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Who Should I Start for Week 9? Fantasy Football outlooks for Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, Brashard Smith, Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Xavier Hutchinson, Bhayshul Tuten, Michael Wilson, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, Brashard Smith, Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Xavier Hutchinson, Bhayshul Tuten, Michael Wilson, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 9:
Calvin Ridley, WR, Titans
Tennessee Titans interim head coach Mike McCoy said that wide receiver Calvin Ridley (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. Ridley was injured in Week 6 and hasn't practiced or played since, and he's trending in the wrong direction early in the week to make his return this Sunday to face the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
Even if the 30-year-old returns to practice in the next couple of days and suits up in Week 9, fantasy managers won't be in a rush to throw him back into their starting lineups. Ridley just hasn't shown much chemistry with rookie first-round quarterback Cameron Ward this year when he's been on the field, catching 16 of his 35 targets for 290 yards and no touchdowns in six games. If Ridley misses another game, rookies Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike will have elevated roles for the third straight contest.
Xavier Legette, WR, Panthers
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette totally disappointed fantasy players who used him as a lineup plugger in Week 8. The former first-round pick was targeted only three times by Andy Dalton and caught two passes for 17 yards. In a blowout loss to Buffalo, He carried none of last week's momentum over. When Bryce Young was the starter in Week 7, Legette caught nine passes for 92 yards and a TD. Dalton naturally prioritized Tetairoa McMillan, and Coker had three targets to Legette's two as the backup QB struggled mightily in a 31-point loss.
Head coach Dave Canales mentioned that he hopes Young will be back for Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers. If Young returns next week, the Panthers could be more statistically productive playing from behind vs. Green Bay. But the recent return of Coker may also prevent Legette from being useful at all. Outside of Week 7, Legette has not caught more than three passes in a game this season. He is a cut candidate for Week 9.
Brashard Smith, RB, Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (knee) most likely will not be available for Sunday's Week 9 showdown against the Buffalo Bills, which means that rookie Brashard Smith will see the field more as the complement to veteran Kareem Hunt in KC's backfield. The 22-year-old seventh-rounder only played 13% of the offensive snaps in the Monday night win over the Washington Commanders and had just three carries for eight yards.
However, in Week 7, he played a season-high 35% of the snaps and had a season-high 14 rushing attempts for 39 yards while also catching all five of his targets for an additional 42 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders. Although Pacheco might only miss one game due to his knee injury, with the Chiefs having their bye in Week 10, fantasy managers should expect Smith to be much more involved this weekend against Buffalo, making him a potential flex option in deeper fantasy formats.
Bhayshul Tuten, WR, Jaguars
Running back Bhayshul Tuten of the Jacksonville Jaguars is still looking for a breakout week after the Jags' Week 8 bye. A popular mid-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, the rookie landed in a situation with two established running backs in Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby, but the Jags traded Bigsby to Philadelphia early in the season.
The move ostensibly opened the way for Tuten, but he has yet to play more than 30% of the team's snaps in a game so far. The rookie scored touchdowns in Weeks 2 and 3, but recorded just 19 touches in the four games that followed. Tuten remains a hold in dynasty formats, but he can be left on waivers in most redraft leagues as long as Etienne is healthy.
Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Texans
Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson led the team in receiving with 69 yards and his third touchdown of the season on a season-high six targets in the Week 8 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It was a career-best day for the 25-year-old pass-catcher, but will it continue? Hutchinson's career day came with both Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring) out due to injuries. Going into Week 8, the former sixth-round pick had only 13 catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 18 targets in six games.
Whether Hutchinson continues to see elevated volume in Houston's passing attack will depend entirely on whether Collins and Kirk can return this weekend to face the visiting Denver Broncos. Collins and Kirk both practiced on Wednesday, so they could be on track to return. Despite Hutchinson's career day last weekend, he's still only rostered in 1% of Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, Brashard Smith, Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Xavier Hutchinson, Bhayshul Tuten, Michael Wilson, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 9.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 9 for Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, Brashard Smith, Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Xavier Hutchinson, Bhayshul Tuten, Michael Wilson, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal:
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