It’s Week 9, and the fantasy football season has officially hit the point where your roster either feels like a masterpiece… or a modern art project no one understands. Bye weeks, injuries, and unpredictable usage have turned even the most confident managers into nervous wrecks scrolling through projections at 2 a.m. But don’t worry — our Featured Pros have you covered. They’ve studied the matchups, crunched the numbers, and maybe sacrificed a lucky pair of socks to the fantasy gods to help you separate the Starts from the Duds this week.
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Fantasy Football Week 9 Start/Sit Advice
Sleepers
Which player outside of the top 100 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is a good sleeper start, and why do you think he has upside this week?
Marquise Brown (WR – KC)
“A single uncaught target against the Commanders makes Hollywood Brown look outside of the Chiefs’ offense and a trade deadline candidate. However, Patrick Mahomes never forgets the unfed, and Brown is a sneaky play against the Bills.”
– Richard Savill (Fantasy Six Pack)
Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI)
“Kyle Monangai has carved out a steady role — his snap share has been at around 45% in each of the last two weeks — and he has a primo matchup against a papier-mache Bengals defense that could be without its best player, Trey Hendrickson (hip). Jets RBs Breece Hall and Isaiah Davis ravaged the Cincinnati defense for 198 rushing yards and two touchdowns last week, averaging 7.9 (!) yards per carry. Monangai and tag-team partner D’Andre Swift could both be in for good days.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
Kendrick Bourne (WR – SF)
“Kendrick Bourne – Picking a meaningful contributor outside the top 100-ranked players by pure reality of circumstance means there is risk involved. There are no slam dunks when it comes to picking low-ranked sleepers. However, Bourne provides some upside. He’s physically gifted, he’s the 49er’s No. 2 WR target with Ricky Pearsall injured, and the New York Giants are the 6th worst defense in Fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. Now, to be fair to both sides, he was ignored and understandably struggled in his two most recent games against two of the stingiest defenses in Fantasy points allowed to wide receivers (Atlanta and Houston), but he returns to face friendlier competition in week nine with the lowly Giants pass defense lining up across from the explosive wideout. Any big-play WR facing a defense as porous as the Giants working in a scheme as creative and as dangerous as Kyle Shanahan’s is a sleeper worth a shot. He had back-to-back 142-yard receiving games with 20 total targets in weeks five and six, minimized only by his lack of a touchdown in either game. Don’t be surprised if Bourne makes this one a 142-yard game number three with two touchdowns to make up for being ignored in the red zone in those matchups. If the Bye week has you buckled in to chasing a flier, there are significantly worse options than Bourne this week.”
– Chris Mitchell (FantasyData)
Theo Johnson (TE – NYG)
“Theo Johnson wasn’t much help last week, but played the Eagles, a team that does very well at stopping the tight end. Johnson has been a productive player in recent weeks with Jaxson Dart as his starting quarterback. He has double-digit fantasy points in three of five games. Those two games failing to hit that mark were both against the Eagles. Look for him to rebound this week against the 49ers, a team that has allowed 300-plus passing yards in two of four games.”
– Jeff Paur (RTSports)
Emanuel Wilson (RB – GB)
“Emanuel Wilson is obviously a backup, but Josh Jacobs already has a ton of touches throughout his career and only has 13 carries each of the last two games. If the Packers pile the points on Carolina, there’s a reasonable chance that Wilson will again have 10-plus touches against the Panthers after receiving 11 carries and four targets in the win against Pittsburgh.”
– Adam Zdroik (RotoWire)
Duds
Which player inside the top 40 in the FantasyPros Flex rankings is likely to disappoint fantasy managers this week?
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB – NYG)
“Tyrone Tracy Jr. The next man up always has a volume increase, but expecting numbers mirroring Cam Skattebo that come with it is another matter. There is likely more of a mix to expect in the Giants’ backfield from here to the end of the season. Devin Singletary will get his chance for more touches and red zone opportunities.”
– Richard Savill (Fantasy Six Pack)
Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – JAC)
“As of this writing, Brian Thomas ranks WR19 in ECR, 39th overall. He’s currently tied for WR40 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, averaging 52.1 receiving yards per game, with only one touchdown this season. Thomas is dealing with a shoulder injury, and we saw No. 2 overall draft pick Travis Hunter have a big surge in usage right before the Jaguars’ Week 8 bye. Thomas has a soft matchup against the Raiders, but the matchup alone might not be enough to propel him to a big day.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
James Cook (RB – BUF)
“James Cook is an interesting RB. Coming off a breakout 2024/2025 season where he rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 18 total touchdowns, totalling 249 Fantasy points, ranking him 11th overall in Fantasy scoring and 8th among running backs. He’s already quietly rushed for 753 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025/2026, putting him on pace for potentially 1,500-1,800 rushing yards and a monstrous 300-350+ point Fantasy season. However, there’s a catch. He’s non-existent in the passing game (one target in his last three games and 14 total targets the entire season), the Bills have “restrained” Josh Allen‘s superman potential up to this point – which will have to change to outscore the powerhouse Chiefs in week #9, and Cook has struggled toting the rock in two of his last three games – against New England (ranked 29th in Fantasy points allowed too RB’s) and Atlanta, ranked a meager 11th. This week, the Bills and company face the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs defense, which allows the fifth-least fantasy points to RBs, as well as an offense on fire. This game is going to be a shootout. Josh Allen is going to have to suit up in full Red Cape and Blue tights, run like the most physically gifted quarterback possibly ever, and, most importantly, to beat Patrick Mahomes, who has returned to being the best QB on the planet, Allen is going to have to have season-highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and that also means attempts. It’s tough enough that the Chiefs’ run defense is stifling, but their electric offense is going to force the Bills’ game plan to ignore Cook and focus almost entirely on Josh Allen. Unless your league allows points for successful blocks and bonuses for great Blitz pickups, you’re going to be left wondering if Cook even got off the plane when this game is done. You can’t bench a potential 1,500-yard rusher regardless of the matchup, but you should run from him in daily formats, and if you have the HUGE Cajones to actually pull it off, sure, brag about the time you benched him for an RB3 and WON because of it. That’s going to be the reality on Tuesday morning.”
– Chris Mitchell (FantasyData)
Zay Flowers (WR – BAL)
“Zay Flowers had a good game last week, catching seven passes for 63 yards on nine targets. Even with that game, he has been up and down throughout the season. Flowers has less than double-digit fantasy points in two of five games and hasn’t had a 100-yard game since Week 1. He gets the Dolphins this week, a team that allows the fewest fantasy points to receivers and less than 180 passing yards in three of four games.”
– Jeff Paur (RTSports)
Derrick Henry (RB – BAL)
“The matchup isn’t bad, but the reason Derrick Henry is being hyped for late-season success is because he runs over defenders in cold weather. That won’t be a thing in Miami, and on a short week, I’m not sold on Henry being his elite self just yet. He should get plenty of carries, but ranking him as a top-10 play leans more into his historical narrative rather than what he’s done throughout this season.”
– Adam Zdroik (RotoWire)
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