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Week 9 of the 2020 NFL season brought unexpected fantasy football surprises and busts. Mike Riggall analyzes overreactions to Michael Thomas, Wayne Gallman, Kalen Ballage and more.
Unlike Week 8, the weather was great in Week 9 and there were some shootouts. Four quarterbacks registered more than 30 fantasy points and three more exceeded 25 with Kyler Murray leading the way. At tight end Travis Kelce exploded for 159 yards finishing as the No. 1 tight end on the week and T.J. Hockenson finished as a top-five option for the third week in a row.
Jake Luton was able to get DJ Chark the ball and helped return him to relevancy. Davante Adams had another 30-point effort and Tyreek Hill had another one of his blow-up games. Jerry Jeudy saw 14 targets and finally broke out, registering 25.5 fantasy points to finish as WR-8 on the week. Jakobi Meyers came through for a second week in a row, hauling in 12-of-14 targets filling in for Julian Edelman and looks to be extremely viable as long as Edelman remains out of the lineup.
Running back was really difficult to predict in Week 9. Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey finished as the top-two running backs, but the rest of the top-five consisted of J.D. McKissic, Kalen Ballage and James Robinson which was rather surprising. Now that Week 9 is behind us, let's take a look at some of these unexpected performances and evaluate whether these guys will continue to produce moving forward.
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Richie James, San Francisco 49ers
Week 9 Stats: 13 targets, 9 catches, 184 yards, 1 TD
The 49ers were without their top-three wide receivers and George Kittle in Week 9 due to either injury or being placed on the reserve-COVID list and as a result Richie James played 89.5% of the offensive snaps. Aaron Rodgers was on fire on Thursday night, leading the Packers to a 34-point effort which caused the 49ers to abandon the running game and throw in an effort to catch up.
Bottom Line: This game was a perfect storm for James as both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel missed the game. Prior to Week 9 James never saw more than 25% of the 49ers offensive snaps, and he can only be used if both Aiyuk and Samuel are out.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Week 9 Stats: 4 targets, 2 catches, 53 yards, 2 TD
Marquez Valdes-Scantling has played at least 80% of the Packers offensive snaps six times this season, but he has yet to exceed four catches in any game. He may have come through in Week 9 but the Packers offense runs through Davante Adams and Aaron Jones.
Bottom Line: Valdes-Scantling is extremely boom-or-bust and his snap-rate will only go down once Allen Lazard returns from injury. He should only be added in deeper leagues.
Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills
Week 9 Stats: 5 targets, 4 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD
Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley were all healthy and active for the Bills in Week 9, and as a result, Gabriel Davis played just 47.1% of the Bills offensive snaps which was his second-lowest snap-rate of the year. Regardless of the reduced playing time, Davis had an extremely good matchup against a struggling Seahawks secondary and he came through. Davis narrowly missed a second touchdown which Sean McDermott arguably should have challenged because it looked like the ball crossed the plane.
Bottom Line: Gabriel Davis is teetering on the edge of a breakout, but it may not come until 2021 if all of the Bills receivers remain healthy for the duration of 2020. Davis is a guy you want to acquire in dynasty leagues but it's going to be hard to trust him in re-draft leagues unless one of the other Bills receivers gets hurt.
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
Week 9 Stats: 6 targets, 5 catches, 51 yards
Michael Thomas saw his first action since Week 1 and he looked great. Thomas and Drew Brees looked to be in sync from the start and they showed no signs of rust. The Saints Defense dominated the Buccaneers offense and often times left the Saints with a short field in route to scoring opportunities which limited the statistical output of most Saints offensive players.
Bottom Line: Michael Thomas is back and he should be counted on as a WR1 for the remainder of the season. If a manager in your league is wary of Thomas' small stat-line from Week 9, attempt to acquire him in a trade.
J.D. McKissic, Washington Football Team
Week 9 Stats: 3 carries, 17 yards, 14 targets, 9 catches, 65 yards
Washington was trailing in Week 9 and needed to throw a lot. As a result, J.D. McKissic played a season-high 83.3% of their offensive plays and saw 14 targets which was second-most in the NFL this week behind only Tyreek Hill.
Bottom Line: McKissic's increased involvement was a result of game-flow but with Alex Smith assuming the starting quarterback duties in Washington, McKissic will surely offer flex appeal in PPR leagues due to Smith's tendencies to check the ball down.
Wayne Gallman, N.Y. Giants
Week 9 Stats: 14 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD, 2 targets, 1 catch, 9 yards
Wayne Gallman has actually looked somewhat explosive in limited action for the Giants this season, and in Week 9 he played a season-high 57.1% of the offensive snaps. Gallman also appears to be the running back the Giants turn to near the goal line.
Bottom Line: As long as Devonta Freeman remains out of the lineup Gallman appears to have some legitimate value. Gallman is only rostered in 25% of Yahoo leagues and is worth low-end RB2 consideration on a weekly basis until Freeman returns.
Kalen Ballage, L.A. Chargers
Week 9 Stats: 15 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD, 3 targets, 2 catches, 15 yards
Kalen Ballage was signed by the Chargers this week because Troymaine Pope was in the concussion protocol. Justin Jackson suffered a knee-injury in pre-game warmups which elevated Ballage to a significant role in the offense, playing 39.2% of the offensive snaps. Joshua Kelley played 54.4% of the snaps but touched the ball three times less than Ballage.
Bottom Line: The Chargers clearly lack confidence in Kelley and this situation will only get muddier if Pope is cleared to return for Week 10. The Chargers backfield is a situation to avoid unless you're desperate.
Jacob Hollister, Seattle Seahawks
Week 9 Stats: 7 targets, 5 catches, 60 yards
The Bills Defense has struggled to defend against tight ends in pass-coverage whenever Matt Milano is out of the lineup. Milano was placed on injured-reserve last week, so of course, it's natural to think that the Seahawks tight end will have a decent game. Greg Olsen played 40% of the snaps and Will Dissly played 32.3% which were season-lows for both players. Jacob Hollister on the other hand played a season-high 47.7% of the snaps.
Bottom Line: Unless Hollister sees a serious increase in snap-rate this is a situation you want to avoid. Hollister played less than half of the Seahawks offensive snaps and he only came through because the matchup was tremendous.
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