Booms and Busts - Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 9 Lineups (2025)

Dave's fantasy football start 'em and sit 'em booms and busts for Week 9 of 2025. Sneaky starts that may boom, and typical starters who will disappoint.

It may seem hard to believe, but we have reached the halfway mark of the 2025 season. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Or in our case, time flies when you obsess over your fantasy football team every minute of the day. Last week’s sonic boom, J.K. Dobbins, had a solid but unspectacular performance against the Dallas Cowboys. Mason Taylor and Chimere Dike were some of our other boom calls, and they each had strong performances.

We also nailed several of our bust calls. Rhamondre Stevenson, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Andy Dalton all disappointed in their respective matchups. Our landmine of the week, though, promptly blew up in our face, but not the way we had hoped. Jaylen Waddle posted a 5-99-1 line and finished the week as the PPR WR5. It was an unexpected result aided by Tua Tagovailoa having his best game of the year against what had been a very stout Atlanta Falcons passing defense. There’s no use crying about that, though.

Sometimes, you just can’t predict how things will turn out in this crazy business. We’re back with another round of booms/busts calls this week, so let’s dive into all the action. Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and download the RotoBaller app for all your fantasy football needs. Here are our boom/bust picks for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Sonic Boom of the Week

Caleb Williams - QB, Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals

Williams is coming off two straight subpar performances. However, there is a spot where the sophomore signal-caller can get back on track.

The Bengals' defense remains one of the worst units in all of football. Cincinnati ranks 31st in FTN Fantasy’s defensive passing DVOA, 25th in PFF pass coverage grade, and allows the third-most passing yards per game in the NFL.

Chicago’s offense should have zero issues moving the football through the air in this game. That means it's wheels up for Williams and all Chicago pass-catchers.

Expect Williams to post one of his best performances of the year. He is live to throw multiple touchdown passes and could break 300 passing yards for the first time this year.

Start him in all formats.

Caleb Williams' 65-yard touchdown pass to rookie Luther Burden III traveled 62.1 yards in the air, the longest completion in the NFL this season, and Caleb's longest completion of his career.#DALvsCHI | #DaBearspic.twitter.com/D5GQjABob3

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 21, 2025

Other Week 9 Fantasy Football Booms

Bam Knight - RB, Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys allow 146 rushing yards per game and have allowed the second-most PPR points per game to opposing running backs, according to Fantasy Football Today. Kyler Murray is expected to return to the Cardinals' lineup this week, but even if he doesn't suit up, Jacoby Brissett proved he is more than capable of keeping this offense on schedule.

Arizona should have little issue moving the ball against Dallas’ extremely suspect defense. Given Murray’s struggles as a passer, it’s likely they choose to attack the Cowboys' defense through the ground game.

Arizona also released running back Michael Carter earlier this week and subsequently re-signed him to the practice squad. Even if Carter is elevated to the roster on game day, we should still take this as a sign that the team is fully confident in Knight carrying the load this weekend.

Consider Knight a backend RB2 play in all leagues with potential for more.

Josh Downs - WR, Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers

Downs found the endzone last week against the Tennessee Titans. That was his second straight game with a touchdown catch. He has another great opportunity ahead of him this week as the Steelers have allowed the sixth-most receiving yards, third-most receptions, and fourth-most PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers this year.

Pittsburgh’s defense is dealing with multiple injuries, and with the emphasis likely to be placed on stopping Jonathan Taylor and the Colts’ stellar ground game, we could see this defense struggle to stop the Colts’ passing attack.

Start Downs as a WR3 or flex play in full PPR leagues.

Kyle Pitts Sr. - TE, Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots

Pitts has enjoyed a fine season and is currently the PPR TE9 on the year. He has two straight top 12 finishes at the position and could post his third straight this weekend.

New England does rank 10th in DVOA against tight ends, but allows 67.9 receiving yards per game to the position. The Patriots have also allowed the fifth most PPR points per game to opposing tight ends and allowed Harold Fannin Jr. to find the endzone last week.

This is a good matchup to continue rolling with Pitts. Gamers should feel confident starting him again this week.

Travis Hunter - WR, Jacksonville Jaguars at Las Vegas Raiders

INJURY UPDATE: Hunter has been placed on Injured Reserve and will not play

Hunter is coming off his best performance of the season two weeks ago against the Los Angeles Rams. He played a season-high 87% of offensive snaps and posted an 8-101-1 line to finish Week 7 as the overall PPR WR9.

Travis Hunter FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN ‼️

LARvsJAX on @nflnetwork
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Sta2sLUZ7h

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

Jacksonville now faces a Las Vegas Raiders team that ranks 31st in PFF’s pass coverage grade and allows the fifth-most PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers.

With it becoming increasingly obvious that fellow wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. does not feel comfortable operating over the middle of the field, we could see head coach Liam Coen deploy Hunter in this role. It’s also possible that Jacksonville used the bye week to determine the best way to utilize Hunter’s talents is to play him primarily as a receiver. Both scenarios would be great for his fantasy football value.

Gamers should fire up Hunter this week, as he has a great matchup and might continue to be used heavily on offense.

Landmine of the Week

C.J. Stroud - QB, Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos

Stroud is fresh off a QB11 finish against the San Francisco 49ers, where he threw for 318 passing yards and two touchdowns. Believe it or not, that marked Stroud's first 300-yard passing game since Week 5 of the 2024 season.

Fantasy managers may want to hold off on throwing him into lineups this weekend, as the Denver Broncos have one of the best defenses in the NFL. Denver ranks fifth in total defensive DVOA, sixth in defensive passing DVOA, and allows the seventh-fewest passing yards per game in the league.

The Broncos have also been stingy in terms of allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks, too. Denver has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks so far this year.

Even though Denver will be missing star cornerback Patrick Surtain II, this still projects as a tough spot for Stroud. The Broncos' pass rush could really give Houston's offensive line issues here and could make it hard for Stroud to consistently find receivers open downfield.

This game could easily morph into a defensive contest where both teams struggle to consistently move the football. If that's the case, then Stroud will be a disappointment this week. Look for other streaming options in single quarterback leagues. If you're in a superflex league and have enough depth at the position, consider leaving Stroud on your bench.

Other Week 9 Fantasy Football Busts

Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason - RBs, Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

J.J. McCarthy is set to return to Minnesota’s lineup following a high ankle sprain. It remains to be seen if his presence is an upgrade or downgrade compared to the play Minnesota got from Carson Wentz the last few weeks.

That aside, this is a tough matchup for the Minnesota running game as Detroit ranks fourth in defensive rushing DVOA and allows the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game in the league. We could very well see the Lions stack the box and force McCarthy to beat them with his arm.

That scenario feels likely, and it would introduce a lot of uncertainty into this game. The one thing we know is that, on paper, this is a tough matchup for the Vikings' running back duo.

If you have other options, consider leaving Jones and Mason on the bench this weekend.

Courtland Sutton - WR, Denver Broncos at Houston Texans

Sutton is currently the PPR WR11 for the year. However, he draws a date against a Houston Texans defense that ranks first in defensive passing DVOA and allows just 53.1 receiving yards per game to opposing WR1s.

Houston’s run defense is also very stout, so we could see them force Denver’s offense into a one-dimensional attack. While that might sound like a good thing for Sutton’s outlook, it would put a lot of pressure on quarterback Bo Nix, who has had his share of struggles this year when the offense has been completely reliant on him.

Throw in the fact that Sutton doesn't have the best matchup in RotoBaller’s Week 9 WR/CB matchup chart, and he becomes a clear fade this week.

Travis Kelce - TE, Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills

Kelce had a strong performance Monday night against a Washington Commanders defense that’s struggled to guard opposing tight ends. He posted a 6-99-1 line on eight targets and finished the week as the PPR TE2.

Things are a little different in Week 9. Kansas City has its annual dance with the rival Buffalo Bills. Buffalo has been very good at guarding opposing tight ends. The Bills have allowed the second-fewest PPR points per game to opposing tight ends and allow just 23 receiving yards per game to the position.

Even though Kelce popped for a good game last week, he still faces a ton of target competition from Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. This feels like the right time to fade Kelce in a tough matchup. Consider other options for this week.

Bo Nix - QB, Denver Broncos at Houston Texans

In addition to Sutton, we’re also going to fade Nix in Week 9. We already highlighted the strengths of the Texans' defense against opposing passing games. Houston has also allowed the fewest points per game to opposing signal-callers this year.

This feels like a spot where the Texans will force Denver’s hand and make them put more on Nix’s plate than they may be comfortable doing. That could go very poorly here, and we could see this morph into a bad Nix game filled with multiple interceptions and fumbles.

Leave him on your bench and look for other quarterback streamers.

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