Week 9 Start/Sit

                            Week 9 Start/Sit

    Once again the running back position is a mostly desolate landscape after the top 15 or so options. It's hard to identify anyone as a "Sit" due to lack of options. I did fairly well on my start/sit calls last week. I'm especially proud of my JK Dobbins call and I'm doubling down on him again this week. Missed a few others but nobody is perfect. I'll start with the RBs as usual

Running Backs

Start✅

Justin Jackson I feel kinda cheap telling people to start Justin Jackson here but I have him ranked in RB1 territory. With Joshua Kelly as his only competition for touches I think Jackson has a really big day.

Antonio Gibson It's not the best matchup as the Giants have been surprisingly good on defense but when The Football Team is in neutral game script (as they should be here) they use Gibson a bunch. The problem is when they are getting blown out and Mckissick comes on. 20 or so touches for Antonio Gibson is always a start for me and I think he gets it here.

Leonard Fournette Another guy with a not so good matchup. However, now with Godwin probably back and Antonio Brown in the mix, how does a defense gameplan for this attack. I seriously doubt Fournette will see a single stacked box all game and he's already locked up passing down work. 

Deejay Dallas Carson and Hyde are once again out. Travis Homer should steal some work but I think Dallas gets the majority of the touches here. A RB in Russell Wilson's offense getting 15+ touches will always be a start for me. 

JK Dobbins Another tough matchup for Dobbins but I think he overcomes once again. My hope is he plays so well he takes over as the lead back ROS but that's probably a pipe dream. Nevertheless he's a start for me this week. Get him in your lineup if you can. 

Sit❌

Jonathan Taylor You might be forced to start him but I'd do everything I can to get him out of my lineup this week. He's not showing the vision needed to be effective at the NFL level and Wilkins has been pushing for the lead role. Hopefully he puts it together soon. 

Ezekiel Elliott This shouldn't even be a surprise. His OL is in shambles, his QB situation is a complete disaster, he's dealing with a hamstring injury that actually has him as a game time decision, the coaching staff is mixing in Tony Pollard more and more, and ohh did I mention they play the Steelers this week? Normally it's Zeke so I'd say just downgrade him but he's a complete sit for me. I want no part of him. ***UPDATE**** ZEKE isn't expected to but everything I said just replace his name with Tony Pollard. Sit him.

Devin Singletary The bell tolls for thee. It looks like Moss is taking over this backfield. He already has goalline duties locked up and is becoming the preferred back in all situations. Even in a game with this high of an O/U I'm not trusting him.

Ronald Jones RoJo as an RB2 was a fun yet short lived ride. I think Fournette has all but taken over at minimum 60/40 with passing down work. RoJo has the shot to vulture a TD but I'm not trusting him in my lineups. Especially this week.

Wide Receivers

Start✅

Diontae Johnson I'm going back to the well on Diontae. He was a dissapointment last week but I think he gets back on track against this soft Dallas secondary. They are prone to big plays which might favor Claypool but I think Diontae will get his targets here. Let's just hope he doesn't get hurt during the game again.

Will Fuller & Brandin Cooks Watson is set for a big game here so I'm starting both his pass catchers in this one. Seemingly always playing catch-up he might actually have a lead most of this game. That should favor David Johnson but if he's not as efficient as he should be against Jacksonville Watson will take over. 

Corey Davis You simply cannot sit him at this point. 2 straight weeks with 10 targets and he's had at least 60 yds or a TD every game he's played. This is eerily similar to Davante Parker's breakout year last season. With AJ Brown taking all the coverage away and teams loading the box to stop Henry. Davis sees man or soft zones all game. 

Jerry Jeudy I have a feeling this will be Jeudy's breakout game. They should get Tim Patrick back this game so I'm not as high on him as I was but I like the progress I've seen from Lock. He should play a ton of snaps out of the slot and Atlanta is a great matchup for him to take advantage of. 

John Brown Smokey Brown is the sneakiest of sneaky starts this week. I love his situation. Seattle is a very beatable matchup and even with Jamal Adams back he should be shaded to Diggs all game. That should leave Brown 1on1 with their 2nd or 3rd best corner. I got my money on seeing him in the end zone at least once tomorrow.

Sit❌

All Dallas WRs Normally I'd say "Well you probably still gotta start Amari" but no. Bench him. Bench them all. Maybe possibly CeeDee Lamb could have an ok game playing in the slot and his ability to get yards after the catch with a QB that won't be throwing down the field much. I'd avoid this whole offense if I can.

Davante Parker Tua is a great prospect but one thing I know about him is he distributes the ball to all his pass catchers. With him at QB I believe the days of double digit targets for any Miami WR are over. He won't be Fitz and just force the ball in to Parker who's a contested catch guy. He looks for separation and goes through his progressions. 

Mike Evans Lattimore on him all day with Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Gronk as available options sounds terrible for Evans. He'll be lucky to see more than 3 targets in this game. 

Christian Kirk It was a fun ride the past few weeks and if you collected those points, congratulations. Now he's off the radar against this upstart Miami defense. They aren't the same team from a year ago and showed that last week. 

Tight Ends

Start✅

Noah Fant I always say follow the targets at TE and he's getting them. Not only that but he's extremely athletic and efficient with his targets. Fant is a top 5 option for me at the position this week get him in your lineup.

Evan Engram Did I say it's not happening for him this year in my past articles? Ok well I like him this week regardless. He's not the best option but who really is at the TE position?

Logan Thomas Featured in my streaming article I think Thomas is heavily targeted with Bradberry on Mclaurin all game. Hopefully I'm right about this one because I'm streaming him everywhere after losing Kittle 😬.

Eric Ebron I wasn't high on Ebron but I've come around to him this week after hearing some arguments for him. I'm all for getting pieces against the Cowboysso fire him up

Sit❌

Jonnu Smith I hate to say it but it looks like his usage in this offense is making him unplayable. He's being asked to stay and pass block mre than usual. (I believe due to the loss of Taylor Lewan) TE like RB is more about opportunity and matchup than anything else and he has neither here.

Evan Engram I've flipped a ton on him so if I'm having trouble with deciding where I'm at on him this week I know other people are as well. After looking a bit harder I'm going to sit him. With Shepard taking the target volume he does and Slayton always has a chance to be a target hog in any given game I just don't see it. His one saving grace might be the benching of Tate would lead to Engram in the slot more than usual.

Jimmy Graham It looks like Graham's age is catching up to him. The Bears aren't using him correctly either. He should be a TD specialist and even that isn't really usable in fantasy.

Quarterbacks

Start✅

Ben Rotheisburger I'm seeing Ben as a sit on some sites which to me is crazy. He's got a full compliment of weapons and a cake matchup. Maybe Conner takes over on the ground and they blow them out I guess that could limit opportunities but saying the matchup is "too good" so sit him is a terrible argument to make. 

Cam Newton I disagreed with people sitting him last week and I still feel the same way. He offers a rushing floor most other QBs don't give you and in 4pt TD formats he has high upside as a safe bet for a rushing TD. There's also the chance he has a better passing game output this week as well.

Tom Brady Tampa has an embarrassment of riches in the passing game at this point. Tom probably can't wait to play with his new toy AB and Godwin is going to probably be available as well. Brady should have himself a game this week.

Matt Ryan He's not an exciting start this week potentially without Ridley in the offense but Denver is a big time pass funnel defense who's now down AJ Bouye. Even without Ridley he still has Julio and thats probably all he needs. Ryan offers a decent floor here against a beat up Broncos secondary. 

Sit❌

Ryan Tannehill Remember when I said Tannehill is an every week start? Yeah well about that..... I hate this matchup against Chicago. I'm actually really curious how this plays out as a football fan but for fantasy I'm not rolling out Tannehill with confidence. Now don't go crazy and bench him for a streaming caliber player like Drew Lock or Kirk Cousins. But if you can get a Cam Newton or Big Ben in your lineup I'm all for it. He's startable but sit him if you have a safer option.

Drew Brees Coming into this game with a shoulder Injury against a really tough Tampa D isn't exactly what I'd be looking for. His floor is dangerously low in this game. I'm not risking it.

Lamar Jackson Contrary to what you think Lamar has sadly been a sit all year. He's the QB14 on the year. That's a tremendous dissapointment. He's taken a step back as a passer and been less reliant on his rushing ability. I believe he gets back to that part of his game to boost his value ROS but in this game against this tough Matt Eberflus coached unit I'm starting my top 8 options over him. 

That's it for this week's start sits. Hope you enjoyed it. Follow me on Twitter @Chris_Cianci