Week nine of the NFL steams into our living rooms this weekend, which means the season is around the half way point. Standings in fantasy football leagues throughout the land are becoming clear. Whether you need to maintain the edge over your team members or require a playoff push, setting a roster is vitally important for the best outcome. Choosing who to start and who to leave on the bench is central to fantasy success. There is no need to stress over how to do this as we here at Belly Up Sports are here to help! Let’s get those rosters set with this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition!

Running Backs

Boston Scott/Jordan Howard, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia supposed star running back Miles Sanders missed this past week’s game and will miss at least two more while on injured reserve. Many thought Kenneth Gainwell would get the lion’s share of carries against Detroit. However, it was Boston Scott and Jordan Howard who were the stars of the game. Scott rushed 12 times for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Howard was just as effective, gaining 57 yards on 12 carries while also scoring two TDs.

Scott scored 18 fantasy points Sunday with Howard scoring 17. Trying to figure out who to target out of the two might be a difficult task. Even so, managers will want to get whichever of the two they own into their lineups this week against a Chargers defense that has completely lost its way. Without question, Scott and Howard both should be added if on the waiver wire and started this Sunday.

Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins

A pattern has begun to emerge when researching the performance of Myles Gaskin. Over the past several weeks, Gaskin has followed an excellent game with a total disappearing act the next. After only scoring seven fantasy points last week against Buffalo, Gaskin should be in position to bounce back big against Houston this Sunday. As Buffalo has the number one defense in the NFL, it isn’t surprising to see Gaskin scuffle against them, pattern or no.

There should be no such concerns against the Texans. Houston is terrible on defense, whether against the pass or run. Gaskin can certainly catch the ball out of the backfield, as evidenced by his 10 catch, two touchdown showing against Tampa in week five. Gaskin scored 31 fantasy points in that game and finished with 19 against Atlanta in week seven. That 19 points should be considered his fantasy floor this week, which makes Gaskin a must start on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits list.

Sits

Carlos Hyde, Jacksonville Jaguars

In contrast to the above two, Carlos Hyde finds himself having to go up against the top defense in football this Sunday. Buffalo is the top of the chart in overall defense and ranks fourth in average rushing yards allowed. Fellow running back James Robinson bruised his heel in the first quarter against Seattle and did not return. His status for this weekend is undetermined as of this writing.

Whether Robinson starts or not shouldn’t make much difference to whether fantasy managers get Hyde into their starting lineups. Hyde should be kept well clear regardless. Hyde did have a nice game against the Seahawks with nine rushes for 32 yards and six catches for 40 more. He finished with 13 fantasy points. That’s all well and good, but no one will mistake Seattle’s defense for Buffalo’s. Benching Hyde is one of the easiest calls to make on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition.

Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots

In week seven, Brandon Bolden smashed his way into fantasy relevance with six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Most impressively, Bolden finished with 19 fantasy points. Many a fantasy manager made their way to the waiver wire to add him with what looked like an enticing matchup with the Chargers. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the New England coaching staff as Bolden barely made a ripple this past Sunday in Los Angeles.

The most surprising aspect of the game was that Bolden finished without a single target after logging seven the week before. Most depressing was the fact the Bolden scored just two fantasy points. It was the sixth time this season that Bolden has scored six or fewer. As always, trying to figure out how the Patriots are going to use their running backs is a fool’s endeavor. The Panthers are next up for New England. While Carolina has slid significantly since winning their first three games of the season, their defense is still ranked second in the NFL. It is highly advisable that Bolden stay bolted to the bench this weekend.

Wide Receivers

Starts

Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers

First things first, the good news regarding Allen Lazard is he is clear to play this weekend. Secondly, the great news is that Lazard and the Packers face the disaster that has become the Chiefs’ defense. Even with the game on the road, Lazard should be in for a big day. Kansas City is absolutely terrible at defending outside receivers.

Fortunately for Lazard and his fantasy managers, that is the exact position that Lazard plays for Green Bay. Prior to missing the game against Arizona, Lazard scored a touchdown in consecutive weeks. His reception total had gone up in every game since week five. Best of all, Lazard scored 17 fantasy points against Washington. That total should be considered the floor this week against the Chiefs. There is no doubt that Lazard is the leading receiver on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition.

Update:

Everyone is now aware that quarterback Aaron Rodgers will miss the game Sunday after a positive COVID test. This makes the way for Jordan Love to make his first NFL start against the Chiefs, assuming of course, that he isn’t held out due to contact tracing protocols. Obviously, there is a big unknown in attempting to determine what kind of performance Love will come up with. Even so, with the Chiefs so weak at defending outside receivers, Lazard still gets a start recommendation this week.

Deonte Harris, New Orleans Saints

By now, everyone has heard that all everything wide receiver Michael Thomas will not play this season for New Orleans. At the same time, everyone also knows that quarterback Jameis Winston is also out for the year. The starter at QB is an unknown at this stage, but whomever it is will have to throw the ball for the Saints to be competitive. Of course, he will throw it is running back Alvin Kamara a great deal. However, he will also need to throw the ball to the receivers as well.

That is where Deonte Harris comes in. Against Tampa last Sunday, Harris led the Saints in targets and finished second in yards from scrimmage behind Kamara. The result for Harris was 12 fantasy points, the fifth time in six games that he has scored at least that many. The fact that Atlanta is next up on the schedule must also be taken into consideration as they aren’t a strong team on defense. With four teams on bye this week and a ton of injuries around the NFL to deal with, a safe floor receiver is the way to go. If owned, get Harris into your lineup this Sunday, as he has earned his place on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits list.

Sits

Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers

Without doubt, these are dark days for the Carolina Panthers offensive players. Even after a victory over Atlanta this past week, the offense is in a weeks long funk. No other player is a better example of that than Robby Anderson. In fact, Anderson reached the absolute bottom of the barrel against the Falcons, coming away without a reception and just one target.

There is no question that Anderson is having a down season. In fact, the slide that Anderson is on has been going on since the beginning. Anderson has scored over 10 fantasy points only once since week one. He has had more than three catches one time all season. With New England next up on the schedule, it is best to look elsewhere for a relevant receiver and leave Anderson on the sideline until he proves he belongs on the fantasy field.

Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears

Last week, Allen Robinson was included on the sits list recommendation. Unfortunately for him and his fantasy managers, Robinson makes a repeat appearance this week. Even with QB Justin Fields having his best week as a pro, Robinson was almost invisible on the stat sheet this past week. Robinson was targeted just four times, resulting in three catches for only 21 yards.

Most importantly, Robinson was kept out of the end zone for the sixth straight week and has only one score on the season. In fact, Robinson’s output has dipped so low this year that he has scored double digit fantasy points only once and that was just 10 points in week two. Robinson remains one of the most talented wide outs in football, but that talent has not produced results this season. Robinson firmly resides on the bench on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits list.

Tight Ends

Starts

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys

There can be no doubt that this recommendation of Dalton Schultz has anything to do with his performance against Minnesota. Clearly, it was more of a non performance than anything else. Even though he was targeted seven times, Schultz caught just two passes for a miniscule 11 yards. Quarterback Cooper Rush, making the start in place of Dak Prescott, couldn’t get on the same page with Schultz. However, Prescott will be back at the controls this Sunday against Denver. The previous four weeks with Prescott as his quarterback, Schultz never finished with less than six targets.

Against New England on the road in week six, Schultz had five catches for 79 yards, which averages out to an excellent 15.8 yards per catch. The Broncos are in free fall since opening the season with three straight wins and Prescott and Schultz should get right back on the same page immediately. A decided lack of quality options at the tight end position means that if owned, Schultz needs to be in the lineup. Schultz leads the way at the tight end position on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition.

Evan Engram, New York Giants

There can be no question that the tight end position is a black hole at this point in the fantasy season. This is how a player like Evan Engram, who has scored 10 fantasy points in consecutive weeks, finds himself on the starts list. It looks at this point like there might not be a whole lot of healthy receivers on the Giants’ roster going into this week’s matchup with the Raiders. That fact also elevates Engram to the starting position this week.

Against Kansas City, Engram caught three passes for 15 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season. Those are modest totals, to be sure, but with the position in such desperate straights, Engram can deliver positive stats this week. Engram was targeted eight times the previous week against Carolina with six catches and 44 yards. Similar numbers would be a treat for fantasy managers this week. If owned, Engram is certainly start worthy against Las Vegas.

Sits

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

When he scored 19 fantasy points in week five, many thought Hunter Henry was off and running to an excellent finish to his season. Three weeks later, the wait continues as Henry’s performance has fallen off a cliff. Henry reached bottom against the Chargers last week, finishing with just one catch on three targets. Even though the catch went for 33 yards, the shelf was barren for his fantasy managers otherwise as Henry scored just four fantasy points. Henry, at this point, is practically invisible.

In fact, Henry has scored just 24 fantasy points since that outstanding week five performance. The Charger defense has become a shell over the past few weeks. Much more should have been provided by Henry, especially considering the Chargers are his former team and motivation was a key factor going into the game for him. Simply stated, Henry can’t be trusted in fantasy at this point. That earns him a spot on the bench on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition.

Noah Fant, Denver Broncos

Last week, Noah Fant made the sit portion of the article and proved that decision correct with an almost complete disappearing act. Against Washington’s vulnerable defense, Fant caught just two of four targets for a grand total of eight yards. Since catching nine passes for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders in week six, Fant’s whereabouts have been the subject of a search from coast to coast without success.

In the last two games, Fant has scored a total of 10 fantasy points. This week, expect much of the same against the Cowboys. As of this writing, it isn’t even known if Fant will play in the game after landing on the COVID 19/reserve list earlier in the week. Even if active, there is no reason to get Fant into the lineup against a much improved Dallas defense. The pickings at the tight end position are indeed slim, but there has to be a better answer out there than Fant right now. It is best to search elsewhere.

Quarterbacks

Starts

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders

Without question, things have been chaotic around the Raiders camp in recent weeks. First, there was the well publicized resignation of head coach Jon Gruden. Now comes the news that wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was involved in a DUI accident resulting in a death. Raiders have since released Ruggs. Even with all of this turmoil, Derek Carr still draws a start recommendation this week against the Giants.

That shouldn’t be surprising given the season that Carr has had up to this point. Carr has had just one down week this year, with only 18 fantasy points against Chicago in week six. In all other games, Carr has scored less than 38 fantasy points just once. He has thrown for two touchdowns in six of seven games while throwing for 323 yards or more five times. The Giants aren’t the defensive team they have been known over the years and Carr should be in for a big game. Carr has certainly earned a starting spot on this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits list.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Last week, Tua Tagovailoa was recommended for a seat on the bench. Games against Buffalo on the road tend to have that result. Not surprisingly, Tagovailoa produced an underwhelming fantasy total of 25.5 points. However, that dark day is now in the rear view and the sun should be shining brightly for Tagovailoa this week with a matchup against Houston on deck.

As a reference, take the two games Tagovailoa played before going up against Buffalo. In week seven against Jacksonville, Tagovailoa passed for 329 yards and two touchdowns. Against Atlanta the next week, he passed for 291 yards and four TDs. Something similar to those two performances are what his managers can look for this weekend. No question, Tagovailoa must be starting lineups this Sunday.

Sits

Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers

After four weeks of fantasy irrelevance, Jimmy Garoppolo made a big time return this past weekend against Chicago. Garoppolo completed 17 of 28 passes for 322 yards. Most shockingly, Garoppolo scored two touchdowns on the ground for the first time in his career. Such an effort earned his fantasy managers 37.5 fantasy points, his highest total of the season. That’s the good news.

The bad news? The 49ers welcome in Arizona this Sunday and the Cardinals have been especially tough on opposing quarterbacks all season. Entering the game, Arizona has given up the second fewest fantasy points to passers. The two rushing TDs Garoppolo scored will probably never happen again. In single QB or shallow leagues, there simply has to be a better option out there than Garoppolo. Find that option as Garoppolo has earned his bench spot on this fantasy football week must start/sits edition.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

When looking at the fantasy record, this season has been a good one for Matt Ryan. That hasn’t transitioned to the field for the Falcons, but fantasy managers care little about that. However, the tide seems to have turned for Ryan and any one with him on their roster should be looking for other options at this point. Of course, many won’t find a better situation at quarterback, but still a search needs to be conducted if at all possible.

After throwing for 336 yards and two touchdowns against Miami in week seven, Ryan virtually disappeared against Carolina this past Sunday. He only threw for 146 yards and a single touchdown while throwing two interceptions. This performance was at home and now Ryan and the Falcons have to take their act on the road to New Orleans. The Saints just beat the best in business Brady and should be able to do equally as well against Ryan. If any other quality options exist, get Ryan off the field for this game.

The Last Word

Thank you for joining me for this fantasy football week nine must starts/sits edition! As always, I welcome input and suggestions from all of my readers. Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea, and be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports & Picks for all the latest NFL and sports news!

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