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Dan's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 9 of 2025. He looks at potential warning signals from Courtland Sutton, Rashid Shaheed, Chubba Hubbard, Jordan Mason, and Dalton Kincaid
Welcome to another edition of Warning Signals, the weekly column where I take a look at recent trends to determine which players might do more harm than good in your upcoming fantasy football matchups. Four teams are on bye in Week 9, which will make things tricky, though it won’t be quite as bad as last week’s bye-pocalypse (bye-mageddon? byestravaganza?) when six teams were resting.
In Week 9, it will be hard to send wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Rashid Shaheed to the bench, but I foresee a week that is more bust than boom for both. On the running back front, both Chuba Hubbard and Jordan Mason seem to be on the losing side of their respective position battles and are stuck with bad matchups. Finally, Dalton Kincaid is a no-go as he will be up against a Chiefs defense that has made tight ends a non-factor in 2025.
More games have been played than remain before the fantasy football playoffs begin. Every win counts, whether you are vying for the last slot or jockeying for a top seed. Don’t take any lineup decisions for granted. Keep your options open and be on guard for the signs that point to a down game that could sink your week. To get you started, here are my Warning Signals for Week 9 of the fantasy football season.
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Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
This one stings, as I like Sutton and have him rostered on several of my own fantasy squads. Sutton is rocking a solid 37-536-3 line through eight games and is the WR13 in cumulative fantasy points in PPR settings. On a per-game basis, though, Sutton drops to WR25 thanks to a couple of duds (in Week 2 and Week 7) in which he was limited to a single reception in each game.
Matchups matter, even for a receiver as important to his offense as Sutton. In Week 9, he has a tough one against the Houston Texans. Houston’s defense is credited with one of the lowest pass completion rates allowed and has given up just three touchdowns to opposing wide receivers all year. The only WR1 finishes against them came courtesy of Puka Nacua (ankle) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, two of the most productive receivers in the NFL in 2025.
Not only is Houston’s defense playing wide receivers exceptionally well this year, but Sutton is in a vulnerable position because of their defensive scheming. The Texans operate zone coverage the vast majority of the time, against which Sutton sees fewer targets and fantasy points per route run compared to man coverage.
In deeper leagues, Sutton is hard to send to the bench, but fantasy football managers in leagues with 12 teams or fewer who use two wide receiver slots should be exploring more promising options. His consistency usually makes him a solid floor play, but with a bad matchup and the Broncos spreading the ball out more and more, the floor may drop out in Week 9.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
Similar to Sutton, I like Shaheed a whole lot, and it hurts to include him in this column. But, also like Sutton, his matchup on defense and the scheme they use spells trouble for Shaheed.
In Week 9, the Saints are up against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are another team that runs zone coverage almost exclusively, and Shaheed is another receiver who performs better against man. Much better. Shaheed’s targets per route run and fantasy points per route run against zone coverages are almost half of what they are against man coverage.
Perhaps more importantly than the concern over the matchup is the quarterback shuffle underway in New Orleans. Head coach Kellen Moore said that it will be Tyler Shough under center in Week 9 and going forward for the Saints. Shough took over for a struggling Spencer Rattler against the Buccaneers in Week 8, but didn’t look much better and finished 17-for-30 for 128 yards and one interception. I have my doubts that he will fare better against the Rams in Week 9 and believe Shaheed’s prospects will be limited.
Kellen Moore on Tyler Shough being named the #Saints starting QB pic.twitter.com/GHgA32qvbK
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 29, 2025
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
Chuba Hubbard started the season on the right foot, finishing as an RB1 in each of the first two weeks of 2025. A receiving touchdown in both games boosted his fantasy production, and without a score in his next two games, he dropped into RB2/3 territory. A calf injury sidelined him in Weeks 5 and 6, during which time Rico Dowdle took off. During Hubbard’s absence, Dowdle racked up 473 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, inviting speculation about Hubbard’s role once he was healthy.
Hubbard was back in the starting lineup in Weeks 7 and 8, though he has had a near-even split with Dowdle in rushing attempts over the last two weeks. Between them, Dowdle has been twice as effective, earning 5.3 yards per carry on his 25 rushes, while Hubbard gained 2.5 on 26 totes.
Hubbard parlayed a 1,195-yard, 10-touchdown season in 2024 into a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension in the offseason, making it hard for head coach Dave Canales to simply crown Dowdle as Carolina’s new RB1. After two weeks of splitting carries, Canales appears to be ready to give Dowdle the bulk of the work in the face of Hubbard’s recent ineffectiveness. While the Panthers ride Dowdle’s hot hand into Green Bay, Hubbard should stay on fantasy benches in Week 9.
Rico Dowdle to Become Panthers Featured Back in Week 9? https://t.co/an0tv3Ymls
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) October 29, 2025
Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Mason is another running back caught up in a positional battle. In Mason’s case, it was he who stepped up as the replacement, and now his injured teammate is back to spoil the fun. Aaron Jones injured his hamstring in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve, missing the Vikings' subsequent four games. Mason took full advantage, racking up 282 rushing yards and four touchdowns while Jones was out.
With Jones back in the picture in Week 8, the duo was rotated into the game against the Chargers until the game script dictated that Minnesota was to go pass-heavy, thus prioritizing Jones over Mason. Mason finished with a 35% snap share and four carries for three yards, all season lows.
Playing on the road in Detroit, Minnesota will likely be playing from behind again, meaning more emphasis on the pass, meaning more snaps for Jones over Mason. Even if and when Mason sees action, it will be against a Lions defense that has given up just four touchdowns and the third-fewest rushing yards in the league to opposing running backs. Mason may still have a place on the Vikings offense, but Week 9 won’t be the time to chance a rebound week.
J.J. McCarthy to Aaron Jones to put the Vikings ahead!
MINvsCHI on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/yCrUxLdH1U— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2025
Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
This isn’t the first time I’ve picked a tight end going against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it won’t be the last. After eight weeks of play, there is enough evidence to catalog the Chiefs as one of those teams that are just going to put opposing tight ends in their pocket. Kansas City is one of four teams to have given up just one touchdown to the position so far, and has allowed them the fifth-fewest yards (three of the four teams ranking ahead of the Chiefs have already had a bye).
Kincaid was giving fantasy football managers a good return on their investment until an oblique injury forced him to sit out in Week 6. His production was heavily dependent on touchdowns, catching three in the first four games of the season, while averaging 3.5 receptions and 44.8 yards per game during that span.
After his Week 6 absence and a bye in Week 7, Kincaid returned to the field in Week 8 and posted a single catch for 23 yards (on National Tight Ends Day, no less!). Kincaid was in on just 22% of snaps and had a 48% route participation rate, his lowest marks of the season. Perhaps the Bills could afford to bring Kincaid along slowly in their throttling of the Panthers, but it will be hard to bet on a rebound against the Chiefs even if he is likely going to be more involved against a better opponent.
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