down the top two targets for Gardner Minshew so far this season but this week Dede might not play. In fact, after he left the game last week with both a shoulder and neck injury, it seemed likely that he’d sit out Week 9 in London which just so happens to be right before Jacksonville’s bye. Assuming he doesn’t end up playing, Conley would be the #2 against what may just be the worst secondary in football now that everyone is injured from an already struggling unit.
Final Prediction: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 72 yards, 1 TD

The Other Half

#6 Mark Ingram won’t finish among the top 40 backs (Essentially #2 back behind L Jackson + terrible matchup)
Final Prediction: 12 carries, 40 yards, 1 rec, 5 yards

#7 Parris Campbell will receive for 100+ yards (Direct replacement for T.Y. Hilton‘s role)
Final Prediction: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD

#8 Greg Olsen will finish outside the top 20 tight ends (Has been dreadful outside of easy matchups vs ARI and TB)
Final Prediction: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards

#9 Demaryius Thomas will end up a top 25 wideout (Perfect matchup against the Dolphins)
Final Prediction: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD

#10 Melvin Gordon will run for over 100 yards (All tough matchups & now a great one vs GB)
Final Prediction: 15 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 11 yards

Thanks for reading and happy football season!

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