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Should I start Jacory Croskey-Merritt, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylen Warren for Week 9? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Washington Commanders RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, and Pittsburgh Steelers tailback Jaylen Warren are three players that are heavily rostered in fantasy football leagues this year. Obviously.
That doesn't mean they're set-and-forget players, though. They've all had good and bad games, and when that happens, it's important to dive into the usage trends, production changes, and injuries that are affecting other players on their teams.
That way, we can get a good idea of what to actually expect from them. With that in mind, let's decide who to start this week between Croskey-Merritt, Henderson, and Warren!
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Should I Start Jacory Croskey-Merritt for Fantasy Football?
The rookie upstart has had a huge dip in production over the last three weeks, and it's worth questioning whether his huge game against the Los Angeles Chargers was a fluke or if it was indicative of future production being excellent. At this point, it looks like it was an anomaly.
Croskey-Merritt has been a weekly game-loser over the last three weeks, scoring 5.8, 4.2, and 2.5 PPR fantasy points in his last three games. There are quite a few reasons he's been this bad -- he's not elusive, he hasn't had a ton of touches, and he has virtually zero pass-catching role. He's also not very powerful of a runner.
Time for some Jacory Croskey-Merritt tape. First thing that jumps out is that he has excellent blocking. Gets tripped by 55 here and the tackle gets finished. Not a bad play by any means. But huge hole to run through. pic.twitter.com/8sDGTS0Clj
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 29, 2025
It becomes apparent after watching his film. He's quite shifty before the catch, but very lacking in other areas of his game. And the Commanders have a far better pass-blocking running back, Jeremy McNichols, who handles the passing downs. That isn't changing.
Croskey-Merritt also has to deal with quarterback Jayden Daniels (hamstring) being a very talented rusher and taking carries for himself. I don't see JCM having much upside against the Seattle Seahawks. I'd bench him this week. The way things are going, he'd need a touchdown or two against a tough defense to help you win a game.
Should I Start TreVeyon Henderson for Fantasy Football?
Henderson should be in line for more work with Patriots lead back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) out for Week 9. Maybe. It's likely that more plays will be schemed up for Henderson as the season goes on, but the problem is that he simply is ineffective running between the tackles.
He has 24 carries to the A and B gaps, which are the gaps between the center and guard and the gap between the guard and the tackle on either the left or right side. He's forced zero missed tackles on these runs and has by far the fewest yards after contact. It's likely he won't get much work on these types of runs because of his league-worst effectiveness on them.
Can someone explain to me wtf TreVeyon Henderson is doing here. All the talk of "just get him in space" but he stops and chops his feet for nothing and doesn't move with green grass ahead of him. Is he really deciding if he should go to the right? pic.twitter.com/CMbzpupY5c
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 23, 2025
Henderson has a lot to work on. He's improved his pass protection, but he's even made mistakes on simple plays like the screen pass in the one above. You basically start Henderson as a flex and pray he breaks off a few big plays and gets more passing work, but he's a low-end RB3 right now.
Should I Start Jaylen Warren for Fantasy Football?
Warren should probably be started at this point. The Steelers will face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9, who allow 1.6 extra schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Warren has been involved in both the pass and run game.
The Steelers drafted rookie RB Kaleb Johnson likely with the intent of putting him in a committee with Warren. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves committee backfields. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for us, Johnson has played very poorly this season, meaning Warren has had more opportunities.
Jaylen Warren is one of the biggest reasons the Steelers are 4-1. Does so much.
Stuns MYLES GARRETT in pass protection, rides him past Rodgers, then leaks out in scramble drill and makes a diving catch on 3rd-and-3 to move the chains pic.twitter.com/AOKl3lwrLa
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) October 13, 2025
Smith tries his best to take his best players off the field whenever possible, but he simply can't do so much with Warren. That said, he's mid-range RB2 because while his floor isn't terrible, his ceiling isn't astronomical -- he has yet to log 20 or more PPR fantasy points in a game this season.
He's a solid flex start in a solid matchup in what should be a high-scoring game, as the Colts have put up a ton of points on offense this season. Pittsburgh won't have the luxury of trying to grind the clock down after building a lead and playing football as if it were the 1940s, as Smith loves.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jacory Croskey-Merritt, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylen Warren. But not to worry, we are here to help 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.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Jacory Croskey-Merritt, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylen Warren. 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 circles), 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 Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Jacory Croskey-Merritt, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylen Warren compared to others:
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