3 Fantasy Football Players Sending Out Warning Signals After Week 9

Players That Are Making Me Nervous For Week 10

I'm back from my vacation in case you missed it when I posted my weekly running backs article. You know what that means? It's time to write about three players that have me worried after Week 9.

Dez Bryant (WR, DAL)

98% owned on Fleaflicker

When Romo went down with yet another back injury, the mental anguish of Dez Bryant owners was palpable. Brandon Weeden is a thorn in the side of all Bryant owners. It showed when Bryant only had two catches with a minute and fifty five seconds left in the game to somewhat salvage his day.

There's good news and bad news for Bryant owners. Romo made the trip to London, but didn't practice, leaving him as a true questionable for this week's game against the Jaguars. Bryant owners had better hope that the Cowboys don't live up to their hashtag #cowboysUK this week. Don't get it yet? Separate the last three letters.

Dez is obviously one of the most talented wide receivers in the game, but he can't make up for Weeden's lack of skill. Monitor Romo's progress throughout the week, and if he can't go, then lower your expectations for Dez, even against the lowly Jags. Personally, I'll be rooting for another week of Weeden, because as a Giants fan I can only cheer for others' misery right now.

Rueben Randle (WR, NYG)

58% owned on Fleaflicker

Speaking of the Giants, have you met my "friend" Rueben Randle? I really liked Rueben this preseason, because I thought he'd be a nice big red zone target for Eli Manning. Randle has only been targeted fewer than nine times this season twice, so you'd think he was having a huge season right? Especially with the unfortunate injury to Victor Cruz making him the de facto WR1 of the Giants.

Thanks to fellow author Zach W. for making me see the light. Someone forgot to tell Randle that the entire fantasy community assumes that if you're tall, you're talented. Maybe Randle and Eli need to join a book club-- they aren't even reading the same book, let alone on the same page. Don't even get me started on what a bad route-runner Randle is. I'm sure you all saw the drops against the Colts, right? Giants fans like myself used to believe Cruz could catch anything. Randle, on the other hand, would be lucky to catch a giant ball lightly tossed to him by a three-year-old.

Obviously, that's an exaggeration of how bad Randle has been, but when you put him next to the one-handed over-the-top catches that Beckham is making, it's clear who is really becoming the WR1 in Cruz's absence. Until he gets over his dropitis and bad route running, Randle is not a WR2 for your fantasy team. He's still the same boom-or-bust WR3 that he was before Cruz's injury. Don't expect a better week for Randle facing the legion of boom this week. Meanwhile, if you're in the 46% of Fleaflicker leagues where Odell is still available, what are you waiting for?

Russell Wilson (QB, SEA)

93% owned on Fleaflicker

Let me start this by saying that I love Russel. He's my favorite young quarterback after Andrew Luck.  But as you can guess by now, being featured here is not necessarily a good thing. When you face the Panthers and then the Raiders and fail to put up at least 15 points both times, of course there will be concerns. As I said, I love Wilson, but people need to keep one key thing in mind: this team is built to run Marshawn Lynch into the ground until his Skittle-fueled body runs out of gas. The more Lynch succeeds at what he does as he did this past week, the less opportunity there will be for Wilson.

The game against the Panthers is a bit more concerning, because neither player did well that week, and the Panthers aren't exactly one of the strongest defenses this year. Thankfully for Wilson owners, he faces the aforementioned Giants this week, who have been giving up the ninth-most points to opposing quarterbacks this season. But after that, the schedule is not particularly friendly. The Chiefs have given up the fifth-fewest points to QBs this season, the Cardinals have a surprisingly good defense, and the Niners aren't cake either.

I'm not a big believer in strength of schedule winning out over talent, but honestly if I owned Wilson I'd be looking to upgrade for the fantasy playoffs. I just don't like most of his matchups the rest of the year, and this team will need to rely on Marshawn to win. Wilson carries a lot of name value, so with a decent piece, you should be able to get a more reliable piece back.

Closing Thoughts After Week 9

If you're still reading this piece, congratulations! You still care about fantasy football, which most likely means you're at least on the edge of playoff contention. Dez is the only one of these three players I'd really trust in the fantasy playoffs. Wilson can be trusted in deeper leagues, but in ten-team leagues I'd be looking for an upgrade. The summation on Randle is that he's disappointed me, and I love Odell. You should too.

Want to talk about this article? Hit me up @RekedFantasy.