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Who Should I Start for Week 9? Fantasy Football outlooks for Calvin Ridley, Travis Homer, Michael Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Ricky Pearsall, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Kavontae Turpin.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Calvin Ridley, Travis Homer, Michael Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Ricky Pearsall, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeMario Douglas, KaVontae Turpin. 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:
Travis Homer, RB, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears running back Travis Homer is expected to see more snaps behind rookie Kyle Monangai in Week 9 with starter D'Andre Swift (groin) sidelined. Homer made his season debut in Week 7 after opening the season on injured reserve due to a calf injury.
The 27-year-old has yet to see a snap on offense so far in two games, playing exclusively on special teams. That figures to change in Week 9 against the Bengals, with Homer likely mixing in for Monangai some and contributing on pass downs as a receiver and pass protector.
Travis Homer may have appeal in deeper PPR leagues, but he's best left on the waiver wire for Week 9 in most formats.
Calvin Austin III, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III returned to action in Week 8 after missing two games with a shoulder injury, finishing with four receptions for 28 yards in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
While his six targets were second-most on the team, Austin was overshadowed by second-year wideout Roman Wilson, who led the Steelers with 74 yards and a late touchdown. Wilson's growing involvement will be worth monitoring, but for the time being, Austin remains the team's WR2 behind DK Metcalf.
Encouragingly, he played on 78% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps, well ahead of Wilson's 46% snap share. Nonetheless, Austin cannot be trusted in most fantasy lineups. He profiles as a boom-or-bust WR4 in an enticing Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne will get another shot at starting when the team clashes with the New York Giants in Week 9. Ricky Pearsall (knee) will miss his fifth straight game, allowing Bourne to stand in again.
Mac Jones (knee), with whom Bourne has demonstrated a solid rapport, will get his seventh start on Sunday, in place of Brock Purdy (toe), who is listed as questionable. The Giants have given up the most yards and third-most receptions to opposing wide receivers, but fantasy football managers will have to think twice before plugging Bourne into lineups.
With Jauan Jennings' (ankle, ribs, shoulder) health improving and George Kittle back from injured reserve, Bourne's target share over the last two weeks sits at 11%. Bourne is projected as a borderline WR4/5 in Week 9, and deserves consideration only in deeper leagues.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has seen his role in the offense decrease over the last few weeks. Smith-Schuster was playing over 60 percent of the offensive snaps through the first six games of the season.
However, Smith-Schuster has taken a backseat with the return of Rashee Rice. The 28-year-old has fallen to fourth on the depth chart where there isn't as much action for him.
Smith-Schuster has been held to five receptions for 64 yards and zero touchdowns over the last two games. His role in the offense figures to be minimal going forward with the Chiefs offense healthy again.
Kavontae Turpin, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin has barely been involved over the last few weeks. Turpin was able to produce some decent games in the beginning of the season, but has done nearly nothing lately.
Last week, Turpin hauled in one of his five targets for -2 yards in the loss to the Denver Broncos. The return of CeeDee Lamb has pushed Turpin down on the depth chart. The 29-year-old hasn't produced a game with more than 30 receiving yards since Week 3.
Kavontae Turpin shouldn't be considered a viable option heading into the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
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 - Calvin Ridley, Travis Homer, Michael Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Ricky Pearsall, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Kavontae Turpin. 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 Calvin Ridley, Travis Homer, Michael Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Ricky Pearsall, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Kavontae Turpin:
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