Fantasy Football Breakdown: Week 9
Host Aidan Torok and analysts Daniel Mader, Matt Rudisill and Juan Mendez give their fantasy football advice for Week 9 in the NFL.
Players to Start This Week
David Johnson, RB, Houston Texans
After a disappointing past few seasons for him with the Arizona Cardinals, Johnson is having a bounce back season with his new team, the Houston Texans.
The Texans are coming off of a bye in Week 8 and will make the trek east to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars. David Johnson has been a reliable running back to plug into lineups this season, as he has scored over 10 points in 6 of the Texans 7 games this season. Johnson looks to continue his success, as he faces a bottom-tier Jaguars rush defense.
Marvin Jones Jr., WR, Detroit Lions
Jones Jr. is coming off his best game of the season as he hauled in two touchdowns in the Lions Week 8 loss to the Colts. More notably in that game, superstar wide receiver Kenny Golladay suffered a hip injury during the game.
Golladay will likely miss the Lions Week 9 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, which will likely make Jones Jr. the WR1 for the Lions. Look for Jones Jr. to have a big game against a Minnesota defense that is among the worst in the NFL in defending wide receivers.
Rob Gronkowski, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gronkowski and Tom Brady seem to be clicking in Tampa Bay just as they did back when they were in New England. After a slow start to begin the 2020 campaign, Gronkowski has found the endzone in the Buccaneers last three contests.
Gronkowski looks to continue his hot streak, as the Buccaneers will welcome a Saints team that is struggling to defend opposing tight ends.
Players to Sit This Week
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Carolina Panthers
Bridgewater threw for under 200 yards for the first time this season in the Panthers Week 8 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons. Bridgewater has not thrown more than two touchdowns in a game this season and may have to wait another week to achieve that feat, as he will go up against a Chiefs defense that has not allowed a quarterback to score in its past two games.
Bridgewater may be able to break the trend of quarterbacks scoring, but do not expect him to have a big week against Kansas City.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Elliott has struggled as of late, scoring less than 10 points in his last two contests. Things do not get any easier for Elliott, as the Cowboys will host a Pittsburgh Steelers team that has arguably the best defense in the NFL.
The Cowboys offensive production has gone way downhill ever since the injuries to quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton. The Cowboys will turn to their fourth quarterback of the season on Sunday, so expect the Cowboys’ offensive woes to continue this week. Expect the Steelers daunting defense to shut down the talented Dallas running back.
Waiver Wire
Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills
Moss had a tremendous Week 8 game, as he found the endzone twice against the New England Patriots. Moss is in a crowded backfield, as he is sharing snaps with fellow running back Devin Singletary.
However, Moss looks to be the back that the Bills are turning to in the red zone, which has had a tremendous impact on Moss’s fantasy value. The Bills will square off with the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday, whose defense has had difficulties all season.
Moss is a great pickup off the waivers for fantasy managers this week, as he looks to have back-to-back big games.
Ben Cohen is a freshman majoring in film. To contact him, email bzc5467@psu.edu.
About the Contributors
Daniel Mader
Junior / Digital/Print Journalism
Daniel Mader is a third-year student at Penn State from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, majoring in digital/print journalism with a minor in sports studies. He is a writer and broadcaster for the CommRadio sports department, working on content related to PSU sports, the NBA, NFL and MLB. If you’d like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Matt Rudisill
Junior / Broadcast Journalism
Matt Rudisill is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism hailing from Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. He is a writer and content creator for the CommRadio sports department and has contributed multiple NFL articles and podcasts as well as some MLB-related content. Along with CommRadio, Matt also writes for Onward State’s sports department. You can contact him by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or through Twitter @mrudy26.
Juan Mendez
Second-year / Journalism
Juan S. Mendez is a second-year student from Sogamoso, Colombia majoring in journalism at Penn State University. He is a frequent CommRadio contributor through play-by-play and production for Penn State sports, primarily soccer. As a writer and podcast member, he also contributes in covering the NFL, NBA, international soccer, college sports, and occasional music reviews. Bilingual, and with a substantially dispersed knowledge, Juan intends to work covering multiple sports internationally in English and Spanish at a professional level.
To contact Juan, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Aidan Torok
Sophmore / Broadcast Journalism
Aidan Torok is a sophmore from West Caldwell, New Jersey majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He produces content and does play-by-play announcing and beat writing for the CommRadio sports department. If you’d like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Ben Cohen
Freshman / Film
Ben Cohen is a freshman from Voorhees, New Jersey majoring in film at Penn State University. He is a member of the CommRadio sports department. If you would like to contact him, you can email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
