Weyrauch: NFL Week 9 fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em

With bye weeks now in the fold, secondary and tertiary starting options enter starting fantasy football lineups as the season grinds on. Riskier plays can be rewarded if discovered correctly and complacent managers rely too heavily on drafted players. Trust your instincts — coupled with solid PFF metrics, of course.

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So, let's get to it: the Week 9 edition of fantasy football start ’em or sit ’em.

START

QB TUA TAGOVAILOA, MIAMI DOLPHINS

Say what you want about the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff, but the lack of movement at the trade deadline is a good sign for Tagovailoa going forward. Last week was tough sledding for the second-year passer, but the Buffalo Bills‘ defense has locked most offenses down to this point of the season. Prior to that, Tua put together two outstanding games. In fact, in Weeks 6 and 7, he ranked fourth in offensive grade, garnering grades of 83.9 or better in each contest.

Tua Tagovailoa since returning from injury:

🐬 89.0 PFF Grade (4th)
🐬 620 passing yards (3rd)
🐬 74.7% completion percentage (3rd) pic.twitter.com/vrL9bWIX1y

— PFF (@PFF) October 27, 2021

This week’s matchup with the Houston Texans isn’t expected to be a barn-burner — currently sitting at a 46-point game total — but it should yield fantasy goodness to the Dolphins’ offense. The Texans have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. They also haven’t allowed fewer than 21 points all season — and fewer than 31 in each of their past three games. Tua should be a great start this week.

RB DAMIEN HARRIS, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Few players have been as reliable over the past month as Harris. He has rushed the ball at least 14 times and scored at least one touchdown in each of his past four games. On the season, Harris quietly collected the sixth-most rushing yards in the league — not to mention the third-most over the past month.

Harris will look to gash the Carolina Panthers' defense this coming week at Gillette Stadium. The Panthers started the year hot defensively but have since fallen apart. In their past five games, they have allowed an average of 143.8 rushing yards to opposing offenses. Knowing that Carolina's offense has been stalled on the tracks lately, the Patriots should get ahead and use Harris a ton to close the game out. Expect a big day from him.

WR DEANDRE HOPKINS, ARIZONA CARDINALS