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Should I start Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks, Zach Charbonnet for Week 9? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
With eight weeks of the 2025 NFL season in the books, we're starting to get a better idea of what NFL backfields look like now, and how the workload is distributed between the RBs of each team.
At least we are for those rooms that are staying mostly healthy, at least in terms of the injury reports. This applies to the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans -- Seattle has been pairing RB Zach Charbonnet with teammate Kenneth Walker III, and the Texans have rotated running backs Nick Chubb and Woody Marks.
Things are a bit different for the Chiefs right now -- their starting RB, Isiah Pacheco (knee), is dealing with an MCL sprain that's likely to hold him out of action for at least a few weeks. With all that in mind, should you start Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt and the aforementioned Marks and Charbonnet for fantasy football in Week 9? Let's dive into analysis for each decision!
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Should I Start Kareem Hunt for Fantasy Football?
It's probably a solid idea. The Chiefs offense is firing on all cylinders, and it's hard not to see Hunt at least being worthy of a flex spot in the upcoming game. Kansas City is one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, and with Pacheco out, the majority of the rushing work should be handled by Hunt.
Even in games with Pacheco healthy, Hunt has been the primary short-yardage and goal-line back, and has four rushing touchdowns on the season. Last week, he scored 17.2 PPR fantasy points on the season partly by also catching his first score of the season.
Kareem Hunt for 6️⃣
WASvsKC on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/4xBwqQbuxl— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2025
The Chiefs offense is very well-designed, and Hunt has been able to capitalize. Typically, the run-blocking does an excellent job of opening up holes, leading to a high conversion rate in short-yardage rushes, which helps Hunt even further.
I wouldn't worry too much about his backup, rookie RB Brashard Smith. He's been more of a gadget player, and has run a lot of routes from wide receiver spots in the formation. He might handle a few rushes and a handful of designed targets, but it shouldn't eat into Hunt's workload.
Should I Start Woody Marks for Fantasy Football?
Marks (calf) is currently dealing with a calf issue that he picked up on Thursday. He wasn't on the injury report on Wednesday, meaning this is a new issue worth monitoring. Still, we'll analyze as if he's going to play. In his last two contests, he's scored 12.5 and 15.1 PPR fantasy points.
The receiving work is driving most of his production. He has just 77 rushing yards in the past two games, but has caught seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in Week 7 and Week 8 combined. He's benefited from quite a few check downs and dump-off passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Woody Marks takes the pass 50 yards!
SFvsHOU on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/fgVqUTFCj9
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Six of his points last week came on a massively busted coverage by the heavily injured San Francisco 49ers defense. He actually averaged negative yardage on his other catches. But he's had a pretty consistent dose of touches so far.
His biggest competition for RB work is Chubb, who has now had two devastating knee injuries and is nearly 30 years old. He's been the better pure runner, but that's not stopped the Texans from featuring Marks. So I'd start Marks as a risky flex play for Week 9 against a tough Denver defense.
Depending on league size, you might have better options.
Should I Start Zach Charbonnet for Fantasy Football?
Charbonnet had his best game of the season in Week 8, rushing 12 times for 49 yards and two touchdowns and catching two passes for six yards. He continues to be a huge thorn in Walker managers' sides, as he's firmly entrenched in a committee in Seattle.
Zach Charbonnet fights his way into the endzone for the Seahawks TD#htownmade #Seahawks #NFL pic.twitter.com/ZTlpvxlGI0
— The GridIron Geek (@GridIron_Geek_) October 21, 2025
Charbonnet has been the primary goal-line back for Seattle this season. He was actually out-carried by Walker last week, but it didn't matter for fantasy, because he got the scores. He's a flex play as usual -- very touchdown-dependent, but he's well-established in his role, and Seattle has a good offense that often gets in scoring range.
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 Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks, Zach Charbonnet. 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 - Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks, Zach Charbonnet. 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 Kareem Hunt, Woody Marks, Zach Charbonnet compared to others:
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