You may not see the possible top tier, go all out for players you saw in last week’s list, but there are some good players to take flyers on and some players or defenses that have great matchups for next week. We have the return of an injured QB, the possible ending of a short era for a RB in TB, and a couple players that I just can’t wrap my head around why they are still available. So without further ado, let’s get right to the NFL Week 9 Pickups.
QBs
Robert Griffin III – I’ll probably be recommending RG3 for a 3rd straight week next week. The Redskins now have seen the grass is not always greener on the other side. He has a possibility to play in week 9, but with a week 10 bye, at the very worst, he’ll be back under center for week 11. Sometimes stepping away gives field gives players a better vision. Hopefully that’s the case with Griffin.
RBs
Jonas Gray – It’s always a little weird to recommend a Patriots RB because they use so many of them and they are so random when they go off. Jonas Gray was the one who popped up last week. He clearly led the team in carries and in time on the field. He had trouble at the goal line and got stuffed a few times, so temper your expectations.
Lorenzo Taliaferro – With Bernard Pierce being a healthy scratch the backfield for the Baltimore Ravens got a little clearer last week. Forsett was the obvious feature back and was on the field most of the time and Taliaferro was the goal line back. He still only going to get 5-10 carries, but the carries he gets seems to be very valuable.
Charles Sims/Bobby Rainey – I think I’m finally going to throw in the towel on Doug Martin for now. Every week seeing Martin either underperforming or being hurt is unbearable. Bobby Rainey has played well in his absence but he fumbles a lot. Charles Sims has been out all year and is finally eligible to come of the IR list this week. He’s a talent back that maybe their future RB.
WRs
Brandon LaFell – I’m actually very surprised that LaFell is available in so many leagues right now. He has had a pretty good month and I would have thought more people would jump on him. However, since he hasn’t seemed to catch on yet, grab him now. He’s the 3rd option on the Pats, but they throw so much he can still put up good numbers.
Martavis Bryant – If you are in a TD only league, you can strike gold with Bryant. He has only been active for 2 games and he has totaled 7 catches for 123 yards and 3 TDs. He’s 6’4 211 lbs and is quick enough to get free and easily beat CBs one on one. He apparently has energized a Pittsburgh offense that looked lost for most of this year thus far.
Allen Robinson – Here’s another guy that I’m surprised he still owned by less than 50% in most leagues. He is by far the most used Jacksonville WR and being on a team that is behind most of the time means he’s going to get a lot of garbage yards and TDs. He is playing about 60-70 plays a week while, the next WR on their depth chart, Marqise Lee is only playing about 20-30 plays a week.
TEs
Larry Donnell – For some weird reason, I’ve seen Donnell’s name on a couple free agent pools. Maybe it’s because they couldn’t afford to keep him while he was on his bye week, but I’m pleading with you to jump on him fast. He will be a top 5 TE the rest of the way. He has the best schedule of all TEs. With Victor Cruz gone, he may have to be force fed.
DEFs
Cincinnati Bengals Defense – Just like I said last week, “The Jaguars are a defense’s best friend.” They continue to allow opposing defenses to score more points against them that any other team in the league. We saw what the Dolphins did to them last week and we could easily see a replay of that with the Bengals this week.
Kansas City Defense – I recommended the Chiefs last week because they not had a good matchup against the Rams, but they have 3 straight games against below average offenses. That matchup just got even better now that they will be facing the Jets who have just benched their starting QB, Geno Smith, for Michael Vick. Expect a minimum of 10-15 points.
San Francisco 49ers Defense – Speaking of the Rams, that will be who the 49ers defense will be facing. With their franchise LT Jake Long done for the year, we got a sneak peak last week of how horrible the rest of their line is. They allowed 7 sacks and the 49ers defense expects to put up similar numbers. This game being in SF is just the icing on the cake.
Those are your NFL week 9 pickups. Enjoy the games.
