My nine- and five-year-old sons chose to go as astronauts for Halloween this year, with my 12-year-old daughter opting for a classic angel costume instead. To have continuity with my boys, I picked up a giant inflatable alien costume that had them cackling with delight once it was fully blown up.

I should have dressed up as the blue medical tent, akin to Andy Holloway from the Fantasy Footballers instead.

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Another week and another slew of injuries, especially at the wide receiver position. Tomorrow’s injury/waiver wire column will cover those situations in more depth. For now, I want to focus on the positives from Week 9 and the players who managed to step up, even with their teammates dropping like flies around them.

Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 9

Quarterback

STUD: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN)

The narrative going into Sunday was that fantasy managers should temper their expectations regarding Joe Burrow’s upside, with Tee Higgins still nursing a quad injury he suffered last weekend. No Higgins, no problem. Burrow completed 27-of-39 pass attempts for 251 yards and five touchdowns, spreading the ball to all his remaining options.

Six players saw more than three targets, and managers also witnessed a breakout game from Mike Gesicki, who was thrust into a higher snap share with rookie Erick All Jr, having feared tore his ACL. The Bengals improved to 4-5 overall but remain just 1-4 at home.

With each passing week, Burrow appears to be more comfortable with his grip on the ball and throwing motion. Things should only improve once Higgins does finally return. Cincinnati takes on the Baltimore Ravens next week in a crucial matchup. Baltimore currently ranks dead last in passing yards allowed per game in 2024.

DUD: Kyler Murray (QB – ARI)

One would imagine Kyler Murray would come away with a halfway-decent stat line in a 29-9 dominating performance over Chicago, but the Cardinals relied upon the strength of their ground game rather than his arm, rushing for 213 yards on 34 carries. Murray didn’t play badly per se, but finishing with barely three total points in a standard format was a rough pill for managers with Murray starting.

To minimize turnovers and control the clock, Murray has finished with 30 or fewer passing attempts in four of the last six games. He has only thrown for multiple touchdowns twice this season. Things don’t get any easier in Week 10 against a stout New York Jets front that will put constant pressure on him before the team goes on bye in Week 11. Things open up after that with multiple games against Seattle. I expect a rebound. Now would be an excellent time to attempt to buy low on him if you require shoring up the quarterback position.

Running Back

STUD: De’Von Achane (RB – MIA)

Saquon Barley slightly edged out De’Von Achane in overall points this week, but I wanted to highlight him instead to highlight the split of points Achane puts up with Tua Tagovailoa on and off the field.

To start the year, Achane finished with 23 and 30 points in the first two weeks before Tagovailoa missed Weeks 3-7 with his most recent concussion.

Following his return in Week 8, Achane put up 26 and 32 points, showing he is a top-five option at the position when defenses can’t simply load the box. Achane’s usage in the passing game is even more encouraging. He has 28 receptions in four games when Tagovailoa starts under center. He will continue to produce top-tier totals in PPR formats for as long as Tagovailoa remains healthy. Fingers crossed.

DUD: Kyren Williams (RB – LAR)

The good news? Kyren Williams finished with 23 total touches on Sunday and was a central figure in the Rams’ game plan to remain competitive against Seattle, who gave them everything they could handle. The bad news? He produced 69 rushing yards and one reception for 26 yards and failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season.

Williams still dominates the Rams’ backfield (Blake Corum only had one rushing attempt), but he must improve his efficiency moving forward. Head coach Sean McVay doesn’t seem keen on making this a split backfield, so in that sense, Williams owners have little to worry about, but improving upon his season-long 3.7 yards per attempt (YPA) would do wonders to instill some more confidence.

Taking a glance at his upcoming schedule, Williams has two difficult matchups against strong run defenses (Miami, Philadelphia) and two easier contests against New England and New Orleans. Williams remains a locked-in low-end RB1.

Wide Receiver

STUD: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)

Amazing what happens when D.K. Metcalf is sidelined and quarterback Geno Smith is forced to look elsewhere, eh? Jaxon Smith-Njigba had the best game of his young career on Sunday, catching 7-of-13 targets for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps even more ludicrous? He had multiple catches called back on ticky-tacky holding calls. He could have easily topped 250 yards.

Metcalf is expected to be fully recovered following Seattle’s Week 10 bye, but his performance in the interim has vaulted him ahead of Tyler Lockett on the depth chart. It wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Smith-Njigba carry low-end WR2 relevance for the remainder of 2024.

Capable of beating defenders at any level and working with the trust of Smith, Smith-Njigba’s arrow is firmly pointing upward moving forward.

DUD: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)

From a pure production standpoint, Ja’Marr Chase was by far the most disappointing option on Sunday, as he completed the entire game and suffered no injury. Unlike A.J. Brown (knee), Chris Olave (concussion), Puka Nacua (temper), CeeDee Lamb (AC joint sprain) and Drake London (hip pointer), Chase’s mediocre day came when he was on the field for every snap.

Chase still finished with the most targets on the Bengals (11) but could only convert them into seven receptions for 43 yards total. Better days are ahead for Chase. His ho-hum output was due to the defensive attention he received all afternoon. We still expect Chase to be ranked each week as a top-five option and would consider this a blip on the radar more than anything else.

Tight End

STUD: Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN)

Ja’Marr Chase’s loss was Mike Gesicki’s gain on Sunday, as he eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season on six targets, converting two of his five receptions into touchdowns. Defensive attention paid to Chase, coupled with the absence of Tee Higgins, emphasized getting the ball to Gesicki, who the Las Vegas Raiders refused to cover up the seam.

Cincinnati is in the midst of a short week as they play on Thursday against Baltimore. It remains to be seen if Higgins anticipates suiting up for that contest yet. In a position void of solid options outside the top five or six players, Gesicki is sure to be a popular waiver wire add for managers needing help during bye weeks.

As mentioned earlier, Baltimore allows their opposition to pass up and down the field upon them, so don’t be surprised to see Gesicki finish with a strong stat line again.

DUD: Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL)

Even though the game finished 27-21 in favor of the Dirty Birds, truth be told, it was never particularly close, especially in the second half. With Dallas down 21-13 and unable to get anything going offensively, Atlanta chose to lean upon their ground game, feeding Bijan Robinson 19 carries, his second-highest total of the young season.

Robinson ran over and through the Dallas linebacker core at will, also catching seven passes for 59 yards as a receiver. Because Atlanta could move the ball on Dallas at a whim, Kyle Pitts became an afterthought due to clock management purposes. Before Week 9, Pitts had broken the double-digit mark in four consecutive weeks. Better days are ahead.