RADIO
Whether due to their own play, the play of others, or injuries, players' stock increases and decreases on a weekly basis. Perhaps more than any other, the NFL is a league that experiences ups and downs at a rapid pace. With only 16 games, there’s little room for error and seemingly endless opportunities for improvement. The same goes for fantasy football; managing rosters effectively is key to winning that championship.
Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year. In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back.
These are the key risers and fallers heading into Week 9 of the NFL season.
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Week 9 Fantasy Football Risers
Brandon Aiyuk (WR, SF)
The 49ers are ravaged by injury on offense. Playing with Nick Mullens at quarterback is less than ideal, but Brandon Aiyuk is now not just the clear WR1 on the 49ers, he's the clear top option in the passing game with George Kittle done for the season and Deebo Samuel not ready to return yet. The target quality may not be great, but the volume will be there. Aiyuk has 18 targets over his past two games and has scored last week. There's very little fantasy appeal on the 49ers as a whole, but a ton when it comes to Aiyuk. Kendrick Bourne gets an honorable mention here as well with 10 targets last week.
Sterling Shepard (WR, NYG)
It was a bit surprising to see how many fantasy managers just forgot about Sterling Shepard. He returned two weeks ago to very little fanfare and immediately reestablished himself as the best wide receiver on the Giants. Shepard has 18 targets leading to 14 receptions since his return. This past week he had 8-74 against the Bucs' elite pass defense. It's mostly smooth sailing schedule wise from here on out. Shepard is at least an every week WR3.
Zack Moss (RB, BUF)
I never saw the appeal in Zack Moss and even in his play last week, I wasn't overly impressed. His first touchdown had a lot of unnecessary movement and his second touchdown involved him being pushed into the end zone by his offensive linemen. With that being said, volume is king in fantasy football and Moss saw season highs in snap share (53%) and carries (14). His lack of passing game usage caps his upside, but we have to at least take notice of the usage and the possibility that he's flipped the split with Devin Singletary going forward. The Bills are still a good team so Moss will have value if he's seeing 10+ touches a game.
J.K. Dobbins (RB, BAL)
We've got another rookie making the list this week. J.K. Dobbins played not just a season high in snaps for him, but a season high for any Ravens running back in any game at 66%. Not only was he the lead back, he was the best back. He looked great, turning 15 carries into 113 yards. Mark Ingram is dust at this point. The Ravens should not even bother activating him when he's ready to return from his high ankle sprain. Gus Edwards looked good as well so Dobbins will always remain in a committee, but there's a real chance Dobbins operates as the 1a the rest of the season, and that could be incredibly valuable.
T.J. Hockenson (TE, DET)
There's very little to get excited about at tight end this season. Most weeks I don't even bother putting a tight end here at all. T.J. Hockenson is worth mentioning because he has at least 9.3 fantasy points in every game this season, which is a remarkable level of consistency at fantasy's worst position. Hockenson is coming off a game where he saw a season high in targets, receptions, and yards. He's scored in three games this season and could take on a bigger role with Kenny Golladay set to miss multiple weeks.
Week 9 Fantasy Football Fallers
Josh Allen (QB, BUF)
I really tried to hold off putting him on here because it just doesn't make sense that Josh Allen would go from super elite QB1 to random matchup based starter, yet here we are. Allen put up at least 25 fantasy points in each of his first four games. He hasn't exceeded 18 fantasy points since. His completion percentage dipped considerably and last week he attempted just 18 passes. No high end QB1 in fantasy has an 18 attempt game eve in his range of outcomes. Allen is still a weekly starter, but he's not the auto start he was over the first month.
Cowboys - All of Them
Amari Cooper caught one pass last week. CeeDee Lamb caught four balls, two of which were on the final garbage time drive. Michael Gallup had a respectable 7-61, but he didn't catch a pass the week before. Ezekiel Elliott has no hope of scoring a touchdown anymore. The Cowboys haven't scored a touchdown since Dak Prescott got hurt. They may not score a single point against the Steelers this week with Andy Dalton set to miss another game. The Cowboys are Jets level bad without Prescott. You seriously cannot start a single player on this team, except maybe Dalton Schultz, but only because the tight end position is so bad that a random 3-30 is actually a decent outing.
Marquise Brown (WR, BAL)
This is about four weeks too late. For that, I apologize. Marquise Brown belongs nowhere near fantasy lineups. He barely belongs on fantasy rosters. Hollywood has yet to catch the long touchdown we've been hoping for. He saw just two targets last week. Lamar Jackson has seriously regressed as a passer and deserves some of the blame, but that's still an issue for Brown. The Ravens don't throw the ball that much and when they do, Jackson doesn't throw to Brown. And when Jackson does throw to Brown, just 70.5% of those throws are even catchable, good for 86th in the league. It's not entirely Brown's fault. I would go so far as to say his surrounding circumstances are mostly to blame. Regardless of the reason, Hollywood is not a fantasy starter. He is a random WR4. You should be starting guys like Cole Beasley and Kendrick Bourne over Brown.
Jonathan Taylor (RB, IND)
I'm worried. Very worried. Jonathan Taylor apparently has some sort of minor ankle issue, but don't let that excuse his deplorable performance as a rookie. Yes, we've seen players suddenly improve in their second or third years like Ronald Jones and Melvin Gordon, but the vast majority of talented running backs, especially ones taken in the first two rounds, produce as rookies. Taylor looks like Montee Ball out there. How a guy with such out of this world athleticism who was so productive in college could fail this spectacularly is mindboggling. I am not saying to close the book on Taylor as a player, but anyone telling you to buy Taylor right now isn't paying attention. Taylor was benched for Jordan Wilkins because Jordan Wilkins is better at football. A Week 9 date against the Ravens is not what the doctor ordered. Taylor is nothing more than a touchdown hopeful RB3.
Boston Scott (RB, PHI) and Giovani Bernard (RB, CIN)
These two are lumped together once again. They both had their two weeks in the spotlight and performed quite well. With that being said, both now have a Week 9 bye and Miles Sanders and Joe Mixon are fully expected to return in Week 10. Bernard will retain more value than Scott because Sanders will relegate Scott to a pure backup while Bernard likely earned himself some extra work, but neither is even remotely startable in fantasy while the starters are healthy.
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