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Matt's running back (RB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 9 of 2026. His RB lineups advice for Week 9 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Week 9 is all about knowing when to trust the workload and when to respect the matchup. This week offers some intriguing opportunities to exploit, but a familiar name doesn't automatically deserve a spot in your starting lineup.
Chase Brown, Jonah Coleman, and Jonathan Taylor headline my potential fantasy booms, each with the chance to deliver difference-making production. On the other side, D'Andre Swift, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs face serious obstacles to a productive Week 9.
We're separating opportunity from reputation, identifying the matchups worth attacking and the potential landmines worth avoiding. Let's get into this week's RotoBaller running back starts and sits.
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Week 9 - Potential Fantasy Football Booms
Chase Brown - RB, Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons (Madrid)
When the calendar flips from Week 7 to Week 8, Brown turns into a different back altogether. The Brown breakout game wasn’t there last week, but plenty of encouraging signs were present. Brown carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards and added eight receptions for 46 yards, topping 100 scrimmage yards and 16 fantasy points.
More importantly, the utilization and opportunities were there. Brown played 71% of snaps and handled 63% of rushing opportunities, the second-highest rate this season. Brown also saw a 19% target share and 19.2% of weighted opportunities, which is always a pleasure to see.
The rushing efficiency has been disappointing, but the workload and receiving involvement are too valuable to ignore in this matchup. Atlanta is allowing production on the ground and through the air, and Brown has the versatility to exploit both. Fire him up as an RB2 with upside in Week 9.
The only thing that could limit Brown is the fact that the Bengals have checked in on a certain Indianapolis Colts running back. Then again, if the teams do a back swap, I think I still feel good about both their prospects this week.
Jonah Coleman - RB, Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers
Anyone who follows my content knows I have been waiting for this since May. Coleman is a better receiving back than RJ Harvey and a better between-the-tackles runner than J.K. Dobbins; those are facts.
On Sunday, with Harvey on the injured reserve, Coleman caught four of five targets for 63 receiving yards. With Dobbins being old and broken, Harvey led the backfield with 11 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown; Dobbins had seven rushing attempts producing 13 yards on the ground.
With Harvey out of the picture, Coleman played 68% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps to Dobbins’s 21%, and on the season the rookie back has a 47% success rate, averages 3.10 yards after contact per attempt, and has a 17% 10-plus yard run rate. People lie; the numbers don’t.
JONAH COLEMAN GIVES THE BRONCOS THE LEAD
KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/uK6gM9pjU4— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2026
Denver's offense looked like it finally figured it out last week, with Coleman more involved, which bodes well for his fantasy outlook this week. Carolina has surrendered 809 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, along with another 195 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown to opposing running backs through seven games.
The Panthers are allowing 28.3 PPR fantasy points per game to the position, the second-highest mark in the league.
Jonathan Taylor - RB, Indianapolis Colts vs Dallas Cowboys
Hate to be that guy to say I told you so” when it came to benching Taylor last week, so I’ll settle for implying it here instead. That said, assuming Taylor isn't moved between now and Sunday, he is back in my starting lineup this week against the Dallas Cowboys.
Indianapolis has been tough to trust. With Daniel Jones under center, before he got benched in favor of Anthony Richardson Sr., Taylor saw a 79% snap share and an 18% target share, but only had eight rushing attempts. On the plus side, that was twice as many as Seth McGowan over that period.
Bottom Line: When you're dealing with a back capable of taking over a game on volume alone, you don't get cute with the matchup. Dallas is a favorable matchup. Over seven games, the Cowboys allowed 24.6 PPR fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, the seventh-most in the NFL. That's the kind of matchup where Taylor's volume and touchdown upside can make a major difference.
YOU CAN'T STOP JONATHAN TAYLOR. 83-YARD TD.
ATLvsIND on @NFLNetwork
Also streaming on @NFLPlus https://t.co/XiL55trl4d— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
Taylor has been connected to the Bengals, the Seahawks, the Vikings, and probably 15 other teams leading into Week 9; while a trade is more likely than not, there is no promise it would happen this week. In the event that Taylor is dealt this week, you should see a revitalized taylor, and one that, if he is active, must be in your starting lineup.
Week 9 - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
D’Andre Swift - RB, Chicago Bears vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Swift has been a good fantasy back this season. Entering the Week 8 Monday Night Football finale, Swift was the RB11 in fantasy, averaging 17.5 fantasy points per game.
Through seven games, he has 116 carries for 476 yards (4.1 yards per carry), seven rushing touchdowns, and 22 receptions for 152 yards. Swift had scored in three straight games (before Monday Night Football), so this isn't a talent or workload issue. However, this inclusion isn't a slight on Swift; it recognizes how good the Buccaneers' run defense has been through eight weeks.
Tampa Bay just held Bijan Robinson to 76 rushing yards on 19 carries without a touchdown in Week 8. It marked only the second time this season that Robinson was held to fewer than 10 fantasy points in a contest.
Tampa Bay has been one of the tougher defenses for fantasy running backs, allowing just 12.8 fantasy points per game to the position, compared with the NFL average of 17.8. That's a 28.4% reduction in production, making this a legitimately difficult matchup.
Saquon Barkley - RB, Philadelphia Eagles vs New York Giants
I'm seriously concerned about Barkley heading into Week 9, and fantasy managers need to be realistic about what they're getting. Barkley is playing through both hamstring and back injuries, and the limitations were obvious in Sunday's loss to Washington.
He finished with 13 carries for just 30 yards and a touchdown, adding one reception for 24 yards. The touchdown saved his fantasy day, but averaging just 2.3 yards per carry isn't what we're used to seeing from Barkley.
Saquon Barkley takes the snap and runs it in for the TD!
PHIvsWAS on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/nEQxXTqC1S— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2026
The bigger concern is his health and workload. Barkley missed two games with a hamstring injury, returned against Dallas, and appeared to aggravate that issue before dealing with back discomfort. He was limited to nine snaps against Dallas and was visibly rotating with Elijah Mitchell against Washington. That's a troubling trend for a running back whose fantasy value is built around volume and explosiveness.
The Giants are a good fantasy matchup for opposing backs, but if you are playing the role of Monty Python's Black Knight, it really doesn’t mean much, and it’s definitely more than a flesh wound at this point. Barkley is hurt, and the offense is struggling.
If you have a reliable alternative, I'm willing to bench him in Week 9 until we see evidence that he's closer to full strength.
Josh Jacobs - RB, Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots
Look, Jacobs hasn’t been good. He’s been lucky. There's a difference. Fantasy managers who have been fortunate enough to start him have been lucky too, but that is part of the game. However, this week, that run of luck is about to end.
On Thursday Night Football, Jacobs saw a 70% snap rate along with an 81% rush share. It was the first time this season a Packers back has topped 60% of a snap share, which clearly signals Jacobs is the backfield as long as he remains in the lineup.
Jacobs return hasn’t changed much. Before Jacobs returned, Green Bay ranked last in yards per carry (2.9), EPA per attempt (- 0.25), and yards after contact per rush. Since returning, Green Bay is averaging 3.3 yards per carry and -.016 EPA per rush. Jacobs has one carry since returning for 10 or more yards; heck, only two have gone for at least eight yards.
Against Carolina, Jacobs averaged just 1.9 yards per carry, finishing with 21 carries for 39 yards. New England is a difficult matchup on the ground. Through eight games, the Patriots have allowed just 658 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to opposing running backs. They've also surrendered zero receiving touchdowns to the position.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley. 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 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help you make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we'll 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 -- Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley. 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 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 (2026)? 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 Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley compared to others:
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