Starts & Sits | Week 9 in Fantasy Football (2026)

by Wolf Trelles-Heard · Betting & Props

We’re deep enough into the season now that rosters are what they are, and the margin between a win and a loss usually comes down to one flex decision you agonize over on Sunday morning. This  Start & Sits Week 9 Edition brings a handful of those decisions. A quarterback who gets to play from behind, a Denver back who’s about to have his moment, and a Browns tight end who just wrecked the league are all in the mix — along with a few names I’d leave on your bench no matter how tempting the matchup looks.

Let’s get to it.

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Starts & Sits | Week 9

Quarterback

START Malik Willis, Dolphins

The Lions present the second-best matchup for fantasy quarterbacks this week (+5.3 against the position, second in the league), and that alone gets Willis on my radar. Detroit’s implied team total sits at 28.75 while Miami’s is just 21.75, which tells you exactly how Vegas sees this one playing out. Willis could spend most of the afternoon in catch-up mode, and garbage time has a way of padding the box score for quarterbacks who are throwing every down. 

Willis also brings a rushing floor most passers can’t match, projected for 5.4 carries and 37.5 yards with a 0.24 rushing touchdown projection. On the season he’s averaging 15.19 fantasy points per game against an expected 13.62, so he’s outplaying his opportunity rather than leaning on it. He’s ranked 13th in the Week 9 projections, but this is a QB1 finish waiting to happen.

SIT Tyler Shough, Saints

The Saints are coming off a bye, but Shough doesn’t get a soft landing. Cleveland’s defense checks in at -2.8 against quarterbacks, 26th in our matchup rankings. That makes it one of the tougher draws on the board. This game also projects as a grind, with a combined implied total of just 42.5 (22.0 for New Orleans, 20.5 for Cleveland). The projection has Shough throwing 41.3 times, and that’s the whole ballgame, because if he doesn’t approach 40-45 attempts, it’s tough to find a path to a top-15 finish. 

Tyler Shough’s Advanced Metrics

Even with the volume he’s been getting, Shough has averaged only 18.85 fantasy points per game against an expected 22.12, so he’s leaving points on the table every week. The 11th-ranked projection looks fine on paper, but it leans completely on a workload this game script doesn’t support.

Running Back

START Jonah Coleman, Broncos

As long as news doesn’t break that Jonathan Taylor or Breece Hall is headed to Denver, it is officially J-Cole szn. Coleman is clearly the most talented back the Broncos have right now, and the usage is backing that up with a 66.7% snap share and 20.4 fantasy points last week. Meanwhile, J.K. Dobbins played just 21.1% of the snaps. 


The Panthers are a dream matchup for running backs at +6.0 against the position, the second-most generous defense in the league. Coleman’s season-long numbers show a back who’s been efficient with every touch, producing 1.10 fantasy points per opportunity and 0.50 per snap. His 11.03 fantasy points per game still trail his expected 12.88, which suggests the production could catch up with the workload. He’s only 21st in the RB projections, and I think that undersells a lead back facing one of the softest run defenses in football.

SIT Cam Skattebo, Giants

For one, Skattebo is still dealing with a soft-tissue injury, the kind that can linger and quietly sap a back’s burst — even if he’s cleared to play. On top of that, the Giants haven’t declared him any kind of bell cow, and Devin Singletary is right there to eat into the work, averaging 1.24 fantasy points per opportunity to Skattebo’s 0.63. Singletary also holds the edge per snap, 0.39 to 0.29, so the Giants have a clear reason to keep rotating. 

Skattebo’s 10.06 fantasy points per game sits below his expected 11.84, and New York’s implied total of 21.25 doesn’t promise a ton of scoring chances. Philadelphia may look like a mess from the outside, but they grade out at 18th in the league, which is not the gift the narrative suggests. Skattebo is projected 23rd at the position at 13.0 points, and between injury uncertainty and the shaky role, I’m comfortable leaving him on the bench.

Wide Receiver

START DeMario Douglas, Patriots

If A.J. Brown misses another game — and if Hunter Henry is unavailable, too — Douglas should lead the team in targets. He’s already New England’s top-ranked wide receiver this week at WR31 overall, projected for 7.2 targets and 4.7 catches, with a 24.75-point implied team total behind him. 


The Packers haven’t stopped wide receivers in fantasy all year and rate as the 9th-best matchup for the position. Douglas has a 16.2% target share to go with 0.43 fantasy points per route run and a 21.5 dominator rating, and his 10.15 fantasy points per game sits right on his expected 10.20. He also scored 16.6 last week while playing 64.4% of the snaps, so the role isn’t theoretical. Drake Maye needs somebody to throw to, and Douglas is the most trustworthy option in that receiver room.

SIT Adonai Mitchell, Jets

Mitchell just went crazy in Week 8 with 27.2 fantasy points, and the temptation to chase that is real. This week he runs into Kansas City, whose secondary is 31st in our matchup rankings, one of the toughest defenses in the entire league. The Jets’ implied total is just 18.5, so there isn’t much scoring to go around even if the matchup were kinder. Mitchell is projected for only 8.5 points this week, which puts him 52nd among wide receivers. 

Fantasy managers also have no idea whether it will be Mitchell or Omar Cooper Jr. cashing in as the No. 2 pass catcher for Geno Smith. Cooper has the better per-route numbers at 0.64 fantasy points per route run to Mitchell’s 0.48. Cooper also played 78.7% of the snaps last week compared to 60.7% for Mitchell, so I wouldn’t bet on last week repeating itself.

Tight End

START Harold Fannin Jr., Browns

Fannin scored 23.4 fantasy points in Week 8, and he has a very advantageous matchup against the Saints this week. New Orleans grades out as the 7th-most generous defense in the league. 


With Deshaun Watson in concussion protocol this week, Shedeur Sanders is tracking to be the Browns’ starting quarterback. That only helps, because Fannin thrived with Sanders throwing him the ball last year. Fannin played 85.9% of the snaps last week and owns a 20.6% target share and a 32.8 dominator rating on the season, which is the kind of role that survives a quarterback change.

SIT Cade Otton, Buccaneers

How can multiple pass catchers succeed if the Buccaneers don’t complete another pass? I’m sure they’ll have to throw more than three times in Week 9, but I still don’t see those attempts going to Otton. Tampa Bay’s passing game was a ghost town last week, with Otton finishing with a goose egg. Otton has a 14.9% target share and just 0.19 fantasy points per route run on the season. 

Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin are the ones soaking up the looks in this offense, with Egbuka owning a 26.2% target share. Chicago’s defense is getting better and has already been tough on tight ends, with a -2.0 matchup rating, 22nd on the board. Tampa Bay’s implied total of 20.0 not offering much help. He’s projected 18th at the position at 8.9 points, and I’d rather find a different streamer.

Final Thoughts on Starts & Sits for Week 9

If there’s one thread running through this week, it’s that role beats reputation. Willis, Coleman, Douglas and Fannin all have a clear path to volume, whether that’s a catch-up game script, a lead-back job or an open target tree, while Shough, Skattebo, Mitchell and Otton are all cases in which either the name or last week’s score is doing more work than the situation behind it. 

Trust the usage and the matchup, and don’t let a single big week talk you into something the underlying numbers don’t support.

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