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Should I start David Montgomery, J.K. Dobbins, Kenneth Walker III for Week 9? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of elite, absolute-must-start running backs in fantasy football this season. De'Von Achane, James Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, and a few others. There certainly aren't 14 of them, or even 12.
This means in nearly every league there are teams that have RBs that they might struggle with making start and sit decisions for. Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery, Denver Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins, and Seattle Seahawks tailback Kenneth Walker III fit into this category.
Thus, it's important to analyze their matchups, recent performances, the offensive situation they're in, and other factors to make the best possible decision for each. So let's dive in to Week 9 analysis for Montgomery, Dobbins, and Walker!
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Should I Start David Montgomery for Fantasy Football?
Montgomery hasn't had a great season this year. He has very little receiving upside, isn't producing touchdowns like he did last season, and is taking even more of a back set to lead running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who had a monster outing in Week 7.
"Monty" is averaging over 4.5 yards per carry this season, significantly higher than his 4.2 YPC in 2024, but he had 12 touchdowns last year in 14 games. Through seven contests this year, he has just four, which means his touchdown rate is just two-thirds of what it was last season.
DAVID MONTGOMERY TD PASS
DETvsCIN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Nion9aNUhv
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
The offense we've seen from new Lions offensive coordinator John Morton feels a lot like a nerfed version of that of Ben Johnson's. He was the OC for Detroit last year, and is now the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Of course, the Lions offense is better because their quarterback is better, but still.
Against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9, Monty really isn't a bad start. His floor is very low, but I like his chances of scoring a touchdown against the struggling Vikings. This game could be a dominant one for Detroit, and that favors well for Montgomery's usage.
Should I Start J.K. Dobbins for Fantasy Football?
Dobbins has maintained a firm control of the RB1 job in Denver. The problem has been his backup, RJ Harvey, taking a lot of the receiving work and touchdowns for himself. Last week, Dobbins was highly efficient, taking 15 carries for 111 yards and catching two passes for 10 yards, racking up 14.1 PPR fantasy points.
Yet Harvey easily outscored him by racking up three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air. Dobbins' lack of pass-catching upside and the continue siphoning away of touchdowns that could give him a much higher ceiling make him a risky fantasy start, as even on his good days, he doesn't score a ton of points.
J.K. Dobbins rumbles over 100 yards for the game
DALvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/qLTRvg6V3l
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Dobbins has done a good job forcing missed tackles and picking up rushing yards over expectation. He's a genuine asset to the team. But he's harder to trust in full-PPR leagues. In non-PPR he's a definite start, otherwise, I'd bench him in a tough matchup in 10-team leagues if you have better options.
Should I Start Kenneth Walker III for Fantasy Football?
Walker is one of the most frustrating running backs to have in fantasy. He's a fantastic athlete with a ton of talent, but his week-to-week volume is very unpredictable. He's not being used as a workhorse this season, and Seattle has made every effort to intentionally restrict his workload.
Apparently, he's been dealing with a foot aliment all season, and that's caused the team to limit his in-game reps. It would make sense, because the team's other RB, Zach Charbonnet, has been highly inefficient, yet continues to siphon away high-value touches, like the goal-line work.
2nd TD for Zach Charbonnet!
HOUvsSEA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/T4rIirFnLK— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2025
Charbonnet scored two rushing touchdowns on Walker's birthday. Safe to say it's hard to see Walker being more than a flex option in 12-team leagues, but I would still recommend starting him if you don't have many running back options or need a bye-week fill-in. The lack of pass-catching upside is very bad.
It's just that waiver options can often nearly blank you in fantasy football, and it's hard to take a risk with that. The Washington Commanders, who the Seahawks face in Week 9, don't have a particularly weak rush defense, but Walker has the explosiveness to break off big runs.
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 David Montgomery, J.K. Dobbins, Kenneth Walker III. 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 - David Montgomery, J.K. Dobbins, Kenneth Walker III. 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 David Montgomery, J.K. Dobbins, Kenneth Walker III compared to others:
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