| | | | Thursday, November 4, 2021 | | There are so many moving pieces when it comes to Week 9 that it really feels unfair that we have our first lineup lock Thursday evening with so much still unsettled. I guess the good news is, there aren't that many Fantasy relevant players in tonight's Jets-Colts game -- you're starting Michael Carter, Jonathan Taylor, and Michael Pittman in all leagues, and maybe Jamison Crowder in PPR, but everyone else is too fringe-y to really be worth using in 12-team or shallower leagues. | | Today's newsletter is all about trying to help you catch up with everything you need to know about for Week 9. Dave Richard answered a bunch of your questions for this week in his Starts and Sits, Sleepers and Busts column as he goes through every game on the schedule trying to help you figure out who should be in your lineup. We'll take a look at some of his calls in today's newsletter before getting to all of the injury news you need to know about and a preview of tonight's game. | | And, in case you missed it, Jamey Eisenberg's Start 'Em & Sit 'Em column came out yesterday with all of his favorite picks to start and players to avoid. If you've still got questions after all that, make sure to subscribe to the Fantasy Football Today YouTube channel and join Adam Aizer, Dave Richard and myself at 2 p.m. ET today for our start/sit live stream, where we'll be answering as many of your questions as we can for Week 9. And, if you have any other questions, make sure you send them to me at [email protected] with the subject line "#AskFFT" to be included in Sunday morning's mailbag. | | Get ready for Week 9 with our other preview content here: | | Week 9 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | RB | WRStarts, sits and sleepers for every gameWeek 9 Position Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE My Week 9 Rankings: Flex Top 150 | QB | RB | WR | TE | | Keep an eye out for tomorrow's newsletter, where I'll preview every game this week, including full injury report updates from around the league. Here's what else today's newsletter will cover: | | 9️⃣Dave Richard's Week 9 Preview🚑Week 9 Injury Watch🆚TNF Preview: Jets at Colts | | | | 9️⃣Dave Richard's Week 9 Preview | | | | There are the obvious calls, and then there are the ones you need help with. Dave Richard goes through each game to identify the most interesting matchups and biggest lineup dilemmas for Week 9. Here are some of his top picks for this week. You can find the rest of his advice for Week 9 here. | | Starts | | Michael Carter -- "Indianapolis isn't blind -- not only should the defense realize how Carter's being utilized, but it should feel good about its chances to combat it. Indy ranks 10th-best in yards after catch allowed on passes traveling 10 yards in the air or shorter this season, and the most yards after catch they've ceded to a team's group of running backs in a game is 54 against Baltimore (a game that went into overtime). But Indy cannot control how much Carter gets the ball, and odds are he will remain in position to get 70% of the Jets' snaps, just as he has been since their bye week. Given the attrition at the position, any running back playing that much is an automatic must-start. I'm a little nervous about him maintaining his 8.5 catch-per-game average since Week 7, but the Jets shouldn't be dumb enough to get away from using the multi-purpose back in the pass game, they just need to be more creative with it. Moreover, running backs on Thursday nights are better rested than the defenses they're playing, which is why I'm counting on Carter seeing a boost in efficiency."Jerry Jeudy -- "As last week's game went on, Jeudy not only saw more playing time (22 of his 36 snaps came in the second half) but he looked more and more like the effortless-moving, space-creating wideout we've come to love. By the end of the game he was getting open and caught his last two targets from Teddy Bridgewater for 25 yards. The odds are high that the Cowboys will task top cornerback Trevon Diggs to handle Courtland Sutton, meaning primary slot cornerback Anthony Brown will see Jeudy. Brown has handled the gig well, but he and the Cowboys have barely been tested by slot receivers since Keenan Allen rocked them for over 100 yards in Week 2. Jeudy would best serve Fantasy managers as a No. 3 option or a Flex." | | Sits | | Javonte Williams -- "You've come to this space each week to look for clarity on the Broncos run game. Here's this week's attempt: Steer clear of Williams, stick with Gordon if you need a running back. Over Denver 's last three games Gordon has taken a slight lead in overall snaps (55% to 45%), snaps inside of 10 yards (6 of 9) and snaps on third and fourth downs (57%). In full PPR leagues, he's had at least 10 PPR points in each game while Javonte has been above that number once. All of this comes into play against a Cowboys defense that's allowed two total touchdowns to running backs all season thanks in part to seeing the second-fewest rush attempts per game (15.7) on the year. Gordon's the safer pick of the two, giving him some flex appeal, while Williams shouldn't be trusted outside of deeper PPR leagues until he starts getting more playing time."Kadarius Toney -- "What's scariest: That Toney ran only 17 routes on Monday, or that only three of them were over 10 yards downfield, or that he has a better receiving average on eight targets from Mike Glennon (13.6) than on 27 targets from Daniel Jones (8.7)? No doubt he's a wily, slippery receiver who should see an uptick in playing time this week against the Raiders, but maybe I've been overvaluing his upside. Would you believe the Raiders lead the league in fewest yards after catch per reception allowed (3.97), yet have given up the fourth-most passing yards (1,656)? That's wild but expected considering they line up in zone coverage on nearly 82% of their snaps. The Giants would be wise to feed Toney lots of short- and intermediate-level throws against the Raiders, though his small sample size suggests he's much more explosive against man coverage. Without the guarantee of heavy target volume and the likelihood of him being corralled by Las Vegas' defense, I wouldn't feel great starting Toney this week as anything more than a middling flex." | | Sleepers | | Taysom Hill -- "Fantasy managers are going to gravitate toward Hill because he's a dual-threat quarterback with efficient rushing skills. He also proved to be serviceable as a passer in his four starts last season, completing 72% of his throws for 7.02 yards per attempt. He didn't win the starting job in training camp because he was sloppier with the football than Jameis Winston was and didn't throw with as much velocity as Winston did. But assuming Hill is named the starter, he'll be in the luxurious position of throwing against a Falcons defense ranked dead last in pass rush pressure rate. It means he'll have time to make throws and potentially deliver some good stats through the air, which would be commonplace for every other quarterback but sort of rare for him. I wouldn't leech on to Hill expecting many big games moving forward, but this week he's worth trusting ahead of Carson Wentz and Ryan Tannehill."A.J. Dillon -- "With Aaron Rodgers unavailable, the Packers brain trust would be wise to dial back their passing game and use the run to take pressure off of Jordan Love . The second-year quarterback has terrific arm strength and mobility, but he was streaky in college and didn't look particularly good until he got some garbage time in the Packers' Week 1 loss. We already saw the Packers succeed with 31 running back carries last week when they were without their top three receivers. Dillon had a team-high 78 yards on 16 carries. Now he and teammate Aaron Jones will take on a Chiefs defense that gave up over 120 total yards to Devontae Booker on Monday night. Jones is still the main guy, but the bulldozing Dillon should be expected to get close to 15 touches once more." | | Bust Candidate | | D.J. Moore -- "I've seen Sam Darnold revert back to a tentative, pressure-adverse quarterback. I know the Patriots defense will not only pounce on him behind his bad O-line but also focus to take Moore away from him in obvious passing situations. Moore has already been a nightmare over his last four games, managing an awesome 27% target share from Carolina quarterbacks but catching just 53% of them thanks to drops (three) and off-target throws from Darnold (eight) and P.J. Walker (one). He's also become a short-area target who doesn't see much red-zone action (seven targets all year). To be fair, he did have what looked to be a touchdown taken away from him by replay last week on a red-zone throw, but it came against the weak Falcons pass defense. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats lined up J.C. Jackson on Moore with some extra help over the top to make it tough on the wily receiver. You'll probably end up starting him because of his target volume, but don't be surprised by a fifth straight disappointing game." | | | | 🚑Week 9 Injury Watch | | | | I'll have a full breakdown of the injury report in Friday's newsletter along with my preview of each game, but here's a quick look at the notable injuries we'll be watching this week based on Wednesday's practice participation reports. | | If you've been following the news, of course, you know there are a handful of pretty significant non-injury situations happening around the league. It seems very unlikely Odell Beckham will play for the Browns this week or at any point the rest of the season due to some behind-the-scenes drama, while Aaron Rodgers is out for Week 9 after testing positive for COVID-19. Saquon Barkley and Noah Fant also tested positive and could miss Week 9 as well -- they have a shot at playing, at least, if they were vaccinated, but few players have been able to play the same week as a positive test, because it requires two negative tests at least 24 hours apart before being cleared. | | | | Injuries to watch for Week 9 | | It's not clear what these injuries mean quite yet. | | Kyler Murray (ankle) -- Did not practice. Murray left last week's game with this injury and despite having a few extra days to heal up, it looks like his status for Week 9 is very much in question. Matthew Stafford (back) -- Did not practice. It doesn't seem like this is much of a concern right now, but it is a new issue, so we'll keep an eye on it. Justin Herbert (right hand) -- Limited participation. The fact that Herbert was able to practice, albeit on a limited basis, seems to be a good sign for his chances to play. Sam Darnold (concussion/shoulder) -- Limited participation. Darnold suffered the concussion toward the end of Sunday's game, but he's already been cleared to participate in practice, so I would expect he'll be cleared this week as well. Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) -- McCaffrey is on IR, so the Panthers don't have to give an official update on his status, but coach Matt Rhule told reporters McCaffrey was "pretty limited." He should be back within the next two weeks, but it doesn't sound super promising for his chances to return in Week 9. Given that he already suffered a setback with this injury once, I would bet they err on the side of caution. Chuba Hubbard seems likely to get one last start this week in a tough matchup against the Patriots. James Robinson (heel) -- Did not practice. The Jaguars downplayed the injury when Robinson went down, but it looks like his status for Week 9 against the Bills is in question at this point. Elijah Mitchell (rib) -- Did not practice. The hope is Mitchell can ramp up his activity throughout the week and get cleared for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, so this is one to watch. Rex Burkhead (hip) -- Limited participation. Burkhead played a surprisingly large role for the Texans in Week 8, and he figures to be a part of the game plan moving forward if he's healthy. DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) -- Did not practice. Hopkins missed much of Week 8 with his hamstring, only playing around one-quarter of the team's plays. He was also not able to practice Thursday, though Hopkins has played without practicing before this season, so that may not tell us much about his availability. I would expect he plays, but I'd feel better about starting him if he got in at least a limited session Friday. Deebo Samuel (calf) -- Did not practice. Samuel has been playing through this injury over the past few weeks but did aggravate the injury in last week's game. His status for Week 9 against the Cardinals is very much in question at this point. Add Brandon Aiyuk as a potential insurance policy just in case. Amari Cooper (hamstring)/CeeDee Lamb (ankle) -- Limited participation. I would bet both play through these injuries, though Lamb did suffer the injury during practice, which is always a little trickier than existing injuries. Robert Woods (foot) -- Did not practice. This a new injury, but Sean McVay did tell reporters he expects Woods to play in Week 9 against the Titans. Kadarius Toney (thumb) -- Limited participation. Toney suffered this injury in Monday's game. The Giants had to delay practice Thursday due to COVID protocols, so we may have to wait until Friday to get a sense of his status. Jarvis Landry (knee) -- Did not practice. Landry also skipped practice last week but ended up not being listed on the injury report by Friday. I would expect something similar moving forward, and with Odell Beckham out of the picture, Landry is a WR3 for Fantasy moving forward, especially in PPR. Cole Beasley (ribs) -- Did not practice. Beasley often sits out practice, so this may just be precautionary, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Russell Gage (groin) -- Limited participation. That may explain why Gage wasn't a bigger part of the game plan in Week 8. He's just a low-end flex option in PPR leagues. Albert Okwuegbunam (knee) -- Limited participation. We'll see if this ends up limiting him come gametime, but Okwuegbunam could be in line for a much bigger role if Noah Fant doesn't play. He's an interesting streamer against the Cowboys. Blake Jarwin (hip) -- Did not practice. Jarwin also didn't practice Thursday, so it looks like there is some real risk of him missing this week's game. Dalton Schultz would see a larger role if Jarwin is out and is a top-10 TE either way. | | Trending up for Week 9 | | This doesn't mean they will play, but we got good news about them Wednesday. | Dak Prescott (calf) -- Limited participation. It looks like Prescott is going to make his return after missing one game with this injury, barring a setback.
Taysom Hill (concussion) -- Limited participation. Hill is making progress after being out since Week 5 with the injury, and he is expected to start in Jameis Winston's absence for the rest of the season as long as he's healthy. He's a borderline top-12 QB. Tyrod Taylor (hamstring) -- Texans coach David Culley told reporters Thursday Taylor is on track to start Sunday against the Dolphins. He's an interesting QB2 option given his rushing abilities and the good matchup. Julio Jones (hamstring) -- Limited participation. That's an upgrade over last week, when he was unable to practice at all. This has been a lingering injury since Week 2 and it doesn't seem like there's been much consistent progress -- he'll play one week, miss the next; he'll be limited one day and then sit out the next. Terrace Marshall (concussion) -- Full practice. This is a good sign as Marshall had been unable to practice since suffering the injury in Week 6. He has second-half sleeper appeal, but he'll need to overtake Robby Anderson in the receiving hierarchy for it to happen. | | Trending down for Week 9 | | This doesn't mean they won't play, but they aren't moving in the right direction yet. | Latavius Murray (ankle) -- Did not practice. Despite last week's bye, Murray is still unable to practice. Devontae Freeman figures to remain the Ravens starter in his absence, though this still looks like a three-way committee. Kenny Golladay (knee) -- Did not practice. Golladay has already been out for three weeks with what was originally considered a "1-2 week" injury, and with the bye coming up in Week 10, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he didn't play this week.
Sterling Shepard (quad) -- Did not practice. Shepard suffered the injury Monday, and it doesn't seem like he has a great chance of playing this week. He looked to be breaking out early in the season, but injuries have derailed that. Sammy Watkins (thigh) -- Did not practice. The bye didn't seem to help Watkins make enough progress to get back. Rashod Bateman remains a very interesting breakout candidate coming out of the bye with Watkins out. | 🆚TNF Preview: Jets at Colts
| | | | All lines from Caesars Sportsbook | | Line: Colts -10.5; 45.5 O/UImplied totals: Colts 28-Jets 17.5 | | The Colts should be able to handle the Jets fairly easily, but we said the same thing about Bengals last week and look what happened. Of course, something tells me that was a bit of a fluke. | | Key injuries: T.Y Hilton (concussion) -- Hilton is out for tonight's game after missing the whole week in practice. Hopefully the extra time off before Week 10 against the Jaguars, but at this point, I'm finding it kind of hard to be optimistic about Hilton's chances of making an impact for Fantasy. It just feels like a lost season ... Corey Davis (hip) -- Davis was unable to practice all week and is officially doubtful. Jamison Crowder, Michael Carter, and Ty Johnson have been the primary targets for Mike White, and I expect that'll continue with Zach Wilson (knee) still out ... Tevin Coleman (hamstring) -- Coleman missed practice all week and won't play. Carter and Johnson should be the lead backs for the Jets with La'Mical Perine mixing in occasionally. What to watch for: Can Mike White keep his impressive play up? He led the NFL in passing yards in Week 8, albeit with almost nothing down the field. It was all dinking and dunking for White, which is fine for Michael Carter and Jamison Crowder, both of whom I think are worth starting. The question here is whether the Colts will sit on the short passing game and force White to take some chances, and whether he'll be able to do that without making mistakes. My guess is, we'll start to see this carriage turn back into a pumpkin. On the Colts side, there really aren't many questions anymore -- you're starting Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman, and that's probably it. It's not that this is a bad offense, it's just that there hasn't been much room for anyone else to consistently contribute. Start those two and Carson Wentz, and we'll see if Nyheim Hines can get involved in the offense like he used to be. | | | | | | | | CFB on CBS | | 2021 World Series Champs | Two armed forces meet in the Commanders' Classic when the Army Black Knights take on the Air Force Falcons. Tune in Saturday at 11:30 AM ET to catch all the action!
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