Fantasy Football Week 9 Last-Minute Streamers: Bo Nix, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Juwan Johnson and More

It’s time to look at Week 9’s last-minute streamers, the guys you can probably pick up if you haven’t looked at your lineup before Saturday. The options aren’t great, as can be expected, but there are guys with great matchups who might get lucky and put together a usable fantasy performance.

Let’s hit two players at each position who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. I used NFL’s defensive stats and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to identify the best matchups at each position. I will reference those numbers often.

Quarterback

Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

Carr is returning this week after missing the past three games with an injury. He played great the first two weeks but fell back to Earth for three games before getting hurt. We know who Carr is: he can be efficient at times, but he’s not an explosive quarterback and will leave big plays on the field.

The matchup here is the best thing for the veteran QB. The Panthers have given up the fifth-most yards per pass attempt and fourth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They just allowed a career game to Bo Nix (which we’ll talk about in a second) and were tied for most touchdown passes allowed entering Week 9.

Carr is just a streamer, but there is reason to expect success in his return against maybe the worst team in the league.

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens

Nix might have the best quarterback matchup of the week: Baltimore has allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt and third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They have allowed 221 more passing yards than second-place Jacksonville.

Nix has shown he can produce in better matchups. Last week against Carolina, he set career highs with 28 completions, 284 yards, 7.7 yards per attempt, and three touchdowns. With another juicy matchup, Nix has a chance to reach or top some of those numbers.

Running Back

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons vs. Dallas Cowboys

Allgeier will always play second fiddle to Bijan Robinson, but he does get on the field, averaging close to 10 touches per game; that’s a month’s worth of work for some backups. Allgeier won’t ever be more than a deep flex-level streamer when Robinson is healthy, but there’s a little value.

The Cowboys offer a good matchup: They have given up the eighth-most yards per rush attempt and the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs. While he probably won’t get volume rush attempts, the matchup gives him a chance to produce on the touches he does get.

Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders @ New York Giants

It’s really hard to find running back streamers at any point in the season, but especially after two months of play. McNichols has had a few nice performances when the guys in front of him were out, but he’s a clear third back when everyone is healthy.

Brian Robinson is listed as questionable; he will probably play, but it at least opens the door a little for McNichols to get on the field. If he does, the matchup is in his favor, as the Giants have allowed the most yards per rush attempt this season.

McNichols has a low floor and should only be a desperation play, but there’s a little hope he can do something.

Wide Receiver

Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens

You could also throw in Denver’s other non-Courtland Sutton receivers: Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele, and Marvin Mims Jr. Humphrey has played the second-most snaps among Denver receivers in six of their eight weeks.

I mentioned above that Baltimore has been one of the worst pass defenses in football. They have also allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, meaning any Bronco pass catcher could rack up yards and/or find the end zone.

They are nothing more than low-level streamers, but Denver’s receivers, especially Humphrey, have things in their favor in Week 9.

Mason Tipton, New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

Tipton is an undrafted rookie who has been thrust into the starting lineup by injuries in New Orleans. Rashid Shaheed went down for the season, and after Bub Means stepped in and produced, Means suffered an injury of his own and will miss Week 9.

Tipton has played around 80% of the snaps over the past two weeks, coinciding with the team losing Shaheed. He will likely be in line for the same workload without many other options, giving him the possibility of fantasy value.

Carolina offers that value as one of the worst pass defenses. We talked about Carr being a good quarterback streamer, so it makes sense that his receivers would also have a chance to succeed. The Panthers are in the top 10 in most fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers.

Tipton is a low-level streamer with a low floor, but he is an option who will be on the field if you are desperate at receiver.

Tight End

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams

Barner was a fourth-round pick this year and has been moderately involved in a backup role. He has played at least 25% of the snaps and caught at least one pass in every game since Week 3. Starting tight end Noah Fant will miss Week 9, putting Barner in position to play starter snaps.

Seattle usually doesn’t throw to the tight end a lot, but Fant does have three games with at least four catches and 60 yards this season. Barner will be a low-level streamer to pursue only if you are desperate.

The matchup is in his favor, as the Rams have allowed the fourth-most yards per pass attempt and second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. Don’t expect Barner to be your Week 9 savior, but he might be able to put a few points on the board.

Juwan Johnson and Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

These guys are interesting fantasy options for different reasons. Johnson is a more traditional tight end. He’s part of our weekly barrage against the Panthers, a team as giving to fantasy players as any in the league.

Hill is a versatile player, a threat to throw, run, or catch the ball on any given play. His fantasy value is hard to gauge without traditional use, but he will get touches against the worst team in the league; that might turn into yards and/or touchdowns.