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Best Week 9 Moves from Our Fantasy Football Pros

Best Week 9 Moves

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

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

Check back every week for new moves!

You Could Do Worse than Taysom Hill

Alex Korff

Taysom Hill is finally ramping up from his rib injury in Week 4. He is hardly used as a TE in the Saints offense, but when he is on the field, there is a good chance he is getting the ball. 

This season, he is only averaging 30 scrimmage yards a game but few players have as high a chance for a TD any given week. 

He is averaging 6.5 opportunities a game (rushes + targets + passing attempts) while being injured most of the year. 

Kendre Miller is hurt, again. Leaving even more goal-line upside for Hill. 

They play the Carolina Panthers this week. 

If you are in TE hell, you could do worse than Taysom Shawn Hill.

Play Chris Olave in DFS

Jared Smola

Remember when we thought the Saints were an offensive juggernaut early this season? Turns out that was much more about the Panthers and Cowboys defenses that New Orleans dominated in the first two weeks.

The Saints get a rematch with the Panthers this Sunday. Carolina heads into this one ranked near the very bottom of the league in most defensive metrics.

That includes:

• 27th in passing yards allowed
• 28th in yards per pass attempt allowed
• 30th in passing TDs allowed
• 31st in pass defense DVOA
• 31st in EPA allowed per pass
• 30th in passing success rate allowed

Yeah, this pass defense stinks.

The Panthers rank “just” 20th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs – but they’ve allowed at least one WR to score 17.5+ PPR points in six of eight games.

Olave was quiet in the Week 1 meeting with Carolina but returns as a target hog in the rematch. In his first game of the season with no Rashid Shaheed last week, Olave went for 107 yards on 14 targets – a huge 33% share.

If he gets anywhere close to that level of volume this weekend, he’ll toast this Panthers pass defense.

Check Baker Mayfield’s Late Schedule

Matt Schauf

Baker Mayfield doesn’t look very attractive for fantasy use over the next three weeks, but he could be a difference maker for the fantasy playoffs.

First the upcoming challenges (likely without WR Mike Evans):

• Week 9 at Chiefs
• Week 10 vs. 49ers
• Week 11 bye

The Chiefs haven’t been a terrible QB matchup but are negative (No. 11 in adjusted fantasy points allowed per game). They rank fourth in total defensive DVOA, have only allowed two QBs to exceed 230 passing yards, and just picked off Brock Purdy three times two weeks ago.

The Niners similarly haven’t been shutting down opponents. But they do have 2 INTs in three straight games and the No. 2 defense in pass DVOA.

So that’s three straight weeks you should be trying to start someone else at QB. Does that make it time to dump Mayfield? It depends …

Great Schedule After Bye

Let’s start with why he matters in spite of the rough three weeks.

After Tampa Bay’s Week 11 bye, Mayfield gets the league’s second-best remaining QB schedule:

Week 15 at the Chargers looks like the only spot we might not want to use Mayfield over the final six fantasy weeks – and even that’s just a maybe right now.

He delivered a QB8 finish last week – in the first game without Evans and Chris Godwin – throwing for 330 yards and 3 TDs (plus a pair of INTs). That keeps Mayfield at QB2 in fantasy points per game for the season, behind only Lamar Jackson.

And he should get Evans back for that span. Tampa keeping him off IR indicates the team hopes to get him back for Week 12.

What to Do with QB

So why didn’t I just say “buy Baker Mayfield”? Well, what to do depends on your situation.

Trading for him will probably still be tough right now, given the continued production. But you might get better opportunities if Mayfield does struggle to score the next two weeks.

If you already have him, try to keep him stashed – if it makes sense for your roster and setting your lineups for weeks 9 and 10.

And if you see someone drop Mayfield in your league over the next three weeks, try to find a spot for him.

Stash Keaton Mitchell in Deep Leagues

Kevin English

Mitchell tore his left ACL way back in December. In July, he was placed on the PUP list. 

Fast forward to Wednesday, and he practiced fully for the first time since the injury. Odds are, he’ll be active within the next two weeks. 

Now, there’s no guarantee he’ll immediately leapfrog Justice Hill for the RB2 role. But chances are, Mitchell would form a timeshare with Hill should Derrick Henry miss time. 

Mitchell Rocked In 2023

Remember: Mitchell (5’8, 179 pounds) hit the league as a 2023 UDFA. He posted two years of high-end production at East Carolina and tested well at the Combine (90th percentile broad jump, 86th percentile vertical, 95th percentile 40-yard dash). 

Come mid-season, he emerged as a big-play threat, totaling 8.4 YPC on 47 attempts. He tallied 12 runs of 10+ yards and recorded 4.3 yards over expected per attempt. Both numbers would have led the league by a wide margin. 

We’ll see if he can recapture his pre-injury explosiveness down the stretch. Regardless, if you’re a RB-needy team with an open roster spot, Mitchell’s worth a shot.

Start Jayden Reed

Shane Hallam

Reed has probably burned you with his inconsistency this year. He has two Top two finishes this season. But hasn’t finished higher than WR23 in any other week.

On top of that, Jordan Love may miss this week, and Reed had a WR39 and WR41 finish in the two games that Malik Willis started.

Signs point to benching Reed, but if you are considering him in a WR3 or flex spot, plug him in.

The Lions are the worst defense in the league against slot WRs, and Reed has taken 73.4% of his snaps from the slot.

The game has shootout potential as well with the Lions averaging 43 points per game over the last four. Even with Willis, the Packers will have to throw to keep up.

If Willis goes, Reed is a solid WR3 with WR1 upside. If Love is healthy enough to start, Reed becomes a wheel up must start.  

Use our Who Do I Start tool to see if Reed is right for you.

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format including redraft, dynasty, devy, IDP, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance.