Week 9 Starts

Here are 5 guys with the best fantasy matchups this week and why they need to start … in two minutes or less.

QB: Sam Darnold (SEA) @ WAS

Sam Darnold has steadily rewritten his career narrative over the last two seasons, and this week sets up to keep it rolling. He’s coming off a bye, but before that he strung together multiple efficient games, including a 295-yard, 2-TD outing against Jacksonville and a clean 213-yard performance in a win over Houston. But Washington has been a get-right matchup for quarterbacks all year, sitting as one of the five most generous defenses to the position and coming off back-to-back blowouts where opposing passers picked them apart. So if you’ve been on the fence, this is the week to fire him up. The matchup aligns perfectly with the hot streak he’s quietly building in Seattle.

RB: Bam Knight (ARI) @ DAL

Knight just took control before the bye with a team-best 17 touches and the most rushing yards in Week 7, and over the three games without Trey Benson he piled up 142 yards from scrimmage with two rushing TDs. But that Week 8 bye makes people forget how clearly the usage tilted his way, so you can treat him like a green-light start for Week 9. Arizona has been scrappy and functional even in close losses, so the game script shouldn’t shut his volume off. Dallas is the jackpot matchup: they’re allowing the most fantasy points to QBs and WRs and the second-most to RBs, with shaky run metrics baked in, but Knight’s current lead role is the key, so the path to efficient touches is right there.

RB: Kimani Vidal (LAC) @ TEN

Kimani Vidal just gave the Chargers a jolt on Thursday night, hammering Minnesota for 23-117-1. He’s also notched two top-10 PPR finishes in his last three, so the staff has every reason to keep feeding him in Week 9. But his receiving usage hasn’t fully surfaced yet and we saw in Week 7 how a bad script can squeeze his touches. So this matchup is the tiebreaker: Tennessee is spiraling and has been a RB-friendly defense (third-most points allowed to the position), and L.A. is coming in off a 37–10 romp. So start Vidal with confidence.

WR: DK Metcalf (PIT) vs. IND

Metcalf just found the end zone again in Week 8 (5 grabs on 55 yards and a TD), and he’s already shown the spike-play gear with Rodgers this year, including a season-high nine looks back in Week 6. But his weekly volume has been up-and-down and the Steelers don’t have many mouths to feed at WR, so efficiency has had to do a lot of the work. So this is the spot to lean in: the Colts are bleeding production to wideouts (3rd-most fantasy points, 10 WR TDs, among the most yards) while tightening the screws on running backs, which sets up a clear WR-funnel game for Pittsburgh’s No. 1. Start Metcalf with confidence in Week 9 and bet on those downfield/red-zone chances to matter again.

WR: Jauan Jennings (SF) @ NYG

Jennings has been banged up all year,  but even through that, he’s maintained his role in this offense. He’s seen 7 targets in back-to-back games and came just shy of a long touchdown last week, so the usage is already there. The 49ers have been battling injuries, leaning more on the guys who can gut it out. And the matchup works this time. The Giants have given up the 3rd-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. So if he’s fighting through the pain to stay on the field, this is the week where it can actually pay off.

So that’s the list. 5 players to put into lineups if you have them on your roster… as promised, in 2 minutes or less.

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See you tomorrow,

-Joe

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