Week 9 Start/Sit Questions

By: Mike Johnson (@mjohnson86)

Some things in fantasy football are easy. We know we should start Ja’Marr Chase and Saquon Barkley. We know we should bench the backup running back who is only on our roster in case of injury. A lot of the decisions are made for us. However, there are a lot of things that are not so simple. All of the “in between” situations are what can make the difference between a few wins and losses, and therefore it can be the difference between a successful season or a failed season. Every Friday, we are here to help!!

I’ll take questions each week in our #fantasy-football channel in our Discord from people looking for Start/Sit advice and give my thoughts. This article on Fridays will feature a few of those questions and responses, so join our Discord to be a part of the conversation or ask questions of your own!!

Question 1:: Couple of questions here. 12 team, full PPR. 

Geno Smith or Caleb Williams?

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DJ Moore, or Chase Brown? Need two. (Sef20)

Answer:: For question 1, I would go with Caleb Williams over Geno Smith this week. Both are in solid matchups, but my lean is slightly to Caleb in his matchup with the Cardinals. The Bears offense really struggled last week against the Commanders, but Arizona’s 29th ranked pass defense is a perfect spot for a bounce-back effort. Chicago has had some rough outings and some very good ones this season, but the quality of the Bears’ performances have been heavily driven by the quality of their opponents and the pressure rates that those defenses create. Arizona is 29th in QB pressure rate and PFF coverage grade – wheels up on Williams.

For question #2, I would go with Moore and Brown. The logic on Moore is the same as already discussed for Williams. For the second spot, I would go with Brown in a great matchup against the Raiders rather than the relatively low ceiling that JSN seems to provide. He does not generate explosive plays and is not much of a touchdown threat. He’s fine to start when your other options are not great, but Brown is in a great spot for his best game of the season.

Question 2:: Dontayvion Wicks or Elijah Moore? (DinoFontaine)

Answer:: Elijah Moore has been targeted 19 times in the past two weeks and the Browns with Jameis Winston are likely to continue targeting him in the short areas of the field often. The Chargers’ defensive front should be solid enough to slow down the Browns’ running game, which means Cleveland could pepper Moore with targets as a means to move the chains. Meanwhile, Wicks is still in a rotation of receivers and will likely be playing in the rain with either a hobbled Jordan Love or Malik Willis at QB. 

Question 3:: Start 2: Chase Brown, Cooper Kupp, or Chris Olave?(PPR) (Spy)

Answer:: I spoke before about the great spot Brown is in this week, but this question is good because it reminds us that we should usually lean towards starting our studs. Kupp returned last week and should be fully involved against Seattle this week, especially with Puka Nacua having a setback with his knee in practice on Thursday. Kupp is a top-12 WR option in full PPR formats, if not higher. Olave was targeted a season high 14 times against the Chargers last week and should be a true alpha the rest of the way with Rashid Shaheed out for the season, and he’s facing the Panthers 31st-ranked pass defense. Roll with the receivers.

Question 4:: Standard scoring. Start 1 of Raheem Mostert, Rico Dowdle or Devin Singletary?  Start 2 of Dontayvion Wicks, Elijah Moore, Jalen Tolbert, Christian Watson, and Trey Palmer? (Chunk)

Answer:: Dowdle had established himself as the leader of the Dallas backfield before his surprise inactive situation in Week 8 due to an illness. He is fine now and the other Cowboys RBs did nothing to take the job away from him in his absence. I’d roll with him at the RB spot.

For the receivers, I would go with Moore and Tolbert. Again, I like the high-volume role for Moore, and with Tolbert, you get the #2 WR in a solid matchup and potential shootout. It also helps that you are now starting Dowdle and Tolbert, which gives you multiple paths to benefitting if that game lives up to the hype. Palmer is nothing more than a dart throw at this point and the Packers WRs are only worth trying to guess right on in weeks where we have more certainty around the success of their passing game.

Question 5:: Start Kyler Murray or Dak Prescott?  (Mac)

Answer:: The Cowboys’ passing game seemed to find something in the second half against the 49ers, and we saw last season that once CeeDee Lamb gets going, Dak Prescott can light up the scoreboard with any QB. He was the QB1 after the team’s Week 7 bye in 2023 and Dallas has a defense that keeps getting roasted and a running game that fails to produce. Kyler faces an elite Bears pass defense that he should have a good game against, but he has a limited ceiling. I’d go with Dak in this spot for the higher ceiling.

Join us Saturday for Week 9 Rankings!