Week 9 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

It feels like every day we are celebrating something different. For example, this article is coming out on October 30. Did you know that October 30 is National Checklist Day? If so, did you remember that offhand, or did you make a… you know what? It’s not important. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because last Sunday was National Tight Ends Day. Up until last week, tight ends had been largely irrelevant for fantasy purposes. So, celebrating them seemed silly. Through Week 7, George Kittle was the only tight end averaging 11 fantasy points per game using Half-PPR scoring. Over those seven weeks, there were only 41 instances of a tight end scoring 11 points in a game. This is the main reason why tight ends are usually not prominently featured in my weekly Flex rankings.

In any event, I did not put a whole lot of stock into National Tight Ends Day. And lo and behold, the tight ends (many of them, anyway) balled out last week! I do not want to sound like I wear tin foil hats and believe in crazy conspiracy theories. But what got into them? Did the league decide to feature tight ends and get a buzz going? Regardless of how it went down, 14 tight ends scored at least 11 fantasy points last week. I guess it is true that every dog has its day. Further evidence of that point can be gleaned by looking at last week’s Expert Accuracy Rankings.

[Editor’s Note: Mick is being a little modest by just posting a link but he was the top rankings analyst on FantasyPros for Week 8. He’s in the top few spots there for baseball and football on a regular basis.]

The collective blow-up of the tight end position last week got me thinking. Maybe all a group of people needs to truly thrive is the belief that they are being celebrated. Can we start implementing other non-traditional holidays to see if we can catch some lightning in a bottle? I am just spitballing here, but what if there was a holiday for wannabe professional writers looking for work who just moved into the state that houses his or her favorite sports teams’ biggest rivals? Sure, maybe this group of amazing and incredibly talented people is a relatively small niche. But so are redheads. They only constitute 1-2 percent of the population, and they have a day. November 5 is National Redheads Day. You’re welcome. 

I may have gone off track a little. Let’s get back to the discussion surrounding tight ends and Flex rankings. In addition to 14 tight ends scoring at least 11 fantasy points last week, 25 running backs and 34 wide receivers reached that threshold. That means you could have successfully started a tight end in your Flex spot last week. But even in a week where tight ends went off, the top 12 were basically on par with the top 24 RB and top 36 WR. Starting a tight end in your Flex spot is usually a bad idea. There are exceptions, of course. I currently have Cade Otton as a top-75 overall option in my Flex rankings. If you drafted a stud tight end and grabbed Otton off the wire, you could certainly justify starting both. But even that may depend on what your options at other positions are.

That is, in a nutshell, what my weekly Flex rankings are intended to highlight. I use Half-PPR scoring to sort over 200 players every single week. You can just search the players on your roster and start the higher-ranked player. Of course, these rankings will change somewhat between now and Sunday. I usually post the changes here on Sunday morning. You can also comment below or hit me up on Twitter with any specific questions you may have regarding your lineups and rosters. May the fantasy football gods and goddesses celebrate you this week, even if you do not have an unofficial day in your honor.

Check out all of our Week 9 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex

Flex Rankings for Week 9

Make sure to check out all of our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!