The Best DFS Values for Week 9

Deshaun Watson's injury radically changed the DFS landscape for Week 9. Our expert gives you the best bang-for-your-buck plays with the Texans quarterback on the sidelines.

A week that was going to be heavily focused on how to jam as many Texans into your lineup as possible took a sudden turn when Deshaun Watson tore his ACL in practice on Thursday. Watson’s injury leaves us with an even more unbalanced slate than we had before—two games are projected by Vegas for over 50 total points, while no other game is expected to go over 46, and only one team is projected to score at least 28 points.

Even with the expensive Texans deemed virtually unplayable now, this slate will still center around finding one or two viable punt plays, as the best values of the week tilt toward expensive quarterbacks and running backs. Like last week, there are six teams on a bye, so expect ownership to be heavily slanted toward just a handful of players.

The following will highlight the most notable values from the 4for4 Lineup Generator for both FanDuel and DraftKings.

Fantasy Football Week 9 Start ’Em, Sit ’Em

Editor’s note: “Value” doesn’t necessarily mean inexpensive, but rather the best bang for your DFS buck. These players, regardless of price tag, project to give you the most production per dollar this week.

FanDuel

Week 9 Fantasy Football Sneaky Starts

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Kareem Hunt ($9,000) @ Cowboys

Hunt is 4for4’s top overall projected value of the week and also has the best odds of hitting cash-game value of any player, according to the 4for4 Leverage Scores. The Chiefs travel to Dallas in a game that is currently a pick ‘em with a projected game total at 52.5 points, the highest projected score of the week. When adjusted for strength of schedule, the Cowboys rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs and Hunt’s workload is virtually unmatched. Only five players have seen a higher percentage of team touches than Hunt this year, and four of those players aren’t in action in Week 9.

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Jarvis Landry ($7,000) vs Raiders

Landry ranks third in the league in team target share and he projects as a top-two value at his position this week. Miami hosts an Oakland defense that ranks 25th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers and has allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt this season. Though Landry hasn’t traditionally been a huge touchdown scorer, he’s one of 10 players that has seen at least 30% of his team’s red-zone targets, and Miami brings in the fifth-highest passing rate in the red zone this season. On a site where scoring emphasizes touchdown upside, those red-zone targets are essential.

Click the link for T.J.'s full breakdown of the Week 9 FanDuel slate.

DraftKings

Fantasy Football Week 9 Positional Rankings

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Mark Ingram ($7,600) vs Buccaneers

Since Adrian Peterson was traded to the Cardinals, Ingram has seen at least 24 touches in every game and his 26.7 touches per game in that span is the fourth highest in the league. Ingram has been the beneficiary of positive game script over the last three games, and the Saints are expected to win comfortably again this week, favored by a touchdown over Tampa Bay. No team is projected to score more points than the Saints this week, and while teams have moved the ball effectively through the air against the Buccaneers, only one team has faced more rush attempts inside their own 10-yard line than they have this season.

Click the link for Chris Raybon's full breakdown of the Week 9 DraftKings slate.

Jack Doyle ($5,700) @ Texans

Last week, Doyle got double-digit targets for the second time in three weeks, and he has at least seven targets in five of the last six games. Only three tight ends have seen a higher target share than Doyle this year. Houston has surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, while also allowing the highest touchdown rate through the air of any defense this season.