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Kyle Yates’ Last-Minute Week 9 Cheat Sheet (2020 Fantasy Football)

Kyle Yates’ Last-Minute Week 9 Cheat Sheet (2020 Fantasy Football)

We’re inching closer and closer to the fantasy football playoffs. Are you still in it?

If so, you’ve got some important decisions to make this week. I’m here with my quick-hitting thoughts to help you get ready for your fantasy matchups heading into week nine! If you’d like a little bit more in-depth studying, you can also find my weekly rankings here or my weekly fantasy projections article with projections and notes for every fantasy relevant player in the NFL here.

Here are some last-minute quick-hit items designed to help you live your best fantasy life in Week 8:

5 Players I Like More Than ECR

Leonard Fournette: After what we saw on the field last week in Tampa, it’s hard to see how Bruce Arians doesn’t give the full workload here to Fournette. He lands at RB16 in my rankings and he’s RB20 in ECR.

Gus Edwards: With Mark Ingram out, Edwards is in line for a nice workload here against Indianapolis. While it’s a tough matchup, Edwards brings a safe floor with his guaranteed workload and he has some upside as the goal line option. Edwards is RB31 in ECR, but RB26 in my rankings.

Antonio Brown: ECR might still be playing it a little bit safe here with AB this week, but I believe that he absolutely belongs in your starting lineup as a boom option. He lands at WR27 in my rankings and WR32 in ECR.

Brandin Cooks: ECR is pretty bullish on Cooks this week, but I’m even a little bit more so with my ranking of him. This is a great matchup and Cooks should put together a solid performance. He’s WR20 in ECR and WR17 in my rankings.

Eric Ebron: ECR has Ebron outside the top-12 at the position this week – TE13 – but I believe he should be considered as a solid start against the Dallas Cowboys. Ebron lands at TE10 in my rankings.

5 Players I Like Less Than ECR

DJ Moore: Moore’s continued to be barely involved in this offense and is being out-targeted by Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel. In a tough matchup, I’m downgrading more to WR24 in my rankings, while ECR has him at WR17.

Mike Evans: Whenever Chris Godwin has been on the field, Evans has been a complete afterthought in this offense. Now, Evans will not only have Godwin in the lineup, but Antonio Brown as well. Evans is viewed as a must-start option by ECR – WR16 – but I have him all the way down at WR28.

Amari Cooper: Cooper’s someone I’m looking to sit this week, if I can. He’s WR27 in ECR, but with the way this offense looks, I’m much less optimistic. He’s WR37 in my rankings.

Mark Andrews: Andrews has continued to be viewed as a top-3 option this year, but he’s failed to live up to that expectation and he’s been hurting your lineups each week if he doesn’t find the end zone. He’s TE3 in ECR, but this is a tough matchup for opposing TEs. He lands at TE6 in my weekly rankings.

Jared Cook: With Michael Thomas trending towards playing and Emmanuel Sanders coming back into the lineup, it’s hard to see how Cook sees more than three or four targets. He always has the potential to find the end zone, but ECR is viewing him as a must-start option at TE9, while I have him down at TE13.

Desperation Pickups

Jd Mckissic: McKissic is widely available and should see enough work as a receiver out of the backfield to return RB3 value.

Anthony Miller: Miller saw 11 targets last week and saw his snap share jump up to 81%. While it’s unclear whether that will be the norm moving forward, this is a plus matchup for opposing WRs and the Bears will need to get the ball out quickly with their OL in shambles. Miller can be started as a FLEX play this week with upside.

Randall Cobb: The Texans passing attack should go off in this one and Cobb has a very favorable CB matchup. Cobb should provide a safe enough floor to be trusted as a FLEX play with upside in Full PPR formats.

Tim Patrick: Patrick is expected to play this week and, if that’s the case, he should be considered for your starting lineup. Against the Falcons secondary, Patrick has a solid chance of going over 100 receiving yards yet again.

Nick Foles: It’s not going to be pretty, but Foles should do enough to be viewed as a mid-range QB2 against the Titans pass defense. The Bears should be forced to throw the ball a ton too in this game, which bodes well for fantasy football.

Irv Smith: Smith isn’t a sure thing at the TE position, which is why he’s widely available, but he can be plugged into your starting lineup if you’re in a pinch. He’ll need to find the end zone to finish within the top-12 TEs, but he is involved in this offense and points should be going up on the board here.

5 Receiver/Cornerback Matchups to Watch

DeAndre Hopkins/Byron Jones: Hopkins clearly has the edge here, but this should be a fun battle between two well-respected athletes.

Stefon Diggs/Quinton Dunbar: Diggs is going to absolutely torch this Seahawks secondary here. This is just a matchup that you’re going to want to pay attention to to see how many targets Diggs sees.

Jerry Jeudy/AJ Terrell: Two rookies from major college programs will square off here. Terrell has the potential to turn into a lockdown corner in the NFL, but can he keep up with as polished of a route-runner as Jeudy in this game?

Randall Cobb/Tre Herndon: All three Texans wideouts have favorable matchups, but Cobb should be able to get open consistently against Herndon.

Diontae Johnson/Trevon Diggs: The Cowboys defense is going to struggle this week and the Steelers should have no problem putting up points on the board. Diggs has struggled in coverage this year and Johnson should be open repeatedly.

5 Bold Predictions For Week 8

Mike Evans will finish outside the top-36 WRs.

Antonio Brown will finish in the top-20 WRs.

Lamar Jackson will finish outside the top-15 QBs.

Ben Roethlisberger will finish as a top-5 QB.

Tony Pollard will finish as a top-15 RB.

Useful Tools

Don’t forget about all of the useful tools My Playbook offers:

 


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Kyle Yates is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @KyleYNFL.

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