Fantasy Football Booms and Busts: Mega-star WRs show out in otherwise wonky Week 9
· Yahoo Sports
In the middle of a wonky Week 9, I looked to the wide receiver board for comfort. Maybe some alpha wideouts posting big numbers would soothe the nerves a little bit. Alas, even that roundup brought some agita. The NFL is a whirlwind, now and forever.
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The Week 9 receivers on the outside are names you know by heart. CeeDee Lamb (10-195-1) went bananas with George Pickens unavailable. Puka Nacua (14-150-1) was unstoppable against Washington, the one reliable downfield option Matthew Stafford has. Ja'Marr Chase (10-155-1) was worth the early alarm, torching the Falcons in Spain. And as I compose this weekly notebook, the newly-minted stars of the Packers, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, are crushing against the New England secondary.
But the breaking Nacua news overshadows the day. Nacua was hurt on his final snap against the Commanders — on a running play of all things — and needs an MRI on his knee Monday. The Rams don't believe Nacua has a torn ACL, but any MRI is a scary prospect. Nacua's production over the last six games has been too good to be true: 84 targets, 65 catches, 641 yards, five total touchdowns.
The funny thing about the Rams, even with Nacua going nuclear, the L.A. offense hasn't been special. It's scored a modest 44 points in the last two weeks, despite playing the Chargers and Commanders. There was the 18-16 loss to Arizona in Week 6. Forget the Rams as preseason favorites; they're no guarantee to be a playoff team. And if Nacua misses time, all bets are clearly off.
Lamb is doing the target thing for the Cowboys, too. He had 16 looks in the win at Indianapolis, what we want from our first-rounders. That makes 83 targets in six games for Lamb, and while the Pickens' absence made it easier for Prescott to look Lamb's way, the Cowboys will always lean that way. San Francisco is a challenge next week, then come favorable draws against Tennessee and Philadelphia.
I was hopeful Ryan Flournoy would spread his wings without Pickens, but that narrative died on the vine. Flournoy had a late 46-yard catch to partially save his day, but a 2-53-0 log on three targets goes down as a loss. It just underscores the variance at the receiver position — Flournoy had four productive weeks as the team's No. 3 receiver, then was mostly invisible here.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals are usually a palate-cleaning offense, and Week 9 applies. The Bengals romped over Atlanta 34-17 in the morning game, with Burrow throwing for three scores and running in another. Burrow steered most of the work to Chase (12 targets), though Tee Higgins salvaged a 5-32-2 day on his six opportunities. Ah, touchdown deodorant. Chase Brown continues to be a net loss for fantasy managers, getting just 12 chances and making a credible 75 yards. The efficiency is good, the workload was not. He also didn't score a touchdown. Samaje Perine (11-43-0) is playing more than anyone imagined.
In Other Week 9 Booms
— The Texans continue to play against type, a pass-first offense with a stagnant running game and a defense that's far less than expected. C.J. Stroud continued his redemption song, throwing for five touchdowns and 384 yards against the sorry Chargers. The Houston passing tree continues to be wide, as Kayshon Boutte (4-125-2) and Tank Dell (4-105-1) had the most productive days, and Nico Collins was targeted just four times (4-55-1). Before the year, we thought this would be a small pie with Collins getting the biggest piece; it's turned into a larger pie, but the shares are split rather evenly. The Browns are next up.
— Familiar names pushed back to the top of the running back board, with Kenneth Walker III, Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey all scoring well. Walker had three total touchdowns, two in the receiving game, and the Falcons finally got Robinson going again in their passing game (47 yards). McCaffrey continues to be ordinary in efficiency, but a couple of scores got him home in a lopsided win over the Raiders. Widely available Jordan Watkins (4-86-1) was the best of the San Francisco receivers.
— I was hopeful that Alvin Kamara could get a bigger role with Kendre Miller cut, but the Saints dialed up Audric Estime (15-72-1) as the primary back against the Browns. Maybe it's not a surprise that Estime was used, but I didn't expect him to be this effective. Chris Olave (7-98-0) was the target hog for the Saints, though rookie Jordyn Tyson (4-30-0) had five targets and lost a touchdown at the one-yard line. The Saints still haven't scored a first-half touchdown all year, but Tyler Shough usually has credible fantasy stats when the day is over.
In Other Week 9 Busts
— Detroit games are usually a blast on both sides of the ball, but just 498 yards of offense hit the field between the Lions and Dolphins. Jared Goff was limited to 170 yards and no touchdowns — although the Miami defense isn't great, it's not a punching bag, either. Jahmyr Gibbs had a 20-74-1 rushing log but no receptions. Malik Willis was one of my favorite Week 9 sleepers, but this one stayed asleep — no touchdowns, just 135 total yards. Perhaps the groin injury he dealt with this week was more of a problem on Sunday than anticipated.
— Usually, solving for volume will get you fantasy glory, but Devin Singletary did very little with 23 touches (just 39 total yards). The lone New York touchdown was a Jameis Winston pass to Isaiah Likely — Winston briefly replaced an injured J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy didn't have his best showing, posting a 6.7 YPA and taking five sacks. The Eagles offense stayed shipwrecked, though a 22-yard Saquon Barkley day was at least helped by a short touchdown run. There are too many dead offenses in fantasy; the Eagles are perilously close to becoming one.
— The Jets at times have been a fun fantasy offense, but it's not always easy to read the pregame signals. Last week it was Omar Cooper Jr. toasting a bagel while Adonai Mitchell went off — at Kansas City, Cooper spread his wings (8-58-0) in a PPR scam, but Mitchell went catchless on seven targets. We expected better with Garrett Wilson out. Breece Hall and Braelon Allen both made 4.1 YPC with their work, though Hall had 15 rushes to Allen's eight. The Jets perhaps were showcasing Hall, someone who should draw interest as we close in on Tuesday's trading deadline.