Kyle Yates’ Week 9 Fantasy Projections (2020 Fantasy Football)

Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Chargers

Date/Time: November 8, 4:05pm ET
Spread: Chargers -1
Over/Under: 51.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Chargers 26.25, Raiders 25.25

Las Vegas Raiders

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Los Angeles Chargers

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Quarterback

Las Vegas: Carr’s been performing well recently. Last week was a dud performance, but the weather played a huge role in that. While this is perceived to be a tough matchup, the Chargers have actually been giving fantasy points up to opposing QBs. They’re currently the 4th easiest matchup and Carr should be able to put together a solid outing. He’s not a top-12 option in my rankings, but he’s certainly in the streaming conversation.

Los Angeles: Herbert continues to play out of his mind this season and he’s firmly in the weekly QB1 conversation. Against the Raiders defense, Herbert should be viewed as a borderline top-5 option.

Running Backs

Las Vegas: Jacobs saw 31 total carries last week against Cleveland due to the weather. While we can’t comfortably project Jacobs to handle that many touches again this week, he’s a solid RB1 based on volume. The Chargers have been holding opposing RBs in check from a fantasy perspective, but Jacobs should see enough work to be viewed as a mid-range RB1.

Los Angeles: Jackson continues to see the majority of the work in this backfield and he’s bringing a safe floor every single week with his receiving ability. Against a Raiders defense that is currently the 5th easiest matchup for opposing RBs, Jackson should be started as a solid RB2 with upside. Kelley is still involved in this backfield, but he’s simply not performing as well as the other two options here. Kelley’s a low-end RB3 that can only be viewed as a bye week fill-in option right now. Pope has emerged as a solid option in this Chargers offense lately. He’s continuing to see his snap share increase and he’s repeatedly picking up chunk gains. He’s bringing a safe floor each week and he can be viewed as a high-upside RB3 this week against the Raiders.

Wide Receivers

Las Vegas: Ruggs was inches away from connecting on a pass that would have resulted in a touchdown last week. In a game where Carr only threw the ball 24 times, Ruggs saw four targets, while Nelson Agholor and Hunter Renfrow were barely involved. This is a positive sign for the young wideout, but the Raiders aren’t utilizing him as well as they could be. Ruggs thrives on getting the ball in the short passing game and making a big play happen with his speed and RAC ability. The Raiders continue to try to feed Ruggs the ball deep, which hasn’t worked out as well as we would hope for fantasy purposes. In this game, Ruggs is an intriguing FLEX play that always comes with the big-play potential, but he does come with an extremely low floor.

Los Angeles: Allen remains one of the most heavily targeted players in the NFL and he’s making it count for fantasy football. Allen is the WR14 on the entire season and he’s been finding the end zone here recently, which only boosts his fantasy production. He’s come with a safe floor every week with his target share, but he’s starting to cash in and produce top-tier numbers for fantasy. Allen can be started as a low-end WR1 in this matchup against the Raiders. Williams has been extremely inconsistent this season, but he has the talent and skillset that matches with what Herbert does best. Williams has the potential to be a top-24 WR in this offense, but he needs to improve his week in and week out consistency before we can confidently get there with him. In this matchup, he can be started as a safe WR3 that comes with insane upside.

Tight Ends

Las Vegas: Waller continues to be one of the most heavily targeted tight ends in the league, which makes him an extremely safe play week in and week out. Continue to plug in Waller as a top-3 option every single week.

Los Angeles: Henry hasn’t delivered a huge, blow-up performance this season, but he’s brought an extremely safe floor each week. If you’ve got Henry, continue to plug him into your lineup as a solid TE1.

FantasyProjection Buster: Williams has the talent to be a top-24 receiver in this offense, but he’s been so inconsistent this season. He can certainly finish higher than my projections or he can be barely involved in the offense this week.

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Miami Dolphins vs Arizona Cardinals

Date/Time: November 8, 4:25pm ET
Spread: Cardinals -4.5
Over/Under: 49.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Cardinals 27, Dolphins 22.5

Miami Dolphins

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Arizona Cardinals

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Quarterback

Miami: Tua looked good in his first NFL game, but we don’t have a large enough sample size that would allow us to feel confident plugging Tua in as a streaming option in week nine. For right now, Tua can remain on your bench, but a solid performance here could push him into that conversation next week against the Chargers.

Arizona: Murray has a fairly difficult matchup here on paper against the Dolphins, but he carries too much upside with his rushing ability to view him as anything less than a mid-range QB1. Plug Murray into your lineup as a solid starting option this week.

Running Backs

Miami: The Dolphins are going to be without Myles Gaskin the next few weeks and they appear to be set to play without Matt Breida in this contest too. With Breida most likely sidelined with a hamstring injury, Howard should assume the majority of the work on the ground. It’s going to be hard to trust Howard with the way that he’s looked previously this season and the fact that he’s been a healthy scratch recently, but he should be the clear ball-carrier in this one. Howard’s a fine pickup off the waiver wire and can be plugged into your lineup if you’re in a pinch as a RB3. Laird should be involved out of the backfield as a receiver in this one, but he’s unlikely to have many opportunities to find the end zone with Howard in the lineup. With that in mind, Laird’s a bye week fill-in option as a low-end RB3 in Full PPR formats. Salvon Ahmed should get some run in this game too with the injuries above him on the depth chart, but he’s unlikely to see enough work that would translate to a trustworthy fantasy option. He can remain on your waiver wire or added as a deep stash option.

Arizona: With Kenyan Drake almost certainly sidelined this week, Edmonds is in line for a huge workload against the Dolphins defense. The Dolphins are currently allowing an average of 21.8 fantasy points to opposing RBs and Edmonds should see all the touches he can handle in this one. He has the speed, athleticism, and pass-catching skills to be a top-tier fantasy asset and he lands as a mid-range RB1 in my weekly rankings.

Wide Receivers

Miami: With the way that Tua spread the ball around last week, it’s very difficult to trust either of the top receiving options in Miami. Parker made up for his lack of targets last week by finding the end zone, but this is a very different offense without Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB. Parker can be viewed as a boom-or-bust FLEX play. Williams has a chance to emerge as a solid receiving threat in this offense, but it’s impossible to forecast that right now until we have a larger sample size of Tua’s work to evaluate. Williams should be viewed as a low-end FLEX play this week due to all the uncertainty regarding the target distribution in Miami.

Arizona: Hopkins is an automatic start every single week that he’s active. The Dolphins have some good corners and Hopkins should draw coverage from Byron Jones, but that’s not going to be enough to move Hopkins out of top-5 WR consideration. Kirk has been on fire recently and has scored four touchdowns in his last two games. However, Kirk had some pretty easy matchups and now should draw coverage from Xavien Howard. Kirk gets a downgrade due to this matchup and should be viewed as a low-end WR3/high-end FLEX play.

Tight Ends

Miami: With the way Tua dispersed the targets among the Dolphins receivers last week, it’s hard to trust Gesicki as anything more than a mid-range TE2. He’ll need to score or breakaway a long play to finish higher than that.

Arizona: None of the Cardinals TEs should be considered for fantasy football this week.

FantasyProjection Buster: Any of the Dolphins could easily break my projections this week. We simply don’t have large enough of a sample to work with to determine where the targets are going to be dispersed in this offense.

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Pittsburgh Steelers vs Dallas Cowboys

Date/Time: November 8, 4:25pm ET
Spread: Steelers -14
Over/Under: 42 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Steelers 28, Cowboys 14

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Dallas Cowboys

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Quarterback

Pittsburgh: Vegas has the Steelers putting up a ton of points this week against the Dallas Cowboys and I don’t disagree. With that in mind, Big Ben absolutely belongs in your starting lineup as a QB1 with ridiculous upside here.

Dallas: Whichever quarterback that the Cowboys trot out on Sunday is not going to be worth considering for fantasy football.

Running Backs

Pittsburgh: There’s a very good chance that we see Conner rumble for multiple scores in this game against the Cowboys run defense. Start Conner with confidence as a locked-in RB1 with upside.

Dallas: Zeke has finished the last three weeks as the RB28, RB40, and RB32. With the Cowboys on their fourth-string QB now, the offensive line in shambles, and Zeke being barely involved as a receiver out of the backfield, there’s no reason for us to view Zeke as a solid start for fantasy purposes. He’s a low-end RB2 in my rankings this week, especially with the matchup against the stout Steelers defense.

Wide Receivers

Pittsburgh: It’s hard to look at the Steelers receiving trio and say that one of them isn’t worth starting this week. Diontae Johnson put up a dud performance last week, but his leaving the game earlier with a hamstring injury may have played a role in that. Every other game that Johnson has started and been healthy, he’s seen plenty of targets and has provided a safe floor for fantasy purposes. In this matchup against the Dallas secondary, Johnson should be viewed as a solid low-end WR2. Juju has put together nice back-to-back performances from a fantasy perspective and has seen 22 targets in the past two games. Smith-Schuster hasn’t found the end zone in those games, which hasn’t given him much of a ceiling, but he’s certainly not going to hurt your lineup. Start Juju this week as a solid WR3 that has upside in this matchup. Claypool was a fade for me last week due to the matchup, but he was able to pull through and find the end zone yet again. At this point, it’s very difficult to sit the talented, young receiver and this is a smash spot for him. Claypool can be started as a high-end WR3 due to his nose for the end zone.

Dallas: This entire Dallas offense has come crashing down to earth after going nuclear with Dak Prescott at QB. Unfortunately, we legitimately have to ask ourselves whether or not it’s worth it to start Cooper this week. While this is actually a fine matchup for opposing WRs from a fantasy perspective, Dallas wasn’t able to move the ball at all last week unless it was on a trick play. With Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush at QB, it’s not going to be much better this week. Due to the volatile situation, it’s hard to trust Cooper as anything more than a low-end WR3. The scoring chances simply aren’t going to be there in this offense and Cooper’s going to need a ton of targets to compensate for that. Lamb didn’t exactly turn in a great fantasy day last week. He didn’t hurt your lineup, but it wasn’t spectacular, by any means. With the QB situation being what it is, it’s going to be hard to trust Lamb as anything more than a high-end FLEX play. Gallup saw a significant target share last week with Ben DiNucci at QB, but that’s not the same person behind center in this one. With that being the case, it’s impossible to trust Gallup again in this matchup with the unknowns at the QB position. Gallup can certainly see the majority of the targets yet again, but that’s very difficult to try and project. Gallup’s a FLEX play at best in this one.

Tight Ends

Pittsburgh: Ebron has been providing a safe floor every single week for fantasy managers and he now gets a fantastic matchup here against Dallas. The Cowboys defense has been shredded this season and the Steelers offense should have no trouble putting points up on the board. With the matchup in mind, Ebron should be viewed as a solid, low-end TE1 this week.

Dallas: Schultz comes with a safe target floor due to his role as the security blanket for whoever the Cowboys QB will be this week, but he’s not worth trusting as anything more than a high-end TE2 in Full PPR formats. He’s not going to be presented with many scoring opportunities in this offense, so he’s merely just a bye week fill-in option right now.

FantasyProjection Buster: Any of the Cowboys receivers could come out and be heavily targeted by Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush, but it’s impossible to try and project that. This is just an offense that is near impossible to project and it’s best to just stay away from it if you can.

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New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Date/Time: November 8, 8:20pm ET
Spread: Bucs -4.5
Over/Under: 50.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Bucs 27.5, Saints 23

New Orleans Saints

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Quarterback

New Orleans: Brees should get some help back this week, but he has an extremely tough matchup in front of him. The Buccaneers are currently the most difficult matchup in the entire NFL for opposing QBs and they’re going to make life very difficult on Brees all game long. Brees is a mid-range QB2 this week that doesn’t possess much upside.

Tampa Bay: Brady has been getting the job done for fantasy football recently and he arguably now has the best receiving corps in the entire NFL. With all the weapons that Brady has, plus a matchup against the 5th easiest defense for opposing QBs from a fantasy perspective, he should absolutely be viewed as a mid-range QB1 this week with upside.

Running Backs

New Orleans: Kamara’s been limited at practice this week, but I fully expect him to play against the Buccaneers. While this is a tough matchup on paper for opposing RBs, Kamara’s too involved in this offense to downgrade. He might not have No. 1 overall RB upside this week, but he’s still a top-5 option. Murray continues to see enough work that he can be viewed as a bye week fill-in option, but he shouldn’t be trusted as anything more than that in this matchup.

Tampa Bay: After Jones fumbled last week, he barely saw the field again while Fournette took over this backfield. Fournette’s simply a more well-rounded RB and he’s not as much of a liability out of the backfield as a receiver. Bruce Arians has been looking for an excuse all season long to bench Jones and he finally got one this past week. Moving forward, it’s always possible that Arians goes back to Jones, but it’s hard to see how that happens here. Fournette should be the lead option in this backfield in this game and, if that’s the case, he’ll see more than enough work to return solid RB2 production. With his receiving work factored in too, Fournette has top-12 upside this week. Jones rode the bench last week after his fumble, which really wasn’t much of his fault, and he saw only 25% of the total snaps to Fournette’s 73%. It’s hard to see how Jones can be viewed as anything more than a RB3 in this matchup that has a ridiculously low floor if Fournette completely takes over this backfield.

Wide Receivers

New Orleans: This week, Thomas was able to get in a couple of practices and it appears that he may be suiting up for this game on Sunday. If he does play, Thomas belongs in your starting lineup as a high-end WR2. This is a tough matchup and we don’t know Thomas’ health status exactly, so he could be operating at less than 100%. Even if he’s a fraction of his normal self though, he’s still one of the best receivers in the league and he belongs in your lineup. Sanders also appears to be on track to play in this game after missing last week due to Covid-19. If Thomas suits up though, it’s hard to see how Sanders can see enough volume to be viewed as anything more than a FLEX play. Smith’s been a fine FLEX option to roll into your lineup with Thomas out of the lineup, but all signs point to MT being back for this matchup. With that being the case, Smith is nothing more than a low-end FLEX option that you’re hoping finds the end zone.

Tampa Bay: Godwin has been at practice the past couple of days and is going to attempt to get in a practice on Friday where he’ll actually catch the football. After having surgery, there was reportedly optimism that Godwin would be back for this game and that still appears to be the case. Godwin now has significant competition for targets in this offense, but he should still be one of Brady’s primary targets over the middle of the field. Godwin can be plugged into your lineup as a high-end WR2 if he plays. Evans is coming off a nice fantasy performance, but he now faces an uphill battle to see significant targets in this offense. If you still have Evans, I’d advise you to try and sell high right now before this game. Evans is now a touchdown-dependent WR3 that is unlikely to see significant targets now with Godwin and AB in the lineup. Brown will now make his Tampa Bay debut here against New Orleans. While it’s hard to trust someone entering their first game with a new NFL team, we know that Brady and AB have a connection. Brady wanted AB in Tampa and he’s going to be looking his way repeatedly. This offense is going to be essentially unstoppable now and if you’re looking for a player that you can plug in that can bring you week-winning upside, AB has to be your option. Brown lands as a low-end WR2 in my rankings this week against the Saints.

Tight Ends

New Orleans: Cook should go back to being barely targeted in this offense with Thomas and Sanders set to come back into the lineup, but he is always a safe bet to reel in an end zone catch. With that in mind, Cook is a high-end TE2 that could finish much lower than that if he doesn’t find the end zone.

Tampa Bay: Gronkowski continues to be one of the most consistent fantasy TEs recently. Over the past three games, Gronk has finished as the TE6, the TE2, and the TE4. While he might take a hit with AB and Godwin present, he still has a good chance to score as any TE in the league right now. Gronk can continue to be plugged into your lineup as a mid-range TE1.

FantasyProjection Buster: Fournette’s projections are absolutely aggressive, but I believe what we saw last week will be more of the same here against the Saints. However, if Bruce Arians pulls a fast one on us and starts Jones this week, would it really shock anyone?