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Who Should I Start for Week 9? Fantasy Football outlooks for Braelon Allen, Breece Hall, Jaylen Waddle, DeVaughn Vele, Ashton Jeanty, Keenan Allen, Jameson Williams, Emeka Egbuka, JK Dobbins.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Braelon Allen, Breece Hall, Jaylen Waddle, Devaughn Vele, Ashton Jeanty, Keenan Allen, Jameson Williams, Emeka Egbuka, J.K. Dobbins. However, don't worry; we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2026 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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Week 9 Fantasy Football Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 9:
Breece Hall, New York Jets
New York Jets running back Breece Hall (quad) practiced in full for the second straight day on Thursday, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. Hall has not played since Week 3 due to a quad injury, but it appears he is trending toward a return in Week 9 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 25-year-old opened the year as the clear RB1 in New York, recording 265 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 61 touches across three games.
However, his role as the Jets' workhorse back may have been usurped by fellow running back Braelon Allen, who has been excellent in Hall's absence. Across his last five games, Allen has recorded 573 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 106 touches. Upon Hall's return, it seems likely that the Jets will split touches fairly evenly between the two backs. As a result, Hall profiles as a flex option at best for fantasy managers in Week 9.
Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (chest) was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, according to Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports. Denver's official injury report for Wednesday confirms his status. Quarterback Bo Nix noted on Wednesday that Waddle is getting "more and more comfortable" in Denver's offense and that he is playing with "confidence."
Waddle has played in all eight of Denver's games in 2026 thus far and has recorded 29 receptions for 315 yards and two touchdowns.
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said he "absolutely" believes that running back Ashton Jeanty can still be a bell-cow RB in the NFL, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "Ashton's a young player and has a really bright future ahead. Glad we have him and all these young players on our roster that are continuing to grow. And it's our job as coaches to develop them," Kubiak said. Jeanty is averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry on 108 rushing attempts for 337 yards and one touchdown on the ground in the first eight games of his second season in the league.
The former sixth overall pick from Boise State has been much more efficient as a pass-catcher, catching 37 of his 48 targets for 376 yards (10.2 yards per reception) and three touchdowns through the air. With Vegas' ground game going nowhere, they switched things up in the Week 8 win over the New York Jets. Jeanty played a season-low 40% of the offensive snaps and had only two carries for nine yards, while rookie Mike Washington Jr. had a season-high 60% snap share while handling 25 carries for 83 yards.
Kubiak said the backfield touch distribution will vary from week to week, although it seems like the 22-year-old Jeanty is shifting away from early-down work for more pass-catching duties on third downs. It's a frustrating development for his fantasy managers, but at the very least, Jeanty should be in the low-end RB2 range in PPR leagues in Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams has been on a tear over the past four weeks, scoring five times since Week 5, including three of his last four contests, with 13.2 or more fantasy points in each and finishing as the WR19 or better in all four. More importantly, he has seen a fairly consistent target share, with six or more in three of the four contests.
Williams has always been an explosive fantasy option, as shown by his 33.3 percent explosive reception rate this season, but his top-13 rankings in routes per game and targets per game inside the 20-yard line suggest his on-field production holds up under the hood. He is a rising WR2 and a locked-and-loaded option with upside until further notice.
Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (foot) was upgraded to full participation in practice on Thursday, per River Wells of Sports Illustrated. Egbuka has missed Tampa Bay's last two games due to a concussion and a foot injury, but it appears he could be trending toward a return in Week 9 against the Chicago Bears.
Across six games in 2026, Egbuka has recorded 28 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns on 49 targets. Upon his return, the 24-year-old will be reunited with Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was sidelined by a thumb injury in Egbuka's three most recent games. If Egbuka is able to play in Week 9, he would profile as the clear WR1 in Tampa Bay and would be startable in three-wide receiver fantasy leagues.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Braelon Allen, Breece Hall, Jaylen Waddle, DeVaughn Vele, Ashton Jeanty, Keenan Allen, Jameson Williams, Emeka Egbuka, JK Dobbins. 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circle), 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 (2026)? 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 9 for Braelon Allen, Breece Hall, Jaylen Waddle, DeVaughn Vele, Ashton Jeanty, Keenan Allen, Jameson Williams, Emeka Egbuka, JK Dobbins.
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