Halloween is finally here, though October has been plenty scary enough with the rash of injuries of late.
News broke after Sunday’s slate that Stefon Diggs is the latest wideout to have his season cut short, joining a terribly long list of star wide receivers across the league out indefinitely. It’s a tough business, obviously, and the hope is that Diggs and the rest can heal up and return to the game healthy — but until then, the rest of us must find solutions for our suddenly empty rosters. For some, the pickings left are extremely slim.
Not all is completely frightful around the league these days, though.
Star players such as CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Hurts, and TEs across the board absolutely exploded onto the scene last week, finally living up to their billing and winning matchups for many fantasy managers. A few big offenses finally look to be on track with the Eagles, Bills, and Rams coming alive. There’s plenty to be optimistic about, and if you can find the right players at the right time who are primed to go off, it’s bound to be a positive nice weekend.
We’re almost at the halfway point to the season, so let’s jump right in; here are my Boom & Bust picks for Week 9.
Booms: Week 9
Cade Otton, TE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 9 Matchup: at Kansas City Chiefs (MNF) (vs. TE – 32nd)
Last Week: vs. Atlanta Falcons (vs. TE – 22nd):
10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 81 Yards, 2 TDs
Tamp Bay is reeling without their star wide receivers, but they seem to have found a gem for their troubles that QB Baker Mayfield loves throwing to early and often.
Cade Otton has been monstrous over the past two weeks, racking up a combined 20 targets, 17 receptions, 181 yards, and two scores in that time frame. With the uncertainty behind the Bucs’ other pass catchers, it’s been Otton who has stepped up as the premiere weapon for Mayfield down the field. On National Tight End Day, his 9.0 yards per catch average helped push Tampa down the field when they needed it most, keeping them relatively close in their battle for first place in the NFC South.
This week, he gets an excellent matchup against Kansas City and their 32nd-ranked defense against the TE position. The Chiefs managed to keep Raiders’ TE Brock Bowers in check relatively, but I feel that they will struggle with better QB play from Mayfield. This game has a chance to get ugly quickly for the Bucs, and should they have to air it out in catch-up, Otton is priority number one, and his numbers should absolutely reflect that.
Bo Nix, QB – Denver Broncos
Week 9 Matchup: at Baltimore Ravens (vs. QB – 30th)
Last Week: vs. Carolina Panthers (vs. QB – 28th):
28/37, 284 Yards, 3 TDs | 5 Carries, 4 Yards, 1 TD
Bo Nix has been putting things together for the suddenly competitive Denver Broncos this season.
The rookie had a monster day against the hapless Carolina Panthers at home, dominating their defense to the tune of four total TDs, three through the air to different Broncos’ receivers. He had no problem running head coach Sean Peyton‘s offense and has been progressively better through each week of his first year in the league. For this reason, I think in a tougher matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, he will continue to impress, thus leading to a nice day for fantasy managers who start him with confidence.
Baltimore is struggling with their pass defense, and just last week, they allowed Jameis Winston and the Browns to beat them with a 300+ yard and three TD passing day. The Broncos certainly feel like a more complete team than the one Cleveland is fielding this season, and behind a revived running game with RB Javonte Williams and a stingy defense, Nix should have no issues thriving yet again on Sunday afternoon.
Josh Downs, WR – Indianapolis Colts
Week 9 Matchup: at Minnesota Vikings (SNF) (vs. WR – 32nd)
Last Week: at Houston Texans (vs. WR – 21st):
9 Targets, 4 Receptions, 109 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Carry (Lateral), 13 Yards
Even with abhorrent QB play, Josh Downs still ate last week.
Making his entrance to the season later than most, Downs has been a weapon for the Colts despite very shaky performances from Anthony Richardson on the year. He had a great day against the Texans this past weekend, connecting with Richardson on an absolute bomb for the 69-yard score – but that was about as good as it truly got for the pair on the afternoon. They failed to connect on more than half of the throws sent Downs’ way, as Richardson put up one of the most inconsistent games for a QB you’ll probably see this year.
Luckily for the Colts, that sort of inconsistency is unlikely to be seen again any time soon, as head coach Shane Steichen has announced the team is handing the reigns over to veteran QB Joe Flacco for their Sunday Night matchup in Minneapolis. In the three games Downs has played with Flacco at the helm, he’s managed 24 catches, 217 yards, and two scores. It may not be the deep-play threat that Richardson was capable of (on occasion), but it’s far more welcome than the hit-or-miss nature of the second-year QB under center.
Against the Vikings and their league-worst defense against opposing wide receivers, I fully expect Downs to be at the forefront of the passing game, and with RB Jonathan Taylor available to draw the defense’s attention, it should indeed be a great night for the star wideout.
Busts: Week 9
C.J. Stroud, QB – Houston Texans
Week 9 Matchup: at New York Jets (TNF) (vs. QB – 6th)
Last Week: vs. Indianapolis Colts (vs. QB – 23rd):
25/37, 285 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Carry, -10 Yards
The season has not been kind to the Texans, even if their loss column has yet to show it.
The AFC South leaders have lost yet another wide receiver to injury, this time for the season with Stefon Diggs tearing his ACL on Sunday. With Nico Collins already on IR with a hamstring injury, the once-vaunted WR corps for Houston is now just Tank Dell and a handful of backups. Even then, the Texans are still rolling, though for how long it remains to be seen.
Stroud had an ok game in the win but didn’t excel for fantasy purposes with a single TD through the air. With even less weaponry at his disposal for this upcoming early week game, it may be even more middling for the young QB’s production.
On the road, the Texans will face a reeling Jets squad that squandered a win away to the lowly Patriots last week and are desperate to revive their slipping season. Even with their woes, New York still features a physical defense and is ranked 6th in the NFL against opposing QBs. Sauce Gardner is still one of the more premiere corners in the league, and if he can clamp down on Dell and the remaining pass-catchers left for Houston at home while the front seven ups the pressure on Stroud consistently, I just don’t expect him to have the greatest game in East Rutherford.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR – Detroit Lions
Week 9 Matchup: at Green Bay Packers (vs. WR – 11th)
Last Week: vs. Tennessee Titans (vs. WR – 5th):
2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards, 1 TD
The Lions did not need much on Sunday to put up a 50-burger against Tennessee at home.
As such, on a day where QB Jared Goff only threw 15 times, it would make a ton of sense (with the abundance of weapons available to the Detroit offense) that St. Brown only received two targets.
He made the absolute most of them, registering a TD once again and pushing his streak of scoring to five weeks – but there were probably many left wanting when it comes to fantasy. The Lions simply have not needed to air it out against teams, blowing their opponents out of the water with the combination of a lethal rushing attack, surgical defensive effort, and stellar special teams play. As a result, one of the better wide receivers in the league has been more of an afterthought on offense of late, and I believe that this will continue.
This week, the Lions face off against the much-hated Packers on the road. Green Bay is banged up coming into this matchup, with question marks surrounding the availability status of QB Jordan Love. This game could potentially get out of hand early, and if so, there’s likely going to be a lack of volume yet again for St. Brown and Detroit’s pass catchers.
Drake London, WR – Atlanta Falcons
Week 9 Matchup: vs. Dallas Cowboys (vs. WR – 13th)
Last Week: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WR – 28th):
6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 34 Yards
Dallas has been terrible this season, so I could see this going either way.
Drake London has been lights-out at times for the Falcons with QB Kirk Cousins slinging the rock around but has had games where he’s been limited, particularly against better secondaries. Against the Bucs in a division matchup last week, he had a mild outing, considering the stakes and how close it was for most of the afternoon. Atlanta was keen to turn elsewhere, with TE Kyle Pitts the main beneficiary, and I expect it will be much of the same this weekend at home against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Dallas still boasts a very talented secondary with CB Trevon Diggs as the starter, and with news that ballhawk corner DaRon Bland will also play on his return to the fold from injury, the back end of the Cowboys’ defense looks daunting. The front seven is still suspect, however, which is why I suspect Pitts and RB Bijan Robinson will be more of a focal point on offense for Atlanta than heaving it downfield for London.
Much like Detroit and St. Brown, as mentioned above, I don’t suspect they’ll need to call upon the savvy receiver’s service much in this one.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)