Fantasy Football Week 9: Biggest Sleepers at Every Position (2024)

This year's NFL trade deadline didn't shake things up for fantasy football managers, but it significantly impacted one matchup for Week 9. We're going to target the biggest sellers who further decimated their bottom-tier defense.

On Tuesday, the Washington Commanders made two of the biggest deadline deals that signaled a reset for their defense. They will face the New England Patriots who don't have star power at pass-catching positions, but they could have their best offensive showing of the season this week.

In the second half of campaigns, we often see rookies make strides with a little bit of experience. This week, three rookies made our sleeper list, and they are all either coming off one of their most productive games or may see an expanded role for Week 9.

First, we'll start with a couple of NFC South quarterbacks and explain why you should take a chance on a couple of committee running backs.

All eight of our sleeper picks are available in at least 50 percent of leagues based on FantasyPros' consensus roster percentages.

Normally, we try to avoid the same sleeper picks in consecutive weeks, but Will Levis played on Thursday and the quarterback pool doesn't offer much for Week 9. Consequently, managers should go with Derek Carr's hot hand.

In 10 years as a pro, Carr has never been a fantasy darling, but he's hit his stride in terms of passing volume over the past few weeks, throwing for at least 300 yards in three consecutive outings.

Last week, Carr carved up the Indianapolis Colts' 25th-ranked pass defense, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns with a 70.4 percent completion rate. This week, he'll face the Chicago Bears' 30th-ranked pass defense that's allowing the second-most touchdowns (17) through the air.

If you started Carr last week, keep him in the QB1 spot because he gets an even better matchup on Sunday.

After a solid start to the season with seven touchdown passes and two interceptions through Week 4, Baker Mayfield has struggled while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost three consecutive contests.

During the Buccaneers' three-game losing streak, Mayfield has thrown for just three touchdowns and two interceptions while completing less than 60 percent of his passes in two of those outings.

Fortunately for Mayfield, he gets a decent matchup with the Houston Texans' 23rd-ranked pass defense. Though the Texans have surrendered the fewest passing touchdowns (five) through Week 8, they allowed 340-plus passing yards in two of their past three games.

Last week, Houston held the Carolina Panthers to 180 passing yards, but Tampa Bay has a far better pass-catching group with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the perimeter. Mayfield is also more experienced than Panthers rookie signal-caller Bryce Young.

Mayfield could get back on track against a pass defense that's prone to giving up a ton of yards, which increases the likelihood that he throws a touchdown pass or two.

Last week, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that the team would give Jeff Wilson Jr. "some touches" in his second game back from injured reserve. He logged five carries for 23 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards.

Though Wilson had a quiet Week 8 outing, managers should be encouraged by McDaniel's concerted effort to get the running back involved in the offense ahead of a game with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Over the past three weeks, the Chiefs have allowed an average of 135.7 rushing yards per game. They're giving up 4.4 yards per carry (ranked 25th leaguewide) for the season.

Raheem Mostert will likely handle the bulk of the touches among the Dolphins running backs, but remember that Mostert and rookie running back De'Von Achane, who's currently on injured reserve, racked up 13.8-plus fantasy points apiece in Weeks 3 and 5 in a shared backfield.

Wilson doesn't have Achane's lightning speed, but the Dolphins have shown the willingness to lean on their top two running backs to balance the offense. Salvon Ahmed's role will likely continue to fade with Wilson back action.

This week against the Chiefs' leaky run defense, Wilson has flex appeal for managers who want to start a third running back.

Last week, we suggested that managers start Darrell Henderson, who had a good number of touches (15) in a game that the Los Angeles Rams trailed from beginning to end, but Royce Freeman took the goal-line carry for a one-yard touchdown.

At 6'0", 238 pounds, and as the bigger ball-carrier compared to Henderson (5'8", 208 lbs), Freeman may have a stronghold on goal-line touches. If so, he could have multiple opportunities to plunge into the end zone against the Green Packers' 26th-ranked run defense that's surrendered seven rushing touchdowns in seven games.

Green Bay allows the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs this season. The Rams could employ a run-heavy game plan as quarterback Matthew Stafford deals with a UCL sprain.

Whether Stafford suits up or not, head coach Sean McVay may prefer his quarterback to hand off the ball 25-30 times to test the Packers' vulnerable run defense rather than go through the air against the league's 11th-ranked pass defense, which bodes well for Freeman and Henderson.

Because of Henderson's involvement in the passing game, he's a better fit for managers in PPR leagues, but as we saw last week, Freeman has the potential to vulture touchdowns in short-yardage situations.

Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, and Carolina's offense seems like it's headed in the right direction after a sluggish start to the season.

Last week, Jonathan Mingo caught four passes for a season-high 62 yards, and fellow rookie Bryce Young had one of his better passing performances, throwing for 235 yards and a touchdown with a season-high 71 percent completion rate.

Though Young doesn't have the volume or touchdown production to put multiple Panthers pass-catchers on the fantasy radar every week, managers should take note of his growing rapport with Mingo, who has big-play ability. The two rookies connected on a 40-yard play last week.

Mingo can build on his momentum in a favorable matchup with the Indianapolis Colts' 25th-ranked pass defense. In Week 8, Indianapolis gave up a season-worst 350 yards through the air to the New Orleans Saints.

Indianapolis ranks 26th in net yards per pass attempt allowed, so it's susceptible to chunk plays. Mingo could potentially break out with a 100-yard outing or score his first NFL touchdown against the Colts' shaky pass coverage.

The New England Patriots placed Kendrick Bourne (torn ACL) on injured reserve, and fellow wideout DeVante Parker is in concussion protocol, which means rookie sixth-rounder Demario Douglas could be in line for a busy day against the Washington Commanders.

Before the injuries at wide receiver piled up for the Patriots, Douglas saw an increase in target share with 13 looks over the past two weeks, but he only racked up 79 yards on nine receptions.

Douglas averages a modest 11.7 yards per catch, but his role in the Patriots offense could lead to a breakout fantasy performance in a matchup with the Commanders' 29th-ranked pass defense that's allowed the most touchdowns (18) through Week 8.

On Tuesday, Washington traded its starting edge-rushers, Chase Young and Montez Sweat, which eases the pressure on Mac Jones in the pocket.

Jones may have one of the worst pass-catching groups in the NFL, which is why he's not included in this week's sleeper list, but someone has to fill Bourne's void and potentially start in place of Parker on Sunday. Douglas' recent target numbers indicate he's primed for an expanded role against one of the league's worst pass defenses.

Without Kendrick Bourne, the New England Patriots have a major void in their aerial attack. Behind Bourne, rookie sixth-rounder Demario Douglas is the most productive wideout on the roster with 19 receptions for 222 yards.

Nonetheless, New England's pass-catchers have a promising matchup with the Washington Commanders' porous pass defense, which, as noted above, gives up the fourth-most yards and the most touchdowns per game.

Though the Patriots don't have the offensive personnel to take full advantage of the Commanders' generous pass defense, quarterback Mac Jones has to throw to someone. He'll likely target Hunter Henry with Bourne out for the season.

Henry is tied with running back Rhamondre Stevenson for the second-most targets (34) on the team, and he's also second in receiving yards (238) with two touchdowns.

While wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster could see an uptick in targets because of Bourne's absence, Henry's solid role in the Patriots' passing attack puts him on the radar against one of the league's worst pass defenses.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has completed 57.7 percent of his passes in seven games, struggles with his deep-ball accuracy on passes 20-plus yards downfield (h/t ESPN Stats & Info via ESPN's Rob Demovsky), and he's tied with several players for the second-most interceptions (eight).

The Packers must adjust their game plan to build Love's confidence, and they can do that with an emphasis on the short passing game.

Head coach and offensive play-caller Matt LaFleur can help Love establish a rhythm with designed short-to-intermediate passes to Luke Musgrave, who's second on the team in receptions (24) and third in targets (31) and receiving yards (198).

If you exclude Green Bay's Week 4 Thursday night game against the Detroit Lions in which Musgrave exited early with a concussion, he's recorded at least four receptions in three of his six full games, which illustrates his steady role in the aerial attack.

This week, Musgrave has a favorable matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, who allow the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends. The Rams have allowed four touchdowns to tight ends in seven contests.

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Fantasy points scored against statistics are provided by FantasyPros.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.