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

Game Info

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

Location: Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Betting Odds: CAR +7, 42.5 total via Oddsshark

Network: FOX

Writer: Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)

Carolina Panthers

Quarterback

P.J. Walker (Sit)

Week 8 was close but no cigar for P.J. Walker and the Panthers in a wild game against the Falcons. Walker threw for 317 yards, completing 19 of 36 attempts for one touchdown and an interception. It was a career day for the former XFL standout and was sufficient enough for him to keep the starting gig. On Monday, interim head coach Steve Wilks anointed him the starter once again for Week 9 against the Bengals, firmly cementing Baker Mayfield as the backup in Carolina. All that said, it’s hard to imagine starting Walker in a 1QB league, even with the likes of Dak Prescott and Jimmy Garoppolo on BYE this week.

Running Backs

D’Onta Foreman (Start, RB2), Chuba Hubbard (Sit)

Have a day D’Onta Foreman — and zero-RB truthers. In his second start post-Christian McCaffrey trade, Foreman turned 26 carries into 118 yards (again, he had the same yardage in Week 7, but on 11 fewer carries), three touchdowns, and a two-point conversion. It was a career game, and Foreman taking the bulk of the touches has him pegged to be a locked-in RB2 on a weekly basis. Chuba Hubbard missed Week 8 with an ankle injury, and while he feels he can return this week, can’t be considered a fantasy viable start. It’s worth noting that as of Wednesday, he returned to practice as a limited participant.

Wide Receivers/Tight End

DJ Moore (Start, WR2 with WR1 upside), Terrace Marshall Jr. (Sit), Laviska Shenault (Sit), Ian Thomas (Sit), Tommy Tremble (Sit)

Since the change at quarterback to Walker, DJ Moore has been the WR1 Carolina has hoped he’d be. @JayyyHunt on Twitter noted the production pre-Walker/post-Mayfield, and it’s telling how welcomed a change has been.

DJ Moore through 5 weeks with Baker Mayfield: 17 receptions, 197 yards, and 1 TD

DJ Moore through 3 weeks with PJ Walker: 16 receptions, 228 yards, and 2 TDs

Rhule deserved what he got

— Jay (@JayyyHunt) October 30, 2022

Going into the game, the Falcons has given up the most fantasy points to wide receivers on the season, and Moore took full advantage. On 11 targets, he had six receptions for 152 yards and what should have been the game-winning score with 12 seconds remaining. He was hit with an unfortunate unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for removing his helmet in the heat of celebration, and the ensuing XPA was missed by kicker Eddy Pineiro. Game-altering gaffe aside, Moore has a stranglehold on the target share and will continue to remain as a strong WR2 with WR1 upside. Terrace Marshall Jr. saw his highest target total on the season last week with nine, and only caught four passes, but went for 87 yards. Both he and Laviska Shenault Jr. are not viable options at this time. The tight end production in Carolina is essentially non-existent, with Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble being non-factors week over week.

Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback

Joe Burrow (Start, QB1)

Entering Week 8, Joe Burrow hadn’t beat the Browns in his NFL career, and that winless streak is still alive. Cincinnati got beat up, 32-13, but Burrow still posted a respectable fantasy line. He completed 25 of 35 attempts for 232 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He was sacked five times and will hope to stay more upright against a Panthers defense that only has 12 sacks on the season, third fewest in the league. Burrow owns a 17:6 passing touchdown to interception ratio, with 2329 passing yards to his name. He’ll have to continue to spread the ball plenty without Ja’Marr Chase in the picture for a few weeks but will continue to be a weekly QB1.

Running Backs

Joe Mixon (Start, RB1)

Joe Mixon saved his fantasy day against Cleveland not on the ground, but through the air. Despite only turning eight carries into 27 scoreless yards, he did end up catching seven of nine targets for 32 yards, good for 12.9 full-PPR points. He’s yet to have an 85-yard game on the ground, let alone triple digits; his highest total came in Week 1 with 82. Mixon has been a middling back to say the least, but his work in the passing game keeps him as a consistent RB1, and he remains on that trajectory against the Panthers this week.

Wide Receivers/Tight End

Tee Higgins (Start, WR1), Tyler Boyd (Start, WR3), Hayden Hurst (Start if you must, TE2)

Life without Chase was a bit spooky with a loss to Cleveland on Halloween night. From a fantasy standpoint though, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd each found the end zone, but both scores came in the fourth quarter. Borderline garbage time, but nonetheless, their fantasy days were saved. Higgins had six targets on the night, whereas Boyd was right behind him with five. With no Chase to worry about, you can deploy both receivers as Burrow’s top-two targets. To those who took a gamble on Mike Thomas, we’re sorry to hear that, as he laid a goose egg against the Browns, with just one target that he did not catch. Hayden Hurst was expected to see an uptick in targets, but he only had four; he caught them all against the Browns for 42 yards. It’s hard to peg him anything more than TE2 against a Carolina defense that has given up the 14th fewest fantasy points to tight ends on the year.