Every win from here on out is precious. Across five of the next six weeks of the fantasy football regular season, 22 NFL teams will have their respective bye week. Knowing which players are worth a start, and even a roster spot will be crucial to making a playoff push. It starts with this Week 9 risers and fallers list.
The players below are a mix of obvious studs and some others you may justifiably still have reservations about heading into Week 9. I’m including this particular group of players because I think they’re more important to discuss than others. Before you dive in, feel free to review my Week 8 risers, fallers, and the player on the hot seat that I named before last weekend.
Week 9 Risers, Fallers, and a Player on the Hot Seat
Risers
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts
After a brief stint on the fallers list last week, I’m making it a point to start the Week 9 risers list with Josh Downs. I don’t think you need this article to tell you Anthony Richardson is a faller. He’s been benched in favor of Joe Flacco. Who knows for how long? The Colts are 4-4 and in playoff contention. Although Richardson has just 10 career starts, in 2024 specifically, he has completed more than 10 passes in just one of six games played. In fact, Joe Flacco has completed 12 more passes than Richardson this season in half of the amount of games played.
Getting Flacco back under center means getting Josh Downs back in our fantasy lineups. With Joe Flacco as his quarterback this season, Josh Downs averaged 19.2 fantasy points per game. He was the WR8 from Weeks 4 through 6 catching passes from Flacco. During this span, Downs saw no less than nine targets per game. He averages nearly double the amount of targets per game (10.0) with Flacco than he does with Richardson (5.6) this season.
The tougher matchups for Colts wide receivers are also behind them. Specifically in Week 9, Downs and the Colts will face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football. Their defense is tough but ranks top-three in receptions, yards, touchdowns, and fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. Josh Downs should be in your starting lineup for Week 9 and will continue to be a riser as long as Joe Flacco is his quarterback.
Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos
The add/drop and start/sit questions regarding Bo Nix are a weekly occurrence. I get it. Eight weeks into the season, and Nix’s career, it’s still hard to determine if he’s a legitimate fantasy contender or pretender. Nix is currently the QB14 on a points-per-game basis (17.3). However, in the month of October, Nix is the QB4 on a points-per-game basis (22.2). That’s behind only Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Baker Mayfield.
I still have my reservations that Nix is a “set-and-forget” QB1 in 1QB fantasy leagues. However, he is a riser nonetheless and deserves our consideration. A big reason why is his rushing upside. Nix currently ranks sixth in rush attempts amongst quarterbacks behind Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields, and Daniel Jones. However, on this list, he’s only behind Jackson and Daniels in rushing yard totals and is tied for third in rushing touchdowns amongst the position.
A lot of Nix’s success in October is a result of his schedule. Nix and the Broncos finished the month with a 3-1 record outscoring the Raiders, Chargers, Saints, and Panthers 111 to 51. Looking ahead, Nix is specifically a Week 9 riser against a Baltimore Ravens defense allowing the most yards, touchdowns, and third-most fantasy points to running backs. Even if Nix doesn’t get it done on the ground, he should continue his October success through the air to open up November.
Nix does have some tough matchups, like the Chiefs in Week 10, but has a mostly favorable schedule to round out the season. That includes a fantasy football finals matchup in Cincinnati against the Bengals who have allowed more fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks than the Carolina Panthers. To note, Nix had a season-high 29.76 points against the Panthers in Week 8. If he’s still available in Superflex or 2QB leagues, Nix is a must-add and hold. In 1QB leagues, he’s a top streamer and could be enough of a riser to cement himself as a top-12 option each week.
Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
Over his last three games, Justin Herbert is averaging 288 passing yards per game. He has no less than 237 passing yards in any of them. Only Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson have more passing yards per game than Justin Herbert since Week 6. Prior to the Chargers’ Week 5 bye, Herbert failed to surpass 179 passing yards in Los Angeles’ first four games. What should shock everyone the most, the Chargers rank eighth in pass attempts per game (35.0) since Week 6, as well.
Moving forward, Justin Herbert may firmly reenter the top-10 quarterback conversation. He has three matchups on the horizon against teams that rank inside the top four in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. They are the Cincinnati Bengals (Week 11), Baltimore Ravens (Week 12) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 15). What makes these matchups even sweeter is that they’re all at home.
It’s also possible the Chargers make a play for additional wide receiver help before the NFL trade deadline. That’s Tuesday, November 5, just a day after Week 9 wraps up. Any additions the Herbert’s arsenal will further justify him making the risers list. As long as he can stay healthy, Herbert has the talent to put up big fantasy numbers. One of the biggest knocks against him before this season was the passing volume. Over the last few weeks, those concerns have been put to rest, and may not resurface as the Chargers face some difficult run defenses. Herbert is probably available as a free-agent quarterback pickup right now. You don’t have to start him in Week 9, but he’s worth heavy consideration, especially from Weeks 10 through 12, during a home stand.
Isaac Guerendo, RB, San Francisco 49ers
The running back position feels very cut and dry for fantasy football. We know who the studs are. The top 15 or so players feel interchangeable week-to-week. Everyone else is a bit more matchup-dependent. That said, it’s hard to really claim any one player as an obvious Week 9 riser.
So, I’m going to take a moment to make the case for Isaac Guerendo. Yes, he has a Week 9 bye so he’s not a riser in the rankings for this week specifically. However, Guerendo is currently the healthiest running back on the 49ers’ roster. That could change when they return in Week 10. I still think he’s worth the bench stash.
Jordan Mason has struggled with a shoulder injury for most of the last few weeks. So much so that it caused him to exit Week 8 and not return. In his place, rookie Isaac Guerendo logged a career-high 14 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown adding three receptions for 17 yards on four targets. It’s his second game of the season, and in the last three weeks, with 10 or more touches. In those games, Guerendo is averaging nearly 8.0 yards per carry and 14.5 fantasy points. It doesn’t get talked about enough, but Guerendo also ran the fasted 40-yard dash time (4.33) amongst rookie running backs at the 2024 NFL Combine. That’s behind only wide receiver Xavier Worthy (4.21) among offensive players. Guerendo weighs roughly 40 pounds more than Worthy.
Upon the 49ers’ return in Week 10, there are a few scenarios at play. Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason could both suit up making Guerendo irrelevant until further notice. Given the nature of their injuries and statuses so far this season, there is a ton of risk surrounding McCaffrey and Mason. Especially given the massive wave of bye weeks ahead, if Guerendo is given more opportunities down the stretch, he could make the case to start in fantasy lineups. If you have the room, he is one of my favorite late-season stashes in this San Francisco system.
Fallers
Diontae Johnson, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Diontae Johnson leads the Week 9 fallers list, as he did in Week 8, only now he’s on a different team. That’s exactly why he’s on the fallers list. Johnson now finds himself on a Ravens team averaging just 29.6 pass attempts per game. That’s the ninth lowest across the league, lower even than the Carolina Panthers, Johnson’s former team. It’s hard to imagine a high ceiling for Johnson in this offense. Not only do they run through Derrick Henry, especially with leads, but Johnson now feels like just another piece to Baltimore’s championship puzzle.
Let me be clear: I love this trade for the Ravens. They basically got Diontae Johnson for free. Not only are they paying him less than $700,000 for the remainder of the season, but they swapped their 2025 5th-round pick with the Panthers 2025 6th-round pick. If Carolina ends up securing the top pick in the draft, and each round, and Baltimore wins, or comes close to, winning the Super Bowl, the swapped picks could be about five draft slots apart.
For fantasy football purposes, it’s going to be hard to trust Diontae Johnson in lineups. In three of his last five games played, Johnson logged 10 or more targets. I doubt he logs one such game as a Raven. He’s more likely to be a chain mover and red zone option. Johnson’s presence likely makes everyone else around him a faller. That mostly holds true for Nelson Agholor, Justice Hill, and Rashod Bateman. The biggest winners of this trade are Lamar Jackson, with one added weapon, and perhaps Derrick Henry, who could see more red zone opportunities, with more trips, as well as carries with more leads.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
At least until the Jaguars’ Week 12, Tank Bigsby is a faller for a few reasons. The biggest reason is the schedule. In Week 9, he and the Jags are heading to Philadelphia. Since Week 5, the Eagles haven’t allowed any more than 43 rushing yards to a single running back. Jacksonville’s Week 10 and 11 opponents, the Vikings and Lions, are no friendlier. Both teams rank inside the bottom four in total rushing yards allowed to running backs this season.
Then consider the return of Travis Etienne. While I do believe Tank Bigsby has earned a larger role, Etienne will draw touches. He averaged 15 opportunities (carries + targets) in five games he started and finished earlier this season. More importantly, Etienne averaged 4.4 targets across those five games. Considering the Jaguars are now without Christian Kirk (collarbone) for the remainder of the season and could be without Brian Thomas Jr. (chest) and/or Gabe Davis (shoulder) in Week 9, Etienne could be called upon more as a pass catcher out of the backfield.
Overall, the Jaguars seem to have folded this season. Assuming they lose to the Eagles, they will drop to 2-7. In addition to injuries piling up on offense, they also just traded their starting left tackle, Cam Robinson, to the Minnesota Vikings. Tank Bigsby is likely a faller as a result of the above. He still belongs on rosters, but starting him over the next three weeks, before his bye, carries a lot of risk.
Jameis Winston, QB, Cleveland Browns
One of the biggest upsets of the season is Jameis Winston leading the Cleveland Browns to victory over the Baltimore Ravens last week. In his first start with the Browns, Winston completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. His success through the air earned him a QB10 finish on the week. I’m rooting for Winston, but let’s not get too carried away.
From now until the end of the fantasy football regular season in Week 14, all of Winston’s matchups are against teams in the bottom 12 in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. That includes two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers who have intercepted the ball more times (10) than they’ve allowed passing touchdowns (8) this season. Additionally, Winston and the Browns are on bye in Week 10. So, starting him in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers, who’ve allowed the fourth-least passing yards and less than one passing touchdown per game on average, isn’t advisable.
While the Week 8 win was triumphant, the Browns might not win another game all season. It’s clear, even after just one game however, that Winston gives this team the best chance to win. For fantasy football purposes, he is a faller. The schedule, plus a general lack of weapons, makes it hard to consider Winston another more than a bye-week streamer in Superflex leagues.
Check out all of our Week 9 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex
The Week 9 Hot Seat
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
I don’t think you have to start Jaylen Waddle anymore if you have more trustworthy options. Some of you may have already benched him permanently. Waddle has just one game this season with double-digit fantasy points in Points Per Reception formatting. That’s 16.2 points in Week 1. Waddle is still without a touchdown, as well. Sure, we can blame quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s absence on Waddle’s woes this season. However, in Tua’s Week 8 return, Waddle caught just four of six targets for 45 scoreless yards. Six targets is fine, but it makes up just 15.7% of the team target share. That’s tied with tight end Jonnu Smith and less than running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Overall, in games Tua has started, Waddle accounts for just over a 13% team target share.
Up next for Waddle and the Dolphins are back-to-back road matchups against the Bills and Rams. The Bills already held Waddle to four catches for 41 yards in Miami during their first meeting this season. If he’s bottled up again, it will be hard to trust him in fantasy lineups against the Rams, or at any point, moving forward. The Dolphins/Bills Over/Under currently sits around 48.5 which is the second-highest of the Week 9 slate. While Waddle is on the Week 9 hot seat, he’s still a top-25 or so receiver on one of the more functional offenses now that Tua Tagovailoa is back.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!