All updated projections for the most current NFL season are here: weekly Yahoo projections - weekly DraftKings projections - weekly Fanduel projections.
Getting the most out of your week 9 RB selections on daily fantasy football sites like Draftkings and Fanduel will require you to identify key matchups as well as utilizing players with the most value. Value is determined by comparing a player's average productions to their daily fantasy football salary price. The players with the highest of these values are ones that should be further considered for your lineup. In this article, I have grouped together a list of week 9 running backs with value who also happen to be facing a favorable opponent. This article mostly focuses on DraftKings and presents the current player salary for week 9 RBs but the same arguments can be made for choosing any of the following players for Fanduel.
Remember: If you want to get help putting together a complete lineup for all positions, try the Fantasy Knuckleheads Optimal Lineup Tool.
Marshawn Lynch ($6,100) Oakland@Seattle
Again, for week 9, I'm leaving off some of the best running backs in football. Arian Foster will likely have another great week against Philadelphia but had a huge rise in price at nearly $10,000 on DraftKings. DeMarco Murray may be MVP material this year but I don't like the matchup this week against Arizona. Lynch's salary priced dropped a little this week because of his performance against Carolina but you can take advantage of a top tier RB this week for a good price. The matchup also looks really good. Oakland has been giving up on average 27.64 fantasy points to RBs per game.
Ahmad Bradshaw ($5,800) Indianapolis@New York Giants
Bradshaw is averaging about the same fantasy points per game as Marshawn Lynch, only at a slightly lower price. Although Big Ben and the Steelers shocked the world with the kind of numbers they delivered to the Colts, Ahmad Bradshaw quietly had a good game himself. He has 7 receptions and 6 carries in week 8. His ability to catch the ball makes him very valuable in a full 1 PPR setup like DraftKings.
Ronnie Hillman ($5,600) Denver@New England
This guy has been building up momentum week to week and his price has been increasing relative to that. Hillman is only averaging 14.4 fantasy points per game but his stats are trending upward. His 2014 average is a little misleading because several of those game he was a backup. This legacy game between the two living legend QBs should be a good matchup for Hillman as long as it doesn't end up being a QB shootout.
Mark Ingram ($5,500) New Orleans@Carolina
This is another player who is trending upward as far as production is concerned. Last week he put up 27.5 fantasy points which is incredible for what he was priced at. He still has a relatively low price and the matchup is better than it was last week. Carolina Panther's run defense seems to be getting a little better every week but it is still one of the 10 worst against the run in fantasy terms.
LeSean McCoy ($5,200) Philadelphia@Houston
At $5,200 it's very hard not to consider him for your lineup. Hasn't had a lot of big games this season but he is still an undeniable talent who has a huge game just waiting around the corner. It just takes the right week to pick when that will happen and it's best to grab him before he does and his price is cheap, because once he does, the price jumps. Houston has a good defense but their weakness is stopping the run.
Watch for Denard Robinson to have a breakout game in week 9 against a down trending Bengals run defense.
Denard Robinson ($4,800) Jacksonville@Cincinnati
This is the point in week 9 RB projections where the risk becomes higher as the player salaries go down. This is because these players lower down on the list are putting up lower numbers on average week in and week out. The key is to target one of these bargain bin players who will have an unusually good week and have similar numbers as one of the big name guys. Targeting one of these low salary guys for a high money tournament play on DraftKings has a lot to do with finding favorable matchups. Cincinnati run defense has been trending downwards in the last few weeks (meaning they are giving up progressively more points to running backs). Take advantage of this trend as well as a player who is trending upward with still a low price. Robinson has had two consecutive 100 yard games since getting full time duty over Toby Gerhart and Jordan Todman
Bobby Rainey ($4,400) Tampa Bay@Cleveland
Rainey is a guy who consistently gets targets in the passing game which makes him even more valuable because he scores 1 fantasy point for every ball he catches. The Browns' defense has gotten much better against the run in recent weeks but the team still has been allowing 27.29 fantasy points to RBs for the season. That number may be a bit inflated because of how poorly the defense was playing at the beginning of the year compared to how they are playing now.
Ben Tate ($4,300) Tampa Bay@Cleveland
The other side of the ball has an even more enticing option with Ben Tate. Tate joins a talented young backfield in Cleveland but is till the starter and still gets majority of the touches. The Buccaneers are not good against the run or pass, which means that the Browns' offense can really put up some points on the scoreboard in week 9. In fact, Tampa Bay's defense is allowing the most points scored on them in the entire league.
Jonathan Stewart ($3,900) New Orleans@Carolina
The last week 9 pick in this grouping is a perfect example of a high risk/high reward tournament play. Putting a very low salary guy like this in your lineup is only good for a tournament play because the boom or bust nature and doesn't have the week to week consistency that you count on for a 50/50. Last week, Stewart averaged 4.9 yards on the ground and 5 yards through the air against Seattle. Week 9 pits him up against a significantly worse defense that may allow him to have his best game of the year. Stewart can be a very low priced RB who puts up big numbers this week similar to what Mark Ingram did in week 8.
Results from week 8 projections:
- Arian Foster 42.3 Fantasy Points
- Marshawn Lynch 7.4 Fantasy Points
- Le'Veon Bell 20.8 Fantasy Points
- Ahmad Bradshaw 21.7 Fantasy Points
- Justin Forsett 13.5 Fantasy Points
- Jerick Mckinnon 9.2 Fantasy Points
- Joique Bell 8.1 Fantasy Points
- Darren McFadden 11.5 Fantasy Points
- Ben Tate 10.4 Fantasy Points
- Doug Martin 4.6 Fantasy Points
- Mark Ingram 27.5 Fantasy Points
- Anthony Dixon 4.4 Fantasy Points