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.