Stars of Week 9

QB:      Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: 25-37, 340 yards, 6 TDs

RB:      Jeremy Hill, CIN: 24 carries, 154 yards, 2 TDs

WR:     Jeremy Maclin, PHI: 6 catches, 158 yards, 2 TDs

TE:      Rob Gronkowski, NE:9 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD

A bit of déjà vu here as three of the four players here also made the list last week - with Jeremy Hill replacing another regular, Arian Foster, this time around. There’s no question that additional WR weapons have emerged for the Steelers (Martavis Bryant was looked at in great detail here last week). As warned last week, don’t go overboard in your expectations with Roethlisberger, but you can look at him as a back end QB1 going forward. Jeremy Hill will be looked at below. Jeremy Maclin has emerged as a WR1, and even with Nick Foles injured, expect Maclin to continue to produce at a WR1 level. And as we already know, a healthy Gronk is a monster. 

Week 9 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

Mark Sanchez, QB - PHI: 15-22, 202 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs

Analysis:         For those wondering if Eagles’ QBs have been a product of Chip Kelly’s system, Mark Sanchez is about to provide us with insight over the next several weeks. Once Sanchez entered the game for Foles, he made some great throws (helps to have Jeremy Maclin) along with some Mark Sanchez throws (note the two INTs). For these next several weeks, Sanchez will have value in all leagues. Foles’ owners should try to grab him if you need another QB. Chip Kelly’s system will put Sanchez in position to be productive, so let’s view Sanchez as a high end QB2 as long as he’s starting.

Jeremy Hill, RB – CIN: 24 carries, 154 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis:         Those who started Jeremy Hill this past Sunday were treated to the best RB fantasy performance of the week. No question Hill has talent; the problem has been Gio Bernard taking most of the carries. Early indications for week 10 are that Bernard will be out again, or at the very least, will be limited.  I will tweet an update as we get closer to Sunday as to Bernard’s status. Goes without saying, but Hill becomes a must start if Bernard sits again this week. Whenever Bernard returns, look for Hill to continue to remain part of the rotation. Hill provides the Bengals an RB that can pound the rock, so he complements Bernard well. We will need to see how the Bengals handle the Bernard/Hill split once Bernard returns, but the guess here is that Hill will have enough of a roll to be a low end RB2 / high end flex option.

Jerrick McKinnon, RB - MIN:14 carries, 54 yards, 0 TDs

Matt Asiata, RB – MIN: 10 carries, 26 yards, 3 TDs

Adrian Peterson, RB – MIN? Suspension (for now)

Analysis:         McKinnon’s fantasy owners need to be troubled by the lines above. Just when it looked like Asiata was out of the picture and McKinnon had the gig to himself, Asiata re-emerged to grab the goal line TDs. We need to be careful not to overreact to just one game, but this definitely smells like the start of a delegation of duties, with McKinnon losing out when the Vikings are about to punch the ball past the goal line from a short distance out. Also complicating things is the possible return of Adrian Peterson. I won’t speculate as to if and when he will be back – I’m sure I’ll get it wrong – but we just have to stay tuned. If this past Sunday’s developments continue, McKinnon will be downgraded to a flex play. If AD returns, then it’s much worse. 

Mohamed Sanu, WR - CIN                            4 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD     

Analysis:         Mohamed Sanu has always had potential, but had not yet put everything together. Did the absence of AJ Green finally get Sanu the chance to develop and become a fantasy mainstay? Still too early to answer in the affirmative, but this past Sunday’s performance was a good start. Sanu turned in another great performance, but the key here is that he did so with AJ Green back on the field. Sanu actually led the Bengals with 8 targets this week (Green had only 6). Going forward, Sanu should be viewed as a WR3 with AJ Green back, and in case Green misses any further time, Sanu gets bumped up to WR2. 

Mike Evans, WR – TB                                    7 catches, 124 yards, 2 TDs 

Analysis:         The Buccaneers have been downright dreadful this season, to the surprise of many. They have some talented players, and even if they are not a great team, they should have more than one win to their name. But we don’t care about that! What we care about is the passing of the mantle from Vincent Jackson to Mike Evans as the Bucs’ number one WR. The torch may not be completely passed yet, but it’s in process. Evans, like Sammy Watkins, was selected very high in the draft, and he has all the tools to be a stud WR. Same deal regarding rookie WRs (expect inconsistency), but Evans should be viewed as a WR3 for this season. And the good news is that the Bucs will be trailing in most games, so they’ll have to turn to the passing game to get caught up.

Percy Harvin, WR - NYJ                    11 catches, 129 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis:         The Percy Harvin regime with the Jets has begun, with two games in the books. Harvin was a non-factor in game one, but this past Sunday Harvin played a big part in the Jets’ offense. The first two weeks do a great job of foreshadowing what to expect with Harvin going forward. Some Sundays he’ll be good, others he’ll be just ok, and others you’ll wonder if he took himself out of the game for an extended period. You can’t count on Harvin for weekly consistency, so consider him a low end WR3 that can be all over the map in terms of his performance for that week. 

Rapid Fire Pickups 

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Ryan Tannehill, MIA (last chance to grab him)

RB:                  Charles Sims, TB

RB:                  Terrance West, CLE             

WR:                 Martavis Bryant, PIT

WR:                 Taylor Gabriel, CLE

TE:                  Mychal Rivera, OAK

Week 10 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Ben Roethlisberger

4. Drew Brees

5. Carson Palmer

6. Russell Wilson

7. Matt Ryan

8. Jay Cutler

9. Colin Kaepernick

10. Matthew Stafford

11. Cam Newton

12. Mark Sanchez

13. Joe Flacco

14. Andy Dalton

15. Tony Romo

16. Ryan Tannehill

17. Kyle Orton

18. Derek Carr

19. Alex Smith

20. Eli Manning

Running Backs

1. DeMarco Murray

2. Matt Forte

3. Marshawn Lynch

4. Jamaal Charles

5. Le'Veon Bell

6. LeSean McCoy

7. Ronnie Hillman

8. Andre Ellington

9. Mark Ingram

10. Eddie Lacy

11. Jeremy Hill

12. Lamar Miller

13. Justin Forsett

14. Denard Robinson

15. Chris Ivory

16. Joique Bell

17. Bobby Rainey

18. Frank Gore

19. Andre Williams

20. Tre Mason

21. Terrance West

22. Darren Sproles

23. Ben Tate

24. Anthony Dixon

25. Reggie Bush

26. Bishop Sankey

27. Charle Sims

28. DeAngelo Williams

29. Darren McFadden

30. Khiry Robinson

31. Knile Davis

32. James Starks

33. Bryce Brown

34. Lorenzo Taliaferro

35. Juwan Thompson

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown

2. Demaryius Thomas

3. Jordy Nelson

4. Calvin Johnson

5. Jeremy Maclin

6. Emmanuel Sanders

7. Julio Jones

8. Randall Cobb

9. A.J. Green

10. Alshon Jeffery

11. Dez Bryant

12. Kelvin Benjamin

13. Sammy Watkins

14. Golden Tate

15. Mike Wallace

16. Steve Smith

17. Roddy White

18. Larry Fitzgerald

19. Mohamed Sanu

20. Odell Beckham Jr.

21. Martavis Bryant

22. Percy Harvin

23. Michael Floyd

24. Vincent Jackson

25. Torrey Smith

26. Eric Decker

27. Brandin Cooks

28. Rueben Randle

29. Marques Colston

30. Doug Baldwin

31. Allen Robinson

32. Anquan Boldin

33. Andrew Hawkins

34. Andre Holmes

35. Justin Hunter

Tight Ends

1. Jimmy Graham

2. Julius Thomas

3. Martellus Bennett

4. Greg Olsen

5. Travis Kelce

6. Jason Witten

7. Owen Daniels

8. Larry Donnell

9. Delanie Walker

10. Zach Ertz

11. Vernon Davis

12. Mychal Rivera

13. Jared Cook

14. Charles Clay

15. Heath Miller

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.