Sit/Start Week 9: Reviewing All Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, November 6th at 1:00 PM ET

Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Betting Odds: GB -3.5, 50 total via Oddsshark

Network: FOX

Writer: Bryan Sweet (@FantasyFreakTN on Twitter, @bsweet0us on Reddit)

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers (Start, QB1)

Heading into the season, Aaron Rodgers was viewed by many as a player on the cusp of falling out of the QB1 conversation because of the departure of Davante Adams and MVS. Through eight weeks, those predictions seem to have come true. Rodgers is in the midst of his worst season as a starter and is averaging career lows in yards per attempt (6.6 yards), yards per completion (9.9 yards), yards per game (225), and TD percentage (4.7%). Rodgers has finished the week as a QB1 just twice this season but gets a matchup that he should be able to exploit this week. Detroit has surrendered an average of 266.4 passing yards per game (27th in the NFL) and has given up 12 passing TDs in their seven games. Despite the lack of exciting options at the receiving positions for Green Bay, look for Rodgers to continue to exploit Detroit’s leaky secondary and finish as a QB1 for fantasy managers this week.

Running Backs

Aaron Jones (Start, RB1), A.J. Dillon (Start, RB2)

Despite not finding the end zone last week, fantasy managers with Aaron Jones on their rosters were ecstatic to see Green Bay give him a season-high 24 touches in Week 8 and now gets to face a run defense that has allowed 124 or more rushing yards in five of their seven games this season. With injuries decimating the WR corps, the Packers looked to involve Jones more than they had earlier in the season and he responded with 157 combined yards. With questionable tags still abundant among Green Bay’s WRs, Jones could be in store for another healthy workload. Fantasy managers should expect another RB1 performance from Jones this week.

There was some speculation before the start of the season that A.J. Dillon would step into a larger role at RB and he saw more than 50% of the RB snaps in the first four weeks, seemingly proving the speculation true. Dillon didn’t do much with the increased opportunity, however, managing just 280 total yards and one TD. In comparison, Jones accumulated 408 yards and two TDs over that same span. Dillon saw his snap share drop the next four games and saw fewer than 50% of the snaps in each.  Given Jones’s output last week, it would make sense for the split to remain skewed in favor of Jones which lowers Dillon’s upside. Despite the smaller role, Dillon should find success against a struggling defense and give fantasy managers one more week to trust him as an RB2 option or high-end FLEX play in Week 9.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Romeo Doubs (Sit, FLEX), Allen Lazard (Sit), Amari Rodgers (Sit), Sammy Watkins (Sit), Robert Tonyan (Start, low-end TE1)

It was well known coming into the 2022 season that the weakest link on Green Bay’s offense was going to be at WR. Nobody knew who would emerge as the #1 WR and eight weeks into the season it could be argued we still don’t know because of the rash of injuries incurred at the position. I would argue that the only WR that has taken a snap in every game this season is the team’s #1 WR and that player is rookie Romeo Doubs. Doubs leads the team in targets with 49 and is second with three TDs, but that’s more a result of having nearly 100 more snaps than the next closest WR. Rodgers has shown developing trust with Doubs but Doubs has yet to eclipse 75 receiving yards in any game, and the increased usage of Jones in the gameplan caps Doubs’s ceiling. Fantasy managers should expect a low-end WR3 or FLEX-level performance from Doubs this week.

As of this writing, there are still questions about whether or not Allan Lazard will be able to return this week from the shoulder injury that kept him out of Green Bay’s Week 8 game. Fantasy managers will need to keep tabs on Lazard’s practice participation throughout the week but for this article, I’m going to assume he plays. Despite having played in just six of Green Bay’s eight games, Lazard leads the team in receiving yards with 340 and provides Rodgers with a solid deep threat, garnering an ADOT of 12.8 yards. My biggest worry is the shoulder injury limits his range of motion enough to affect his ability to extend for passes or have 100% confidence in it. As such, I’m cautiously suggesting fantasy managers consider benching Lazard this week. If he is your best starting option because of BYEs and injuries, I wouldn’t expect much more than low-end WR3 production.

Offseason signee Sammy Watkins has been the team’s third WR when healthy and there were no indications last week that the hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve earlier this season would be a problem going forward. Watkins played in 79% of the team’s snaps last week which was in line with the playing time he saw pre-injury. Watkins hasn’t seen more than four targets in a game since joining the Packers and had just one last week in the loss to Buffalo. Despite the injuries affecting the WR corps in Green Bay, Watkins is too far down the pecking order to be a trustworthy fantasy asset right now.  Keep him on your bench in Week 9.

The same can be said about Amari Rodgers as we did about Watkins. He’s seen increased playing time in the last three weeks because of the injuries, but it hasn’t translated into production. In those three games, Rodgers has just four receptions on seven targets for 50 yards.  If Lazard returns this week, expect Rodgers to be relegated to minimal duty once again. Pass on Amari this week as well.

The Packers have four TEs on their roster and all four have seen playing time every week this season. For fantasy managers, however, one name towers above the rest – Robert Tonyan. Tonyan has been a consistent producer for Rodgers and the team and is behind only Doubs in targets with 42. Detroit has been very generous to TEs this season, allowing nearly 60 yards per game to the position, and opposing TEs have scored five TDs against them this season. With six teams on a BYE this week, Tonyan has an opportunity to finish the week as a TE1 for fantasy managers because of the favorable matchup and the rapport between him and Rodgers.

Detroit Lions

Quarterback

Jared Goff (Sit, QB2)

I mentioned above how Rodgers has struggled this season and only has two top-12 QB finishes. Through Week 8, Jared Goff has three QB1 finishes and currently sits at QB11 for the season, two spots ahead of Rodgers. Unfortunately for Goff, and fantasy managers who have him on their rosters, Detroit traded away one of its top receiving options this season when they sent T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings. While the offensive pieces around Goff are getting healthier, losing a vital piece of the passing game will likely make Goff a regular member of the bench for the rest of the season. With Jaire Alexander likely tracking Amon-Ra St. Brown, it’s hard to see Goff putting up numbers to get him into the top 12 for at least this week. Goff is a decent bet to finish as a solid QB2 for managers in leagues that allow for a second starting QB, but traditional league managers should look elsewhere this week.

Running Backs

D’Andre Swift (Start, RB2), Jamaal Williams (Start, RB2)

Following his Week 1 explosion, D’Andre Swift looked like a league-winning RB. It didn’t take long for the injury bug to strike again, however, and Swift was sidelined for three games with ankle and shoulder injuries. Swift returned last week but was virtually nonexistent with 10 touches for 11 yards. A receiving TD bolstered his bottom line, but it looks like the Lions are content to continue utilizing Swift in a timeshare which hurts his fantasy outlook. Green Bay has been vulnerable to RBs this season, allowing an average of 150 combined yards per game and five TDs to RBs on the season. The departure of Hockenson might open up some opportunities for Swift in the passing game, but without Swift getting the large majority of the RB snaps it’s hard to see him climbing out of the RB2 ranks this week.

During Swift’s absence in Weeks 4 through 6, Jamaal Williams performed like a feature back. Williams has eight rushing TDs on the season, second only to Nick Chubb in the NFL in one fewer game played, and is the preferred goal-line RB for Detroit which gives his fantasy floor a bit of a bump. When Swift is healthy, Williams sees about 1/3 of the offensive snaps which keeps a cap on his ceiling. As mentioned above, RBs have been able to produce against Green Bay’s defense and I can see a path for RB2 production for Williams as well in this matchup. With a big red-zone threat like Hockenson out of the picture, we might see even more chances for Williams to get a short TD and fantasy managers should view him as a solid RB2 this week given the six teams on BYE and injuries across the position.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Amon-Ra St. Brown (Start, WR2), Josh Reynolds (Sit, FLEX), Kalif Raymond (Sit, FLEX), Brock Wright (Sit)

While past results don’t guarantee future returns, it’s hard to argue with the production of Amon-Ra St. Brown during Weeks 14 through 17 last season. Now, I get that people can cherry-pick stats to fit a narrative, but I want to focus on these four games in particular because it’s the only four games of St. Brown’s young career in which he wasn’t sharing the field with Hockenson. During that span, St. Brown compiled 33 receptions on 43 targets for 401 yards and four TDs. St. Brown also added 59 rushing yards and one TD in those games. Now, I’m not saying St. Brown is going to dominate the passing game as he did then, but we have to take that into account going forward. St. Brown is far and away the team’s #1 receiving option now but faces a difficult task this week when matched up with Jaire Alexander. I think there will be enough volume and production to push St. Brown into an easy start category in Week 9 and I like him to finish as a WR2 for fantasy managers.

With the departure of Hockenson, Josh Reynolds is officially the team leader in receptions and receiving yards with 26 and 357, respectively. Reynolds likely sees Eric Stokes for most of the day and Stokes has been beatable in coverage this season. Stokes has been targeted 25 times and has allowed 21 receptions for 275 yards and one TD. I expect Reynolds to see between five and eight targets this week and with an ADOT of 13.2 yards this season, Reynolds could turn in a startable performance in larger leagues. Reynolds is no more than a FLEX play given his typical volume in Week 9 for fantasy managers.

Injuries to D.J. Chark and Quintez Cephus have opened the door for more opportunities for Kalif Raymond and the veteran WR has been on the field for at least 85% of the team’s snaps over the last three games. While Raymond has yet to find the end zone this season, he has put up respectable numbers in his increased role with 75+ yards in each of the last two games. Raymond might see a slight bump in targets with Hockenson now in Minnesota, but he’s still probably the fourth option on most passing plays. With back-to-back weeks of reliable fantasy production, Raymond has the potential to return FLEX-level value for fantasy managers this week struggling to fill their lineups because of BYEs and injuries.

With Hockenson in Minnesota, somebody will have to step into the vacated position, and, by all accounts, that should be Brock Wright. Wright has only seen action in 17 games for his career, but he does present a nice, big option for Goff at 6-5 and 259 pounds and has produced when given the opportunity. Wright has six receptions on six targets this year for 88 yards but is almost certainly going to be one of the least-targeted players in most games if the rest of the roster is healthy. Wright shouldn’t be on your fantasy radar even with his new role in the offense.