🖥 TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE THANKS
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Week 9 Rankings Analysis: Nick Mariano vs. Industry Consensus

Editor's Note: Nick is currently ranked #22 overall on the experts accuracy results. In Week 6 he was ranked #7 overall, and in Week 5 he was ranked #3 overall. His rankings have been among the most accurate in the fantasy football industry. Pretty impressive stuff.

Well, in Week 8 quarterbacks didn’t go so well with Dak Prescott popping off and Carson Wentz flopping. But the WRs were notably spot on with Kelvin Benjamin only catching two balls (for 73 yards, at least), and Mohamed Sanu turning a great game. Tyreek Hill also really solidified himself as a tantalizing waiver pickup with yet another TD. The process felt sound all around here, but perhaps I need to put more stock in Dallas’ home-field and time-of-possession advantage moving forward. Onto my Week 9 rankings analysis, as I tell you who I like more or less than other industry folks.

New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NFL (or NBA) Premium Pass for free, a $59.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium pass.

Editor's Note: Stay on top of your draft prep with RotoBaller’s fantasy football rankings, featuring expert analysis, ADPs, and draft insights for both PPR and non-PPR leagues.

 

Week 9 Quarterbacks - Rankings Analysis

The first thing I notice is that Ryan Tannehill is too deep into QB2 territory at #19, as a matchup with a Jets defense that just laid out the red carpet for the return of Josh McCown in Week 8. Tannehill may not be the most consistent fellow, but now that Jay Ajayi can take some pressure off of the passing game and effectively set up a little playaction, Tanny has a decent chance at low-end QB1 numbers.

On the other end of the spectrum, I’m not trusting Blake Bortles to be able to roll 4-5-6 in garbage time again in Week 9 against Kansas City. Not only are the Chiefs seventh best in pass DVOA, but heading into Arrowhead Stadium has consistently been cited as one of the toughest road venues in the league. Plus, do you really want to rely on a guy who just called in a coach to help him regain his mechanics? Look elsewhere.

 

Week 9 Running Backs - Rankings Analysis

I’ll give the Rams this, they’re finally using Todd Gurley appropriately in the passing game instead of allowing Benny Cunningham to significantly eat into the 22-year-old stud’s usage. Unfortunately, Gurley (#12 vs. #8 consensus) is still stuck on a Rams offense that is struggling to establish an identity that now gets to square up with a reinvigorated Panthers front seven. David Johnson needed 84 yards on seven catches last week to make any sort of value against them. No bueno.

Another RB to be bearish on is Latavius Murray (#21 vs. #15 consensus), as he showed last week just how things can go when this committee faces a strong run defense. Tampa Bay’s overall numbers were down thanks to injuries, but at full strength they made life difficult for Oakland on the ground. Now Murray and company get to face a Denver defense that is better than Tampa, and I’d rather not pray that Murray gets a cheap goal-line plunge off of a pass interference call or something.

 

Week 9 Wide Receivers - Rankings Analysis

So we need to talk about New Orleans and their pass catchers, because Michael Thomas (#12 vs. #17 consensus) deserves some serious love compared to the flashier, more highly-touted Brandin Cooks (#13 against a #9 consensus). While Cooks has scored in each of his last three games, he still only has a 17-157-1 line in NO’s three road contests thus far. Meanwhile, Thomas has an 18-230-1 line and overall has seen only one less target than Cooks on the season, and his 76.4% catch rate blows away Cooks’ 64.3%. I like the rookie more here, but both are solid plays.

We propped up Mohamed Sanu last week and he delivered with a 9-84-1 line, and we’re going to go back to the well here (#33 vs. #40 consensus) for his TNF matchup against a horrible Tampa Bay secondary. The Bucs may look to bracket Julio Jones (I doubt they’ll be successful, but DC and former Falcons HC Mike Smith may try) and force Matt Ryan to look elsewhere. That leaves Sanu and another name to be discussed as potential blowup candidates with Devonta Freeman running against the aforementioned bolstered run defense.

Cleveland’s Corey Coleman (#35 vs. #44 consensus) should also climb up as he’s now medically cleared to practice and should step in as the Browns’ #2 WR against a Cowboys secondary that is now without Morris Claiborne and Barry Church. While Dallas will be alright, especially with their ability to control the time of possession, Coleman deserves a slot in the top-36 here as a low-end WR3 type.

 

Week 9 Tight Ends - Rankings Analysis

Might as well follow that train of thought, as Austin Hooper (#12 vs. #17 consensus) should have a good chance at posting TE1 numbers with Jacob Tamme out. Hooper has shown himself to be a reliable option, as he’s caught all 11 of his targets in his rookie season thus far. The caveat is that the Bucs have actually rated out as fifth best against the TE per DVOA, but they’ve also faced some very weak TEs this season. Greg Olsen shredded them for a 9-181-0 line in Week 5, and Tamme even had a 6-51-0 line in Week 1, so please believe they’re beatable.

Trending downwards is Mr. Coby Fleener (#13 vs. #7 consensus), who seems to has lost whatever momentum he had going for him back in the early weeks of the season to the tune of a horrid 34% snap count in Week 8 (58% in Week 7). Maybe HC Sean Payton was just in the message-sending mood after he benched Mark Ingram, but this looks like a trend. Don’t rely on him for TE1 numbers here, as he has quickly become an extremely TD-dependent option in the Big Easy.

For what it’s worth, I also expect Ladarius Green’s ranking to rise as the week wears on and (hopefully) his positive practice reports start to come in. He should supplant Jesse James in short order, though expectations shouldn’t be set too high in his first week back.

 

I’d rather talk more about the skill positions than include kicker or defense, as they are far less interesting to me. Feel free to send me a vitriolic message should you want them back, I’ll listen I swear.

 


Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Will Smith

Out Week-to-Week
Jaccob Slavin

Placed on Injured Reserve, Out Week-to-Week
Seth Jarvis

Considered Week-to-Week
Darren Raddysh

Totals Three Points in Monday's Win
Mason Marchment

Scores Twice Monday
Vince Dunn

Injured in Monday's Win
Grayson Allen

Likely to Miss Third Straight Game
Rui Hachimura

Misses Second Consecutive Game Tuesday
Jaden McDaniels

Iffy for Tuesday
Jakob Poeltl

Out Against Heat
Khris Middleton

Available Versus Hornets
Corey Kispert

Returns to Wizards Lineup Tuesday
Bilal Coulibaly

Questionable Tuesday
Zach LaVine

Remains Unavailable Tuesday
Tristan da Silva

Ruled Out for Monday
Jalen Suggs

Ruled Out for Monday
Quentin Grimes

Uncertain to Suit Up Against Nets
Aaron Wiggins

Ruled Out for Monday
Dominick Barlow

Might Miss Tuesday's Meeting with Brooklyn
Deandre Ayton

Available Against Suns
Jalen Duren

Available for Monday
Alexandre Sarr

Off the Injury Report for Tuesday
Austin Reaves

May Return on Tuesday
Tyler Herro

Not Ready to Return Tuesday
Ron Holland II

Ruled Out for Monday
OG Anunoby

Ruled Out for Tuesday
Jerami Grant

Ruled Out for Monday
Rashee Rice

Still in Concussion Protocol, Estimated as Non-Participant on Monday
J.J. McCarthy

Listed as DNP on Monday Ahead of Week 17
Ilya Sorokin

to Miss Tuesday's Game
DK Metcalf

Suspended for Two Games Following Confrontation with Fan
Christian Dvorak

Returns to Flyers Lineup
Elias Pettersson

Still Out Monday
Brandon Montour

to Miss Four Weeks After Hand Surgery
Miles Wood

Available Against Kings
Zach Werenski

Ruled Out Monday
Leo Carlsson

Won't Play Monday
CFB

Byrum Brown Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

Bobby Petrino Joining Bill Belichick as North Carolina's Offensive Coordinator
TreVeyon Henderson

Exits Week 16 Victory with Head Injury
Mikhail Sergachev

Sets Up Two Goals
Fabian Zetterlund

Extends Scoring Streak With Three-Point Effort
Cale Makar

Has Three-Point Performance Against Wild
Tomas Hertl

Notches Three Points Sunday
Connor McDavid

Continues Scoring Tear Against Vegas
Sidney Crosby

Becomes Pittsburgh's All-Time Leading Scorer
Tristan Jarry

to Miss Couple of Weeks
Lamar Jackson

Questionable to Return in Week 16 with Back Injury
Willson Contreras

Shipped to the Red Sox
Patrick Kane

to Miss Fifth Consecutive Game
Quinshon Judkins

Done for the Season with Broken Leg
Nick Chubb

Officially Active Against Raiders in Week 16
Gardner Minshew

Won't Return in Week 16
Woody Marks

Officially Inactive for Week 16
Quinshon Judkins

Carted Off in Week 16, Ruled Out with Apparent Leg Injury
Tua Tagovailoa

Dolphins Hope to Trade Tua Tagovailoa in the Offseason
Woody Marks

Not Expected to Play in Week 16
Washington Commanders

Commanders to Retain Dan Quinn, Fire Joe Whitt?
New York Giants

Marcus Freeman is a Top Candidate in Giants' Head Coaching Search
Cincinnati Bengals

Zac Taylor Expected to Return as Bengals' Head Coach in 2026
Las Vegas Raiders

Pete Carroll's Future with Las Vegas Raiders in Doubt
Tee Higgins

Active for Week 16 Against Dolphins
Woody Marks

Plans to Play Against Raiders in Week 16
Tee Higgins

Likely to Play at Miami on Sunday
Drake London

Expected to Return in Week 16
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Expected to Play, Will Ease Back In
Brandon Lowe

Pirates Acquire Brandon Lowe in Three-Team Trade
Shane Baz

Orioles Acquire Shane Baz From the Rays
CFB

Darian Mensah Returning to Duke Next Season
CFB

Josh Hoover Linked to Indiana in Transfer Portal
CFB

Arch Manning Agrees to Reduced Compensation for 2026 Season
Michael King

Padres Bring Michael King Back on Three-Year Deal
Logan Webb

Will Pitch for Team USA in World Baseball Classic
Tarik Skubal

Joins Team USA for World Baseball Classic
CFB

Will Muschamp Becoming Next Texas Defensive Coordinator
CFB

Beau Pribula Set to Enter Transfer Portal
Bo Bichette

Willing to Make the Move to Second Base
CFB

Jeremiyah Love Officially Heading to NFL Draft
CFB

Jake Merklinger Leaving Tennessee for Transfer Portal

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP