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John's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 9 of 2025. Are the breakout performances from Samaje Perine, Chimere Dike, Roman Wilson legit or flukes?
There's almost never a week of action in the NFL that doesn't come with surprises. Players that weren't even on the fantasy radar having big games out of nowhere, or breaking a streak of poor production with a big outing, aren't uncommon.
We should pay attention to these breakouts, as sometimes, they can be indicative of larger trends on that team. While some players have big games, only to sink back into mediocrity later in the season, others can establish themselves into bigger roles.
And while most players that appear in this column are likely not to have great seasons, others end up becoming very important to fantasy football down the stretch. They can also be thrust into bigger roles due to changing situations on their teams. So let's break down the fantasy performances of three players in Week 9 and make start or sit decisions for each!
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Was Samaje Perine's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Perine rushed nine times for 94 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for six yards in his team's shootout loss to the New York Jets in Week 8. While he's clearly still the backup running back on his team -- Chase Brown is the Bengals RB1 -- Perine has clearly been carving out a bigger role for himself in recent weeks.
Samaje Perine 32-yard house call for the Bengals!
NYJvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/lb4h3g9ng3
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Perine really has looked decent. So much so that the Bengals have started featuring him more. At the beginning of the season, they intended to use Brown as a workhorse, and that didn't work out. He averaged 2.1, 2.9, and 0.3 yards per carry in his first three games. That's not a typo.
Chase Brown rushing shares by week:
Week 1: 100%
W2: 100%
W3: 52.6%
W4: 90.9%
W5: 66.7%
W6: 60%
W7: 61.1%
W8: 57.1%Honestly we're in a full blown committee with Samaje Perine at this point. Not to mention Brown was way less efficient in his workhorse role.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 28, 2025
I believe this split is likely not to go anywhere. Perine weighs nearly 240 pounds, while Brown is around 210. Using Brown at the goal line and as a power back hasn't really worked. He doesn't have the size and strength to bull through defensive linemen for extra yards.
Samaje Perine brings a power element to the Bengals running game that Chase Brown doesn't have. Trying to use Brown as a power back has not worked at any point. He's much better off in a committee. I think this split is here to stay. Brown's early season numbers were awful pic.twitter.com/L3v2MjnVQn
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 28, 2025
This gives Perine value in deeper leagues, like those with 14 or more teams. Otherwise, he's probably not worth starting yet. He has a very low floor still, and a nuts matchup against the Jets in Week 8 really helped his numbers.
I wouldn't say his breakout game wasn't totally a fluke -- he's earned at least a decent rushing workload in this offense, and could start to dominate the goal-line touches moving forward. But this offense has struggled at times without quarterback Joe Burrow (toe), who's not set to return until mid-December.
A boom-or-bust, TD-dependent deep league running back option and bench stash handcuff that gets decent volume is the best encapsulation of him in fantasy right now. Of course, if Brown were to get injured, we could see him move into RB2 territory on volume alone.
Week 9 Outlook: Start in 14+ Team Leagues
Was Chimere Dike's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Dike has come into his own a bit more lately. He's scored over 16.0 PPR fantasy points in both of his last two games. He got an increase in playing time after the injury to Titans WR1 Calvin Ridley (hamstring), and he's capitalized on it.
Dike's athletic profile is ridiculous. He's 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, so he's a bit undersized, but he ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine. His speed is very evident on tape. He's even been used a lot in the return game, where his athleticism is especially notable.
Cam Ward and Chimere Dike connect for a 38-yard TD!
NEvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/e2JoWXjqCh
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
Dike has been the Titans' best downfield weapon this season on a team that's been severely lacking in the ability to push the ball down the field. It doesn't help that their starting quarterback, rookie Cam Ward, has been so ineffective this season.
There have been flashes from fellow 2025 NFL Draft pick Elic Ayomanor, but he's been outproduced by Dike lately. What I fear is that Ayomanor will outproduce Dike in future games, leading to both having mostly mediocre fantasy production moving forward, and that the return of Ridley will spread out an already-thin passing offense.
Elic Ayomanor gets SCREAMED at by Cam Ward after he didn’t look for the ball 😡 pic.twitter.com/7pG8wIOtNk
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 26, 2025
Ayomanor did make a rookie mistake on a play that could have been a touchdown. This isn't a hard thing to clean up, though, and we expect first-year players to mess up sometimes. We probably wouldn't be having this conversation about Dike, though, if Ayomanor had run his route properly and caught what could have been a long touchdown.
So, as with Perine, Dike is a better deep league stash option. In leagues where return yards count, he should be a priority pickup if he's not already rostered.
Week 9 Outlook: Stash in Deeper Leagues
Was Roman Wilson's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
I don't really think Wilson should be a priority pickup. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a way of spreading out their passing attack to make most of their pass-catchers hard to trust on a week-to-week basis. Though DK Metcalf, the team's WR1, has struggled recently, he's still their clear top pass-catcher.
Wilson had done virtually nothing in his career up to this point. But in Week 8, he caught four of his five targets for 71 yards and a touchdown, totaling 17.1 PPR fantasy points. I'd be a bit more excited if his target numbers were higher.
Roman Wilson hangs on long enough for the @Steelers TD
GBvsPIT on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/HubWYi2Whv— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2025
Wilson had gotten very little playing time up to that point. In fact, he had just five targets in the six games he played previously to Week 8, and literally did not have a single target the season before. He's struggled with injuries, but was healthy for a portion of last season and was simply not utilized on offense.
It's hard to trust the WR2 in an offense commanded by Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He has a way of spreading the ball around heavily and targeting the tight ends at a disproportionate rate. That's unlikely to change moving forward.
It's only in the deepest leagues that I'd be interested in Wilson for now. I'm not writing him off as a player, but he's just had so little work as a receiver in the league that we need to see more film to evaluate him properly in this offense. Still, it's tough having any Steelers players on fantasy football rosters, as Smith's players tend to underachieve relative to their talent level due to his odd schemes.
Week 9 Outlook: Stash in Deep Leagues
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 Samaje Perine, Chimere Dike, and Roman Wilson. 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.
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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
Need a replacement? Below are some popular Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Samaje Perine, Chimere Dike, and Roman Wilson compared to others:
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