RADIO
All other Premium Tools can be accessed on the premium dashboard.
Welcome, RotoBallers, to my official tiered rankings for week 9 of this NFL season! You can find my core plays at RB and WR each week in my Anchors column as well as the rest of my favorites plays in our premium cheat sheet.
The concept behind these rankings is to give you an idea of how to approach lineup building for this week's slate. I will rank all relevant players based on their point-per-dollar value in one of five tiers and then provide notes on each tier explaining how I plan to utilize each tier this week.
Tier 1 is going to have most of my favorite plays and likely a good bit of chalk, but you're not likely going to be able to build too many lineups ONLY using players from Tier 1.
Tiers 2 and 3 are going to have some players you will want to mix and match in lineups, likely at lower ownership than Tier 1.
Tiers 4 and 5 are players that I likely won't have much exposure to that week and are players that you should only consider in large field GPPs if you are going to be mass multi-entering a large number of lineups.
NFL Week 9 - Premium DFS Rankings
- Rankings are based primarily on DK pricing and are based on points-per-dollar value, not raw points.
- Core plays are highlighted in green boxes.
- Bold black font indicates the player is useable in all formats - tournaments and cash games.
- Bold blue font indicates the player is preferred for tournaments. These are usually lower-owned pivot plays.
- Red font indicates that I am fading that player, and wouldn't suggest any exposure to them even if you are making multiple builds.
- If a player is not on the chart, it's likely because they are only a part-time player on offense. I will attempt to update the rankings and notes each week on Saturday or Sunday morning once injury news becomes more concrete.
Tier 1 Notes:
As usual, here's where all the goodness is! If you can make a lineup using only these players, that's an optimal build for cash games or small field single-entry.
One pattern you'll notice here is cheap QBs in tier one with some higher-priced backs. Remember, we are hunting for PPD (point-per dollar) value and paying down at QB in cash (and even in some GPPs) is going to be very viable this week. My core plays are Ekeler and Elliot at RB, but I do think Kamara deserves some strong consideration in cash now that Taysom Hill isn't starting.
Stefon Diggs is my favorite receiver and then Brandin Cooks and Tee Higgins are my next two guys as we move down into the mid-tier of pricing. I'm pretty comfortable with all of these receivers or tight ends in cash, though Albert O is the cash game chalk at his price and probably the top consensus punt this week.
Tier 2 Notes:
A lot of blue here as this tier is loaded with GPP pivots. Derek Carr and the Raiders are a really interesting team to target this week and you'll also see some Chiefs and Bengals passing game attacks in this tier that I like a lot for tournaments.
Adams is still in play this week, but Jordan Love at QB makes him a GPP-only guy for me. I would much rather role with Aaron Jones as the Packers are likely to feed him as much as possible against a bad KC run defense. Tyreek Hill could be an elite GPP play in that same game and I have him highlighted here as my one of my favorites at WR. I'm on Tee Higgins this week, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't play JaMarr Chase who continues to beast out just about every week.
I have our pricey tight ends in this tier because they aren't priorities in cash, but they are certainly guys who could post some big scores and are in good spots - I am talking about Kelce, Waller, and Gesicki, of course.
Tier 3 Notes:
By now you probably understand how tier 3 works. There aren't many guys here I want if I am building 5-10 lineups, but also no real fades either.
I have a few cheap backs that interest me in Boston Scott and Myles Gaskin. I don't trust either of them, but I can't ignore these great matchups, and if the game scripts break the right way I think both have some nice PPD upside. Bryan Edwards is one receiver I like down here as he could end up being the deep threat in the Raiders passing game this week now that Henry Ruggs is no longer with the team.
Tier 4 Notes:
Nico Collins! My buddy Eric Samulski has been on him for a few weeks now, but now that Tyrod Taylor is back under center I have a little more faith in the Houston offense moving the ball and they have a great matchup against the Dolphins. There are not too many other guys down here I would invest in this week, though Donovan Peoples-Jones is a somewhat compelling punt with Odell Beckham Jr. no longer being with the Browns.
Tier 5 Notes:
Most of my fades are down here and guys that I don't see having much upside. I rarely dip into Tier 5 even in my GPP builds and you really shouldn't either, unless you are max-entering and want to grab a small percentage of a player there.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
