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Who Should I Start for Week 9? Fantasy Football outlooks for Oronde Gadsden, Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, Juwan Johnson, AJ Barner, Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts Sr., Noah Fant.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Oronde Gadsden, Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, Juwan Johnson, AJ Barner, Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts Sr., Noah Fant. 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 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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Fantasy Football Matchup 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:
Oronde Gadsden, TE, Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden has taken off over the last three weeks, recording 19 receptions for 309 yards and two touchdowns on 22 targets. Gadsden ranks as the TE2 in PPR points per game with 61.9, trailing only Green Bay Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft by half a point in that span. The 22-year-old is emerging as one of Justin Herbert's go-to targets along with sophomore wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
The Chargers should continue to lean more pass-heavy with their elite crew of pass catchers, and now that left tackle Joe Alt is back to protect Herbert's blindside. Gadsden had an excellent prospect profile at Syracuse with strong athletic traits as a former wide receiver, and he has all the makings of a stud at the tight end position for years to come. He is ranked as RotoBaller's TE5 for Week 9 against the Titans.
Zach Ertz, TE, Commanders
Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz has recorded 27 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns on 40 targets across eight games so far this season. With Washington battling wide receiver injuries in recent weeks, Ertz has been targeted 19 times over his team's last three games. The Commanders briefly got healthy in their wide receiver room for Week 8, but star wideout Terry McLaurin (quad) re-injured his quad and will miss the team's Week 9 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks as a result.
In addition to the reduced target competition, Ertz could get Commanders QB1 Jayden Daniels (hamstring) back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him in Week 8. All four of Ertz's touchdowns this season have come from Daniels. Ertz profiles as a low-end starting option at tight end for fantasy managers in Week 9.
AJ Barner, TE, Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner had a dud of a performance in the team's Week 7 win over the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, as he caught just one of his three targets for seven yards. It came a week after he had a season-high 71 receiving yards on three receptions in the victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The two weeks before that, the 23-year-old second-year TE had three total touchdowns.
Seattle is now coming out of their bye in Week 8, and Barner will be on the TE2 streaming map this weekend against the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football, with four teams on bye this week. Target volume has been hit or miss for anyone in Seattle not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba this year, so Barner obviously comes with some risk.
The good news is that Barner has been on the field a lot, playing at least 85% of the offensive snaps in four of his seven games this year.
Kyle Pitts Sr., TE, Falcons
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. benefitted from receiver Drake London's (hip) absence in the Week 8 upset loss to the Miami Dolphins, catching all nine of his targets from quarterback Kirk Cousins for 59 yards. "He's going out there and executing at a very high level," head coach Raheem Morris said. Although Pitts has scored just once so far in 2025, the 25-year-old former fourth overall pick has been more involved this year under offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, catching 39 of his 47 targets for 344 yards through seven games.
Those numbers have made him the TE13 in half-PPR scoring through eight weeks. London's potential return in Week 9 against the New England Patriots could put a damper on Pitts' overall fantasy upside this weekend, but he has proven to be a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 every week so far in 2025.
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 - Oronde Gadsden, Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, Juwan Johnson, AJ Barner, Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts Sr., Noah Fant. 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 (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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 9 for Oronde Gadsden, Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, Juwan Johnson, AJ Barner, Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts Sr., Noah Fant:
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