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Who should I start or sit for fantasy football in Week 9 of the 2025 season? Andrew's potential fantasy football busts to avoid in Week 9 fantasy football lineups.
Welcome back to our Week 9 fantasy football busts, for players who may disappoint. It may be a tougher week than normal to determine lineup busts.
Las Vegas oddsmakers predict a high-scoring slate, with five games with an over/under of 50 points. Toss in four teams on bye this week, and the pickings are slim.
However, we still sorted through the stats and found 10 fantasy football players who may disappoint in Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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Aaron Jones Sr., Jordan Mason (RB, MIN) at Detroit
The era of Jordan Mason being a starting fantasy asset is over.
Aaron Jones returned to the lineup in Week 8, and Mason logged six yards on five opportunities against the Los Angeles Chargers. That game quickly got away from the Vikings, so Mason won't be that detrimental to your roster moving forward.
Minnesota will continue to give him touches. He was the better runner before Jones' injury in Week 2. Jones, however, has picked up the start in all three of his games and is likely to handle double-digit touches.
Even timeshares are terrible for fantasy football. It can work in certain matchups. This isn't one of those.
The Lions have been outstanding against fantasy football running backs recently, holding all Kansas City and Tampa Bay running backs to single-digit PPR points. On the season, they give up the fourth-fewest points per game.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB, WAS) vs. Seattle
Third time is (not) the charm for Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
This is the third week in a row that the rookie running back has appeared in this column, and all of the concerns from prior weeks are amplified for the matchup against Seattle.
JCM is strictly a runner. The Seahawks are middle-of-the-pack for fantasy points allowed to the position. However, they are the best run defense, surrendering just three yards per carry and 57 yards per game to running backs. The rookie hasn't strung together chunk runs against softer defenses, like Chicago and Dallas. His attempt and yardage totals have dropped for three straight weeks.
The @Seahawks have the NFL’s #1 run defense
· 75.7 rushing yards per game allowed (1st)
· 3.3 yards per carry allowed (1st)
· 2 rushing touchdowns allowed (t-1st)
· 8 opponent carries of 10+ yards (1st)
· 2.0 opponent yards/carry after contact (1st)**Per @NextGenStats
— Tony Holzman-Escareno (@FrontOfficeNFL) October 30, 2025
Bill also now has seven catches through eight games. Jeremy McNichols dominates two-minute and third-down snaps. There are no bonus points to be had in the passing game.
The one potential saving grace: Seattle is only a three-point road favorite. If the game stays close, Croskey-Merritt won't be scripted out and could luck his way into a short touchdown. That's not something fantasy managers should bank on, however.
Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard (RB, CAR) at Green Bay
The days of Chuba Hubbard as Carolina's starting running back may be coming to an end.
In the two games since his return from a calf injury in Week 7, he's averaged 2.2 and 2.8 yards per carry. Neither effort was against stout run defenses. The Bills and Jets rank inside the top eight for most rushing yards given up to running backs.
Meanwhile, Rico Dowdle posted 4.6 and 6.8 yards per carry. That's on the heels of two consecutive 200+ yard efforts. Hubbard has the expensive contract, but he's been outplayed by the short-term backup.
Giving Dowdle the start wouldn't have saved Carolina from being dismantled by Buffalo. But it could lead to wins down the road, and head coach Dave Canales seems to have figured out what the fantasy community did weeks ago.
Dave Canales: Chuba Hubbard has meant a lot to this team. Wanted to give him an opportunity following his calf injury.
Canales then adds: "We cannot ignore the fact that Rico (Dowdle) has been exceptional."
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 27, 2025
We'll find out on Sunday whether changes are actually made or if this is just coach speak. Regardless, it's not a matchup worth targeting.
The Packers allow the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs, including fourth in yards (492) and tied for second in touchdowns (two). Hubbard is a definite sit, and avoid Dowdle if you can, until we're certain he's the lead back again.
Stefon Diggs (WR, NE) vs. Atlanta
Stefon Diggs is riding the momentum of a couple of big games. Outside of Weeks 4 and 5, he's been a low-end WR2 at best.
Stefon Diggs has his first touchdown as a Patriot to extend the New England lead
CLEvsNE on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/8TFYKaY6zG
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
That short touchdown in Week 8 just got him over the double-digit hump, a mark he's now achieved in four out of five games. At the same time, he hasn't had 70 or more yards in any of the last three games and caught three passes in two of them. Kayshon Boutte outtargeted the 31-year-old against the Browns.
That's one of the big problems with the Patriots. Drake Maye is playing at a Pro Bowl, dare I say, MVP level, but it's not reflected in his receivers' stats. He takes what the defense gives him. If that means three targets for Diggs, then it's three targets for Diggs.
The Falcons have allowed the fewest yards to wide receivers and the third-fewest receptions. This isn't a matchup I'd be excited to start Diggs, but it's understandable if you're forced to due to injuries or bye weeks.
Courtland Sutton (WR, DEN) at Houston
Courtland Sutton is the PPR WR11 through eight weeks, yet he has vanished at times during the season.
Take Weeks 2 and 6, for example: His one catch for six yards against Indianapolis remains baffling, considering how poorly Indianapolis has defended fantasy football wide receivers. Against Sauce Gardner, Sutton again caught one pass for 17 yards. Although he caught four balls for 67 yards last week against Dallas, it fell short of expectations. Troy Franklin was the wideout permitted to run laps around the Cowboys' secondary.
Since Week 6
Sutton: 171 Receiving Yards/ 18 Targets/ 16.5% Target Share/ 27.7% Air Yards Share/ 232 Air Yards/ 18.8% First-Read Target Share/ 0 TDs/ 10 FPPG
Franklin: 127 Receiving Yards/ 22 Targets/ 20.2% Target Share/ 36.4% Air Yards Share/ 305 Air Yards/ 23.8% First-Read/ 3…
— Matt Donnelly (@MattDonnellyFF) October 27, 2025
The Texans aren't quite as stingy against wide receivers as they are against quarterbacks, but they still give up the fourth-fewest fantasy points. This could be the third act of Sutton's disappearing show.
Nico Collins (WR, HOU) vs. Denver
Nico Collins's Week 9 outlook isn't quite the downgrade it appeared to be earlier this season, but it could still be a tough one for him and the Houston offense.
The #Broncos are not planning to place reigning DPOY Pat Surtain II on Injured Reserve, source said, and it’s possible that he only misses 3 games with his pec strain.
Denver plays the #Texans, #Raiders, #Chiefs, then has a Week 12 bye. Surtain could return vs the #Commanders. pic.twitter.com/OEkVmEtRLz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2025
All-Pro cornerback and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II (pectoral) won't play on Sunday. That's a matchup often listed in this article, as he routinely shuts down alpha wide receivers. While Collins draws an easier one-on-one matchup, will C.J. Stroud have time to get him the football downfield?
The Texans have been marred by offensive line issues this season (to nobody's surprise), which has led to some offensive inefficiencies. According to ESPN analytics, the offensive line ranks 28th with a 55% pass-block win rate. Houston's been able to get away with it in recent wins over Tennessee, Baltimore, and San Francisco. None of those teams ranks in the top half in pass-rush win rate.
The offense faltered against Seattle, a top-10 pass-rush unit. The Broncos are even better in that regard, leading the league in sacks by a wide margin.
While Collins left that Seattle game with a concussion, he saw 10 targets before his departure. He was only able to secure four of them, and none longer than 14 yards. His best fantasy football attribute is getting open for long gains. If there's no time for Stroud in the pocket, that won't happen against the Broncos.
Chris Olave (WR, NO) at Los Angeles Rams
The New Orleans Saints are throwing Tyler Shough to the wolves.
The rookie second-round pick will start his first professional game on the road against the Los Angeles Rams. If he couldn't beat out Spencer Rattler, there has to be a downgrade across the board for the Saints' playmakers.
Alvin Kamara is, and has been, a sit for the last few weeks, as he's averaging career-low marks in rushing yards per attempt (3.6), rushing yards per game (45.4), receptions per game (3.4), and receiving yards per game (18.4). The Rams are also great at slowing down opposing running backs.
But what about Chris Olave? New Orleans' top receiver is one of five wide receivers seeing double-digit targets per game. Shough threw 30 passes in just over a quarter's worth of action in Week 8. Six of those attempts were intended for Olave. It's a small sample size, but that is a slight dip in his season-long target share (29.7%).
How many of those targets will be converted, especially if Shough is routinely under pressure? Otherwise, the matchup for Olave is fine. The Rams are in the upper half for most fantasy points to wideouts. So, Olave isn't a sit, but be wary of a potential dud as he and the rest of the Saints acclimate to Shough under center.
Dalton Kincaid (TE, BUF) vs. Kansas City
The floor fell out for Dalton Kincaid.
Fantasy managers of the third-year tight end were enjoying the TE3 through the first five weeks, prior to a missed game and Buffalo's bye week. Through the success, there were trap signs.
Kincaid's season-high snap share is 55%. He's on the field for under half of the snaps in half of the games. Part-time players are hard to trust, especially at the tight end position. Buffalo regularly rotates three tight ends. The warning signs became a problem in Week 8: Kincaid caught one pass for 23 yards, although he likely plays more than 22 percent of the snaps if the Bills didn't blow out the Panthers.
Kincaid has dodged difficult matchups against tight ends this season. The Saints, the 14th-best squad against the position, have been his toughest test. The matchup against the Chiefs is a different story. They're the fourth-best against tight ends, allowing the fifth-fewest yards and just one touchdown.
Travis Kelce (TE, KC) at Buffalo
Travis Kelce proved me wrong last week by being the clear second option in the Kansas City passing game, one of the rare times he's been featured in that fashion since Rashee Rice became the WR1 and Xavier Worthy joined the roster.
So, there are still concerns that Kelce's usage was an anomaly rather than a trend, especially in this matchup with the Buffalo Bills. It's a team he's destroyed before, particularly in the playoffs, but the Bills have been lethal against tight ends this season.
Only the Atlanta Falcons have been better against the position. The Bills have surrendered 18 catches for 154 yards and one touchdown (to Jeremy Ruckert) this season. Mark Andrews, Juwan Johnson, Hunter Henry, and Kyle Pitts Sr. all floundered against this defensive unit.
There are a lot of points projected in this game, but I like the outlook for wide receivers and running backs more than the tight ends.
Bo Nix (QB, DEN) at Houston
Bo Nix is on a heater. The Houston defense is coming to cool him down.
Denver's second-year quarterback has eight touchdowns over the last two games. He was awful for three quarters against the Giants until New York kindly allowed the Broncos to mount a furious comeback. Nix carried that momentum over to the matchup with the Cowboys, who can't slow down any position on any offense.
Ducks fly together. 🦆@BoNix10 x @troyylul pic.twitter.com/IJ3BgvkBZm
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 26, 2025
Those QB1 and QB6 finishes came a mile above sea level. He's been noticeably better for fantasy football in his home stadium, averaging 63 more passing yards, and has twice as many touchdowns as he does on the road.
So, this is sort of the imperfect storm for Nix: He's on the road against a premier defense. The Texans are the best defense against fantasy football quarterbacks (by a good margin). Zero quarterbacks have finished a week inside the top 12 when matched up against Houston.
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