An all-encompassing look at the matchups to exploit or avoid and lineup locks in fantasy, as well as projected scores for all NFL games.
Mike Clay is a senior writer for fantasy football and the NFL at ESPN. Mike is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. His projections power the ESPN Fantasy Football game, and he also appears on"Fantasy Football Now" and the Fantasy Focus Football podcast.
for seasonlong leagues and DFS. This guide should help you with all sorts of decision-making, including sit/start, last-minute waiver adds and lineup choices. Additionally, we have folded the Shadow Reports, previously a separate column, into the game-by-game breakdowns here. Using our play-by-play data, we're able to identify defensive schemes and where each wide receiver and cornerback lines up on each play. By tracking these WR/CB matchups, including potential shadow situations, we can offer the best projections, rankings, sit/start advice and waiver wire suggestions each week.All of this advice is centered on 12-team PPR leagues with relatively standard scoring and lineup settings , although I'll often mention"shallow" or"deep" leagues for some starters. The charts show all players who have been projected for at least 6.0 fantasy points this week, as well as all D/STs."Matchup" is automatically determined using a proprietary metric that factors in raw and volume-adjusted fantasy points allowed to each position by the opposing defense is just behind. The 2024 sixth-round pick saw five-plus targets in all four games, hitting a career-high eight in Week 7. Washington found the end zone last week and posted season-high marks in yardage and fantasy points . Obviously, those marks aren't very high and confirm that Washington is not yet a reliable fantasy option despite the boost in usage. The Ravens have struggled against receivers this season, though that may not be the case moving forward now that they're much healthier. Washington is no more than a deep-league flex lottery ticket.handled 12 carries and three targets on 31 snaps, compared to nine carries and one target on 25 snaps for. Though he's playing a lesser role than he did out of the gate, Brown's stock is on the rise, as he has now delivered 100-plus scrimmage yards in consecutive games, including Sunday's two-TD, 25.5-point showing.-led offense is enough to get him in the RB2 mix this week. Plus, Chicago has allowed eight TDs, 5.2 yards per carry and a league-high 93% catch rate to RBs. However, there's still some risk here, as he has cleared 13.1 fantasy points only once this season. Perine is also fresh off a big game , but he is yet to clear 10 touches in a game. He remains best left on benches.. Those receivers averaged 9.5 fantasy PPG. Turner has clearly done a nice job, with seven of the top eight WR performances against the Bengals coming from players he didn't shadow. Odunze can be downgraded slightly, whereas the team's secondary targets can be upgraded .returned from IR last week and immediately retook lead back duties in Minnesota. Jones played 53% of the snaps and handled five carries and four targets in what was a very low-volume game for the Vikings offense ., meanwhile, was limited to just four carries and one target on 16 snaps. This figures to remain a full-on committee, with Mason as the lead ball carrier and goal-line option and Jones not far behind in carries and the featured passing-game back. Week 9 presents a tough matchup against a Lions defense that has allowed the fewest yards and fourth-fewest fantasy points to RBs. Especially with Minnesota a substantial underdog, Mason is way off the fantasy radar, whereas Jones is a low-ceiling flex.put up 28.3 fantasy points on Sunday, his most since he delivered a career-high 28.4 in Week 17 of the 2023 season. Love now has two top-5 fantasy outings this season, though they represent his only finishes better than 11th and he has finished 16th or lower four times. Love is playing well, but his passing output has been all over the map and, while he's adding more as a rusher than he did in 2024, he has still provided only 109 yards and zero TDs with his legs. Love remains a solid QB2 and is a streaming option this week against a Carolina defense that has allowed 22-plus fantasy points to QBs in four of its past five games.is eyeing a rebound following an ugly Week 8 showing in which he was held without a single target. With Los Angeles working in rookiemore often , Johnston was limited to 53% of the offensive snaps after playing 86% during his first six games. The doughnut is the latest in a string of duds from Johnston, who, after averaging 9.3 targets and 19.9 fantasy points per game during his first four games, has totaled 10 targets and 17.9 points in his past three outings. Johnston remains a candidate for the occasional big play but, with the big dip in usage, he's much riskier than he was out of the gate and is no longer a lineup lock.The good news for Johnston is that we're upgrading the Chargers receivers against a Titans defense that is allowing 9.7 yards per target and a 75% catch rate to receivers this season. Tennessee is already shorthanded at corner with. and a to-be-determined replacement in the slot. This calls for a big boost in value for the Chargers pass game.found the end zone again on Sunday and now has four scores in his past three outings. This, after he found paydirt a total of just four times in his first 25 NFL games. Despite the recent run, Boutte is not yet a reliable flex option. He has cleared five targets only once, and that was way back in Week 1. Boutte sits fifth among receivers in TDs but 58th in targets , 49th in catches and 22nd in yardage . Boutte is a candidate for some serious regression to the mean and is no more than a boom/bust deep-league flex flier.in Week 8, holding Cleveland's top receiver without a single catch. New England's pass defense hasn't been exceptional, though no receiver has reached 18 fantasy points against the Patriots this season. Especially with the potential for a Gonzalez shadow, expectations for London should be lowered. is out for the season, which means Tracy will return to lead-back duties for New York. With Skattebo departing after 10 snaps on Sunday, Tracy soaked up 10 carries and three targets on 32 snaps, compared to two carries and one target on eight snaps for. We got a lengthy look at a Tracy/Singletary backfield last season, with Tracy taking over as the Giants' de facto lead back in Week 5 and going on to play 11"full" games with Singletary also active. During that span, Tracy played 67% of the snaps and handled 13.2 carries and 3.5 targets per game. He reached 65 yards in nine of the 11 games and averaged 12.2 fantasy PPG, which ranked 23rd among RBs. Tracy is playing in a better offense this time around, which puts him on the RB2 radar, especially this week against a struggling 49ers defense that is allowing 26.5 fantasy PPG to RBs over its past five games. Jones has finished better than 10th among QBs in fantasy points once in his past six outings, but he has shown a solid floor as of late and should be locked into lineups this week. Jones has thrown for multiple touchdowns in four consecutive games and sits fourth in the league in passing yards. This week, he'll benefit from facing a struggling Pittsburgh defense that has surrendered the most completions and passing yardage, as well as the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. BothWe're also upgrading Colts receivers against a Steelers defense that looks good on paper, but that has allowed the most catches and yards to receivers this season. Pittsburgh has surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points to the position on the season, including the most over the past four weeks. Pittman gets a boost, whereas. is a good bet to shadow Sutton this week. The standout corner hasn't been needed in a shadow capacity in recent weeks, but earlier in the season he traveled with. . Sutton has put together solid days even when shadowed this season, so while we're downgrading him a bit, he remains a WR2/3. Secondary Denver receivers should be avoided against a Houston defense that has allowed a league-low 56% catch rate and only three TDs to the position this season. That includes, who scored 26.9 points last week in an A-plus matchup against Dallas after averaging 9.9 per game during Weeks 1-7.is out for about a month, which is good news for Collins, as he'll dodge his shadow coverage . Of course, even with Surtain out, this matchup doesn't figure to be a walk in the park. Denver's overall pass defense has been as good as expected, sitting third best in EPA against the pass and having allowed two TDs, a league-low in yards per target and the second-fewest fantasy points to WRs. Denver has yet to allow a receiver to reach 20 fantasy points in a game this season. Collins and the rest of the Houston passing game should be downgraded slightly.finally had his offensive breakout game, posting an 8-101-1 receiving line on 13 targets. All four of those numbers were career highs, and his 24.1 fantasy points marked his first game above 9.4. Perhaps the primary reason for optimism here is that Hunter played a career-high 86% of the offensive snaps and didn't play at all on defense until garbage time. Jacksonville appears committed to Hunter's offensive ascent, which positions him as a viable WR3, especially this week against the Raiders. Speaking of which ...Upgrade Jaguars receivers against a Raiders defense that has allowed the fourth-most catches and fantasy points to receivers, as well as the seventh-most yardage and nine TDs. Thomas should remain locked in lineups, whereas aforementioned Hunter also makes for a viable starter.is tough to justify as a lineup lock right now. Working in the Saints' struggling offense, Kamara hasn't reached 13.0 fantasy points in any game since he delivered a season-high 16.0 points in Week 2 and he hasn't scored a touchdown since the season opener. Kamara hasn't done much as a rusher as of late and he's no longer a major factor in the passing game. His 11% target share is nearly half his career rate of 20% and he has been held under 30 yards in seven of eight games. The Rams have allowed only one RB touchdown this season, and onlyis trending up after delivering a 6-88-1 receiving line on seven targets against Carolina on Sunday. Shakir's 20.8 fantasy points were his most since Week 14 of last season. The primary reason for optimism here is that Shakir has seen his target share increase from 15.5% during Weeks 1-3 to 26.7% in his past four games. The latter is closer to his 23.3% rate from last season when he finished 35th among receivers in fantasy PPG despite finding the end zone only four times. Shakir already has three TDs this season, although that pace may not be sustainable considering his expected TD total and just one end zone target. Nonetheless, Shakir has reemerged as Allen's top target, which is enough to position him as a WR3, even in a tough matchup against a Chiefs defense that has allowed the second-fewest yards to receivers this season.. The rookie running back has taken on lead-back duties in Washington, but he has still managed to fall short of 6.0 fantasy points in three consecutive games. We did get a glance of his upside in Week 5 , but he has been limited to a total of 125 yards, 0 TDs and 12.5 points over the past three weeks. Week 9 presents a very tough matchup for Croskey-Merritt, as Seattle has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards, a league-low 3.0 yards per carry and only two rushing TDs to backs. Seattle has allowed the most catches to backs, but that doesn't help Croskey-Merritt, who has yet to see more than two targets in a game and has a total of 6 receiving yards on four targets over the past three weeks."Bill" is no more than a flex option and is best left on benches.put up 64 yards on 17 touches . Previously operating in a backfield timeshare with, Knight has yet to play half the snaps in a game and has finished in the 9.4-to-12.4 fantasy point range in all three games withsidelined. Knight gets a boost this week from a matchup against a Dallas defense that has allowed the second-most yards and fantasy points, as well as 10 TDs to RBs this season. Arizona's lead back is an RB2/flex option.Upgrade Arizona's wide receivers against a Dallas defense that has allowed the most touchdowns and fantasy points to the position this season. Dallas is dead last in defensive EPA against the pass and is allowing a league-high 9.9 yards per target to receivers. The damage includes three TDs and 51.4 points allowed to Denver's receivers last week. With
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Commanders, Steelers, and 49ers Top Defenses to Sit in Week 9 Fantasy FootballWashington, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco are struggling defenses. We highlight these and a few others to sit in Week 9 fantasy football.
Read more »
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Primer for NFL Week 9: Go all-in on Tyrone TracyThe San Diego Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown gives you his NFL Week 9 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy foot…
Read more »
Daniel Carlson and Blake Grupe Among Week 9 Fantasy Football Kickers to SitWeek 9 fantasy football kickers to sit include Daniel Carlson and Blake Grupe. With four teams on a bye week, our third kicker may surprise people.
Read more »
Six Must Start Running Backs in Fantasy Football for Week 9Fantasy Football players need to get these RBs into their Week 9 starting lineups.
Read more »
Week 9 Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings: Ka'imi Fairbairn In The Top 10Welcome to Week 9! Most of us survived last week’s bye-mageddon, and the NFL goes back to the typical four-team bye this week with the Browns, Buccaneers, Eagl
Read more »
Week 9 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Derrick Henry vs. Javonte WilliamsHelping decide who to play in fantasy football in week nine between Dallas Cowboys RB Javonte Williams and Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry.
Read more »