Fantasy Football: Week 9 IDP rankings and tiers

• Houston, we have a new linebacker: The Texans have handed an every-down role to their third-round rookie, Christian Harris.
• Breakout in Seattle: Uchenna Nwosu is having a career year in his first season with the Seahawks and is worthy of a starting spot on most fantasy rosters for the rest of this season.
• A true challenger to Aaron Donald’s throne: Find out how Quinnen Williams has been out-performing Donald so far this season and which Donald-dominated stat that Williams has become the leader in for the first time in seven seasons.

Estimated Reading Time: 12 mins

Week 9 brings plenty of bye weeks to deal with, on top of many injuries. Be sure to utilize the PFF rankings and find streamers to survive what’s sure to be a difficult week for many fantasy managers.

Check the PFF.com rankings page for any updates closer to game time.

JUMP TO A POSITION:

LB | ED | DI | S | CB

LINEBACKERS

Hopefully Nick Bolton (LB1) got some rest and relaxation during his bye because he’ll have the task of defending Derrick Henry this week in what should be a busy day for the Kansas City linebacker. Bolton has been playing an every-down role this season, racking up 69 tackles (11th) with just a 2.9% missed tackle rate (T-9th).

Rookie linebacker Christian Harris (LB26) moved into an every-down role this past week in just the second game of his career and led the team in tackles. Harris is showing some warts as a rookie in his first few games with just a 25.3 overall grade and a 38.5% missed tackle rate. But playing 100% of snaps against the Eagles, who rank second in the league in rushing attempts per game (35.0), is a great opportunity for him to produce for his fantasy managers.

Roquan Smith (LB29) is set to make his debut with the Ravens on Monday night, and he’ll likely never be ranked lower this season than he is this week. It’s likely that the Ravens use Smith sparingly in his first outing with the team on Monday night as he acclimates to the defense which will limit his opportunities for fantasy production. It shouldn’t be long before Smith is fully up to speed, but expectations should be tempered in his first game with the team. Smith entering the lineup is likely to affect Patrick Queen’s (LB49) usage, as he’ll likely be the one to cede his full-time snaps to the newly acquired linebacker. For full thoughts on the trade check out this week’s IDP Utilization Report.

EDGE DEFENDERS

Brian Burns (ED2) enters this week with five sacks on the season, which has him tied for 19th in the league. He’ll have a great chance to add to that total in a favorable matchup against the Bengals in Week 9. Cincinnati’s offensive tackles rank 29th in the league in combined pass-blocking grade, having allowed 10 total sacks on the season, which is tied for the most in the league. Burns is getting plenty of opportunities this season, ranking fifth at his position in total pass-rush snaps (232) with 33 total pressures (7th).

Uchenna Nwosu (ED16) is having a breakout season for the Seahawks, averaging a career-high in snaps played at 80% each week, which has led to him already tying his career-high in sacks for a season (5). Nwosu has also earned a career-high pass-rush grade so far this season (73.9) and is on pace to post more highs in total pressures and tackles. Nwosu should be considered as a weekly starting option for the rest of the season in medium to deep IDP leagues.

DEFENSIVE INTERIOR

No interior defensive lineman has generated more pressures in 2.5 seconds or less (24) this season than Quinnen Williams (DI2). This is a stat that has been dominated by Aaron Donald (DI1) over the years, with no interior defender even coming within 10 quick pressures of him on the season since 2016. Williams is now leading Donald (albeit by one) this season, which speaks to how well he is currently playing and why he leads his position in sacks (6).

SAFETY

Jevon Holland (S6) is already one of the better playmaking safeties in the NFL, but the one knock on him for fantasy purposes has been that he primarily lines up in a deep safety alignment. Miami was forced to shake up their safety rotation this past week due to injuries, most notably to Brandon Jones, who is now out for the season. That led to a positive fantasy opportunity for Holland, who played a higher percentage of box snaps (30%) than he has all season (he typically averages just 10% from that alignment). If Miami allows one of their top playmakers to line up closer to the line of scrimmage, then it should result in a massive boost in his fantasy value. Holland led the team in total tackles this past week.

Damar Hamlin (S15) has been a productive IDP waiver addition this season filling in for the injured Micah Hyde since Week 3. In that span, Hamlin has totaled 35 tackles — tied for the fifth-most among safeties excluding Week 7 (Bills’ bye week). Hamlin has spent about 25% of his defensive snaps in the box, but he has been efficient with them, ranking 10th at his position (min. 100 snaps) in tackle efficiency (11.5%) this season. He should be relied on more to defend the run if Jordan Poyer is going to miss time with his elbow injury. The Bills did trade for Dean Marlowe (S60) from Atlanta this week, but he is more likely to eat into Jaquan Johnson’s (S50) snaps, assuming Poyer misses any time.

CORNERBACK

Cameron Dantzler (CB5) has made the third-most tackles among corners when defending the pass this season (31), which has allowed him to be a strong IDP option. Facing the Commanders, a team that ranks among the top-12 in pass attempts per game and the eighth-most passing attempts to outside receivers, should continue to provide opportunities for Dantzler this week.

James Bradberry (CB16) has been among the best corners in the league this season, earning an 80.0 coverage grade through seven games while being targeted at a high rate. Bradberry is tied for third among corners with 50 targets faced this season, showing that teams haven’t shied away from him in the passing game. What makes Bradberry a strong IDP option is that he owns the third-best forced incompletion percentage among corners who have faced at least 25 targets (24.0%), with seven pass breakups and two interceptions. Bradberry has also surrendered the fourth-lowest percentage of open targets (26.0%) among corners with at least 25 targets, which helps keep him in position to make a play on the ball.

KEY

• DNP: Did not participate in team's most recent practice due to injury
• LP: Limited participation in team's most recent practice due to injury
• D: Player is doubtful to play due to injury
• Q: Player is questionable to play due to injury
• TNF: Player is playing on Thursday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly
• SNF: Player is playing on Sunday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly
• MNF: Player is playing on Monday Night Football. Set lineups accordingly
• WW: Potential waiver-wire claim (see Week 9 IDP Utilization Report)