Best Week 9 Moves

Whether you're playing redraft or dynasty, knowing what moves to make is crucial to success.

That's why we're having each of our fantasy football experts give you one move to take advantage of this week.

See if You Can Sell High on Tee Higgins

Jared Smola

Headshot of Tee Higgins

This one hurts. There’s no bigger Tee Higgins fan than your’s truly. Ask my colleagues how many times I’ve yelled “TEEE!” after he makes a catch on Sundays. (It’s every time.)

But I’d see if you can turn a big profit on him right now.

Higgins is running hotter than ever. Check out his yards per target by season:

2020 8.4
2021 9.9
2022 9.4
20238.6
20248.4
20258.6
202611.9

Higgins currently ranks fifth in actual PPR points per game vs. 13th in expected points per game. I’d value him much closer to WR13 going forward.

Don’t be desperate to get rid of Higgins, though. This is a true sell-high call.

See if you can flip him for Drake London and an upgrade elsewhere. Or Kyren Williams plus an upgrade. If you have depth to spare, package Higgins with another WR or RB for an elite player like Ken Walker or Amon-Ra St. Brown.

If nobody bites, I’m happy to keep Higgins and keep yelling “TEEE!” every Sunday.

The Ashton Jeanty Buy Window Presents a Rare Opportunity

Ian Miller

Headshot of Ashton Jeanty

Ashton Jeanty is coming off a season-low carry count in Week 8, watching rookie Mike Washington beat him 25-2. That’s got Jeanty’s dynasty value at an all-time low.

But his downside risk has been greatly exaggerated.

Despite the shocking carry distribution, Jeanty still finished as the highest-scoring Raiders RB. He posted 10.3 PPR points after turning just two fourth quarter touches into 53 yards.

Washington finished with just 8.3 PPR points for the lowest output among all RBs to handle at least 25 carries in a week this season.

Whatever the motivation for the dramatic shift in carry split, it didn’t work. And that should move Jeanty back closer to his 54.8% carry share on the season.

Pair that with his 17.2% target share on the season that trails only Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs among RBs, and you still find Jeanty among the upside leaders at the position.

He remains one of just four RBs averaging at least a 50% carry share and 15% target share, joining Bijan Robinson, Gibbs, and Chase Brown.

There aren’t many chances to acquire perennial RB1 producers during the season, but HC Klint Kubiak has gifted us that opportunity wrapped in a discount.

Get Your Week 11 Fill-ins Now

Matt Schauf

BRB … gotta go make Jared an offer for Tee Higgins. Sometimes it’s OK to just have nice things.

(Jokes aside, make sure you pay attention to the vital specifics of his “sell” call.)

Now it’s time to look ahead. Your Week 9 lineup should be in decent shape with just two teams on bye, and that means it’s time to plan for the impending storm.

I’m not talking about Week 10, when we get another four-team bye, though you should make any necessary moves for that one as well. I’m looking a week beyond that, because Week 11 marks the only time this year that SIX teams will be on vacation:

  • Browns
  • Patriots
  • Seahawks
  • Falcons
  • Packers
  • Rams

That’s a decently friendly group for QB usage, especially with Matthew Stafford offering little value lately. But we’ll be missing a bunch of options at the other spots. And if you wait too long, you’ll be competing with more league mates for replacements.

Get in front of that by considering some of these reinforcements now.

Running Back

Monangai’s the least-available of this trio but probably leads the group on usability. Grab him where freely available before he’s back to health, and you can take advantage of this league-best matchup for RB scoring. Even where he’s not freely available, consider trying to include Chicago’s No. 2 back in a larger trade package.

Don’t overrate Hill’s Thursday night TD, but he did compile a season-high 12 touches (five more than any other game) in the first week since Baltimore lost its top two QBs. Hill won’t be viable on a weekly basis but can help you in desperate spots.

Spears probably sits off everyone’s radar right now, given his injury, Tony Pollard’s recent dominance, and Tennessee’s Week 9 bye. But if the Titans trade Pollard by Tuesday’s deadline, you could suddenly have a team’s No. 1 RB.

Wide Receiver

The first two wideouts here appeared in this week’s waiver-wire article, but both remain available in more than 60% of Yahoo leagues (Williams in more than 70%). Flournoy and Williams not only get good matchups in Week 11, but each could also present you a lineup option any other time between now and the end of the season.

The Dolphins passing game will probably remain challenging for predicting weekly production, but both Washington and Douglas have already posted multiple top-24 PPR finishes. And I’d certainly bet on Miami playing from behind at Buffalo in Week 11.

Pierce is a bit more of a hail mary. We’ll see about his injury return over the next two weeks. If he’s ready against a Houston D that’s been shockingly friendly to WR scoring this year, though, he could also be looking at a passing environment that shed Josh Downs.

Tight End

Like his rookie WR teammate, Okonkwo just makes sense as a general pickup in the wake of Terry McLaurin’s season-ending injury. Week 11, in particular, will find him facing a Cincinnati D that’s been fourth-most friendly to TE scoring on the year.

The other side of that matchup finds Gesicki vs. a Commanders D that’s been the most friendly. He’s not as good a bet for playing time as Okonkwo, but that aspect picked up last week and might remain stronger in the wake of injuries to other Cincinnati tight ends (guys who actually play TE).

Otton’s the oatmeal of TE options. He’ll never excite you, but he can fill in if you need him. And Week 11 pits him against a Detroit D that’s allowing 6.8 more PPR points per game to TEs than any other. (And if you tell me you actually get excited about oatmeal … then you need help.)

Target Upcoming Free Agents In Your Dynasty League

Shane Hallam

One of my favorite moves in dynasty leagues around this time, especially in deeper leagues, is stockpiling impending NFL free agents. A player signing with a new team, or even getting a new contract from his current team, can often inflate his value and temporarily create a sell window to flip him at a higher value.

For example, I grabbed Rachaad White (while on the Buccaneers) last November wherever I could. That included picking him up in shallow leagues, getting him tossed into deals, or even sending a fourth-round rookie pick plus an end-of-roster player for White.

When he signed with the RB-needy Commanders (even on a lowly $2 million, one-year deal), I was able to flip White in most of these leagues. Usually it was for a third-round pick (though I did get a second in one league!). 

You can mitigate risk by targeting the cheaper end of the player pool, but gambling types can try trading for current producers who could land in a better situation. Here's a list of players to consider, depending on price and availability:

Quarterback:

Running Back:

Wide Receiver:

Tight End: