Week 9 MOP Rankings for Fantasy Football

We saw several monster performances across the fantasy football landscape in Week 9. There were multiple running backs, wide receivers, and even tight ends who exceeded 25 fantasy points in Half-PPR leagues. While we should not expect these point totals every week, I would not deem any of the performances as completely fluky. However, there are some players among last week’s leaderboard who are not likely to repeat last week’s efforts. There are others who are likely to exceed previous fantasy totals. The picture comes into focus a bit when we remove everyone’s biggest play from the equation. The result is what I refer to as my Week 9 MOP Rankings. Let’s see what we can glean from last week’s numbers in an effort to separate the wheat from the chaff.

More Week 10 Fantasy Football Fun!: | Sneaky Starts | Fantasy Football Waiver Wire | Weekly Sleepers & Streamers | Starts & Sits | Skrip’s Week Winners | NFL DFS | NFL Player Props | IDP Analysis | Bold Predictions | Survivor Picks | NFL Injury Report | Dynasty Trade Targets | Weekly Rankings | Dynasty Risers and Fallers

Quarterback Takeaways

As usual, the quarterback leaderboard in actual fantasy points is similar to the Week 9 MOP rankings. To be honest, I wonder if I should continue to include quarterbacks in this article. It is rare to see a quarterback’s ranking change by more than two or three spots. The top-10 remained intact, albeit in a slightly different order. The only change in the top-12 fantasy quarterbacks relative to MOP is that Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy moves from QB12 to QB14. Broncos signal caller Bo Nix would go from QB13 to QB12 by incorporating MOP points. I wouldn’t worry too much about the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Drake Maye, and Daniel Jones. They will bounce back in short order.

Running Back Takeaways

For the past couple of weeks, I have brought up Carolina Panthers running backs Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. I have been beating the drum that Hubbard’s recent fantasy finishes were inflated by his “Big Play”, and thus his MOP rankings were a more accurate barometer of his fantasy value. Well, last week, the Panthers decided to give Dowdle the RB1 treatment, and he did not disappoint. Dowdle had 141 scrimmage yards on 27 touches and scored two touchdowns in Carolina’s upset win in Green Bay. Hubbard was left to fight for scraps, touching the ball just five times. This is precisely the type of situation that MOP rankings are designed to highlight. Hopefully, you read the tea leaves and got in on Dowdle and out on Hubbard before last week.

I am not suggesting anyone cut Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. However, I would also not force him into starting lineups either. The MOP numbers support his recent string of poor performances. In his case, there aren’t even any big plays to remove from the equation. Croskey-Merritt has not had a single play that scored a single fantasy point in his last three games. And with quarterback Jayden Daniels sidelined, I’m not sure how effective JCM will be going forward. Croskey-Merritt finished as the overall RB30 in the Week 9 MOP Rankings. Sadly, it is his highest ranking in my metric since Week 5. I suppose the biggest saving grace as we advance is that Washington’s other running backs have been inconsistent. Chris Rodriguez Jr. finished 19th among running backs in MOP points last week, but outside the top-50 in the two weeks prior.

Wide Receiver Takeaways

Jameson Williams continues to be the type of player you like to have on Best Ball teams and hate to have to manage in Redraft formats. Williams had his third top-15 fantasy effort of the season in his eighth game, which doesn’t sound half bad. But when you consider he has finished outside the top-50 in his other five games, it becomes problematic. Williams finished just 37th among wideouts in MOP points, which is in the range where I will continue to rank him. He will exceed those expectations when he scores, and he won’t when he doesn’t. If you seek a more consistent performer, consider Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir. Shakir has finished inside the top-36 in MOP rankings in five of his last six games.

The Indianapolis Colts had two wide receivers inside the top-10 in last week’s total MOP points. Michael Pittman’s presence there is not entirely unexpected. Pittman is sixth among NFL wideouts with 52 receptions on the year. However, the inclusion of Alec Pierce as a top-10 finisher in the Week 9 MOP rankings was certainly a surprise. Pierce is usually at the other end of the MOP spectrum, as he often makes one or two big plays but lacks the volume we typically look for in a fantasy starter. But the Colts involved Pierce early, and he responded with three catches for 64 yards on the team’s first offensive possession. From there, he was aided somewhat by the game script. It will be interesting to see if Pierce can build on this outing and display some more consistency in the second half of the season.

I do not expect Olamide Zaccheus to post top-15 fantasy finishes as he did last week. However, it is noteworthy that he has finished as a top-24 wide receiver in MOP points in consecutive weeks. Zaccheus is proving to be a valuable safety valve for Caleb Williams. The Bears quarterback has targeted Zaccheus 15 times across Chicago’s last two games. Zaccheus has caught 13 of them, including last week’s 15-yard score. His ceiling is not exceptionally high. But as we look forward to Week 10, we see that four teams are on a bye. Among them are Cincinnati, Dallas, and Kansas City. Each of those teams has multiple wide receivers whom fantasy managers start with regularity. If you are in a bind, Zacchaeus could make for an interesting speculation play. The New York Giants have allowed the third-most receptions in the NFL to opposing wideouts this year.

Tight End Takeaways

I think it’s safe to say that the knee injury that Brock Bowers suffered in Week 1 is healed. Bowers blew up for three touchdowns and 127 yards in an overtime loss to Jacksonville last week. Lest we forget that Bowers had over 100 yards against a solid New England defense in the season opener before suffering his injury. Particularly in light of the season-ending injury to Tucker Kraft, Bowers should quickly resume his preseason battle with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride for the position’s top spot moving forward.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!