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Who Should I Start for Week 9? Fantasy Football outlooks for Ja'Marr Chase, Rashee Rice, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Puka Nacua, Tory Horton, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tyler Lockett.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Ja'Marr Chase, Rashee Rice, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Puka Nacua, Tory Horton, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tyler Lockett. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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:
Nico Collins, WR, Texans
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (concussion) has cleared the league's mandatory concussion protocol and said he's "feeling great, ready to play this week" on Sunday for a Week 9 battle against the visiting Denver Broncos, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. Collins suffered a concussion late in the Monday night loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7 and did not suit up for the Week 8 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
He has been back at practice this week, though, and has already cleared the concussion protocol, so fantasy managers should have him back without any restrictions this weekend against a Broncos defense that will be without their top cornerback, Patrick Surtain II (pectoral). Although the matchup still isn't a great one -- Denver's vaunted pass rush could make things difficult for Houston's offensive line -- Collins should be reinserted into all starting fantasy lineups.
Puka Nacua, WR, Rams
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (ankle) said he feels "fantastic" and should be all ready to go for their Week 9 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN. Nacua suffered a sprained ankle in their Week 6 win over the Ravens and missed the following week against the Jaguars, but had the Week 8 bye to fully recover. The star wide receiver was a limited participant in practice to open the week on Wednesday before being upgraded to a full participant on Thursday.
Nacua was having an outstanding season before getting injured, recording the most catches by a player in the first five games in NFL history. Through six games, the 24-year-old has 54 catches on 65 targets for 616 yards and three total touchdowns, ranking as WR2 in PPR points per game. He is an elite WR1 for their Week 9 matchup against the Saints.
Tyler Lockett, WR, Raiders
Veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett has joined forces with the Las Vegas Raiders after seven underwhelming games with the Tennessee Titans this year. Lockett will be reuniting with quarterback Geno Smith, whom he played with in Seattle, but will that suddenly make him fantasy relevant again? It's unlikely. Lockett, 33, had just 10 catches for 70 yards and no touchdowns on 20 targets in his seven games in a struggling Titans offense led by a rookie QB.
He'll be reuniting with a familiar face in Vegas, but the Raiders' offense hasn't been much better in 2025, and both tight end Brock Bowers (knee) and receiver Jakobi Meyers (knee, toe) are expected to return following the bye to play this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Meyers is healthy, Lockett could end up being the WR5 behind Meyers, Tre Tucker, and rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech.
Rashee Rice, WR, Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice caught all nine of his targets for 93 yards and a touchdown while adding two rushes for 12 yards in Monday night's 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders. Rice has picked up right where he left off last season as a target hog and dominant after-the-catch threat.
The 25-year-old had seven receptions while playing roughly 40% of the offensive snaps in his first game back in Week 7 against the Raiders, but was back to a full-time role in this one, playing 85% of the snaps. Rice nearly had another touchdown on one of his two rushing attempts, coming just inches shy of his second career two-touchdown day. Rice is the clear-cut favorite target for Patrick Mahomes and is set to crush for fantasy managers for the rest of the season. He'll be an elite WR1 for Week 9's game of the week against the Buffalo Bills.
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 - Ja'Marr Chase, Rashee Rice, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Puka Nacua, Tory Horton, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tyler Lockett. 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 Ja'Marr Chase, Rashee Rice, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Puka Nacua, Tory Horton, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Tyler Lockett:
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