Stars of Week 9 

QB:      Cam Newton, CAR: 15-30, 297 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 9 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD

RB:      DeAngelo Williams: 27 carries, 170 yards, 2 TDs                                                                      

WR:     Antonio Brown, PIT: 17 catches, 284 yards, 0 TDs

TE:      Owen Daniels, DEN: 6 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD

With six teams on bye this week, owners had to dig a bit deeper from their bench to fill in for key absences. Cam Newton further demonstrated that he’s taken the next step (both in real life and in fantasy), as he torched the Packers en route to a pole position win in the NFC for the Panthers. He’s a top five fantasy QB, no doubt about that. Last week in the waiver wire section I mentioned that DeAngelo Williams was worth blowing your waiver budget for if your league has one. Well, his performance on Sunday nailed the point home. Williams is a very capable RB, and with Bell out for the year, he’ll continue to shine. Expect a bit of a drop though over the next few weeks with Roethlisberger out, as teams will devote additional resources to stopping the run until Big Ben returns. Speaking of lights out performances from Steelers’ players, Antonio Brown set a new record for yards by a WR in one game without a TD. Those of you who own him in PPR leagues were treated to an epic week from AB. Owen Daniels took top honors for tight ends this week. We’ll take a closer look at him below. 

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.

- Matt Ryan, QB – ATL: 30-45, 303 yards, 1 TDs, 0 INTs

Analysis: In most cases, a player ends up listed here because of a good performance. Matt Ryan finds himself here for the opposite reason. While his numbers were far from terrible against the 49ers, we’re seeing a disturbing trend with Ryan. Through nine games this season, Ryan has yet to toss more than two TD passes in any game, despite having all-world WR Julio Jones as a weapon. Ryan’s yardage has been fine, but he’s yet to have an explosive game – or even a mild firecracker. While San Francisco’s defense is no patsy, Ryan’s three preceding opponents were the Titans, Bucs and Saints. A QB1 would’ve posted video game numbers in at least one of those games, and in most cases more. Unless and until we see Ryan perform at a higher level, he should be deemed a high-end QB2.

- Karlos Williams, RB – BUF 9 carries, 110 yards, 2 TDs                                                                         

Analysis: The only thing blocking Karlos Williams from starting in fantasy football lineups across every league is LeSean McCoy. Williams is now averaging an astounding 6.6 yards per carry – that’s Bo Jackson numbers. A fifth round pick from Florida State, Williams has looked the part, with great athleticism from a guy his size (6’1”). Watching Williams, he certainly passes the eye test as an NFL RB. It’s unfortunate that Williams was out while McCoy was also injured – he could have posted serious numbers in those games. In any event, Williams is good for 8-10 carries per game even with McCoy healthy, and he should be owned in all leagues. I’d view Williams as a flex play in good matchups and a lower-end RB3 in tougher matchups. In case Williams is somehow available in your league, grab him now.

- Antonio Andrews, RB – TEN: 19 carries, 88 yards, 0 TDs   

Analysis: The Titans had an eventful week, with coach Ken Whisenhunt getting pink slipped and franchise QB Marcus Mariotta returning from injury. Well, one game into the interim Mike Mularkey era, the Titans grabbed a road win at New Orleans. With respect to the Titans’ RB duties, the carousel has stopped on Antonio Andrews for the time being. Andrews outcarried Dexter McCluster 19 to eight, with Bishop Sankey completely out of the picture this week. There’s no doubt that Andrews is the top option to own from the Titans’ backfield, but that doesn’t mean much. Andrews’ skills don’t particularly stand out, and he has a limited ceiling. As such, I would not view him as more than an RB3/flex player. He should definitely be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues, but keep expectations in check.

- Jordan Matthews, WR – PHI: 9 catches, 133 yards, 1 TD 

Analysis: Jordan Matthews was a hot name entering 2015 drafts, as he was viewed as Philly’s top WR in what was projected to be a high-scoring offense. Well, Matthews remains the Eagles’ top WR, but the offense has had well-documented issues in weekly performance. There appears to be hope on the horizon though, as the Eagles turned in a strong performance against the Cowboys on Sunday night football. Matthews led the team in receiving and found the end zone, in what was only the second time all season. How does Matthews project to do going forward? I would expect a slight bump in his stats for the second half of the season, but don’t expect him to quite fulfill draft day projections. While Bradford is beginning to perform his QB duties better, some kinks remain to be worked out between the QB and his WRs. Look for Matthews to be a WR3 going forward, rather than WR2. 

- Davante Adams, WR – GB: 7 catches, 93 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis: Many fantasy analysts, including this one, had a man crush on Davante Adams entering the 2015 season. With Jordy Nelson out, here was Adams’ chance to put up solid numbers as Aaron Rodgers’ second target (behind Randall Cobb). Unfortunately, Adams got hurt in the season’s third game and missed three games. Adams returned against the Broncos last week, only to be a non-factor. This week against the Panthers, Adams played the role expected of him prior to the start of the season, serving as Rodgers’ clear number two target. To go along with his seven catches for 93 yards, Adams was targeted 11 times by Rodgers. Look for this to continue in the weeks ahead. The Packers have some great matchups for WRs coming up over the course of the next month, including next week’s matchup with sad sack Detroit. Adams should be viewed as a WR3/flex play, with a higher ceiling than that. 

- Owen Daniels, TE – DEN: 6 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD 

Analysis: With Julius Thomas gone from the Broncos, there’s been an opening for a TE to seize a starring role for the Broncos. The hope among the fantasy community was that Daniels could be that guy. Well, it hasn’t happened, notwithstanding this past Sunday’s game. This was only Daniels’ second game this season with more than five targets, and his first game eclipsing 50 yards (previous high was 44 yards). Daniels had a nice game against the Colts, but don’t be fooled – he remains a high-end TE2 rather than a TE1. He’s just not consistent enough from week to week to be your unquestioned starter. He’s fine as a bye week fill-in and occasional start with good matchups, but he falls short of anything more than that.

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: Jameis Winston, TB

RB: James Starks, GB (increasing share of carries over Lacy each week)

RB: Charles Sims, TB

WR: Rueben Randle, NYG

WR: Devin Funchess, CAR

TE: Kyle Rudolph, MIN 

Week 10 Rankings

Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Cam Newton
5. Andy Dalton
6. Derek Carr
7. Carson Palmer
8. Kirk Cousins
9. Blake Bortles
10. Eli Manning
11. Tyrod Taylor
12. Peyton Manning
13. Joe Flacco
14. Matthew Stafford
15. Russell Wilson
16. Ryan Fitzpatrick
17. Sam Bradford
18. Ryan Tannehill
19. Jameis Winston
20. Brian Hoyer

Running Backs
1. Todd Gurley
2. Adrian Peterson
3. DeAngelo Williams
4. Mark Ingram
5. Justin Forsett
6. DeMarco Murray
7. LeGarrette Blount
8. Lamar Miller
9. Chris Ivory
10. Marshawn Lynch
11. Jonathan Stewart
12. Lamar Miller
13. Doug Martin
14. Giovani Bernard
15. James Starks
16. Jeremy Langford
17. Jeremy Hill
18. Antonio Andrews
19. Latavius Murray
20. T.J. Yeldon
21. Chris Johnson
22. Charcandrick West
23. LeSean McCoy
24. Karlos Williams
25. Alfred Blue
26. Matt Jones
27. C.J. Anderson
28. Duke Johnson Jr.
29. Eddie Lacy
30. Ryan Mathews
31. Joique Bell
32. Ronnie Hillman
33. Shane Vereen
34. James White
35. Charles Sims

Wide Receivers
1. Odell Beckham Jr.
2. DeAndre Hopkins
3. Julian Edelman
4. Randall Cobb
5. Demaryius Thomas
6. A.J. Green
7. Alshon Jeffery
8. Antonio Brown
9. Allen Robinson
10. Dez Bryant
11. Emmanuel Sanders
12. Brandon Marshall
13. Calvin Johnson
14. Amari Cooper
15. Eric Decker
16. Brandin Cooks
17. Stefon Diggs
18. Larry Fitzgerald
19. Michael Crabtree
20. Mike Evans
21. Jeremy Maclin
22. Jarvis Landry
23. Allen Hurns
24. Jordan Matthews
25. DAvante Adams
26. Willie Snead
27. Sammy Watkins
28. Brandon LaFell
29. Pierre Garcon
30. James Jones
31. Martavis Bryant
32. John Brown
33. DeSean Jackson
34. Tavon Austin
35. Travis Benjamin

Tight Ends
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Greg Olsen
3. Tyler Eifert
4. Gary Barnidge
5. Jordan Reed
6. Travis Kelce
7. Jimmy Graham
8. Martellus Bennett
9. Delanie Walker
10. Eric Ebron
11. Jason Witten
12. Benjamin Watson
13. Julius Thomas
14. Larry Donnell
15. Richard Rodgers