Fantasy Football Week 9 Low-Ranked Starters: Kareem Hunt, Jameson Williams, and More

Last week's list of players ranked below the fantasy starters at their position who would break into that upper tier was a good effort, finding useful fantasy players in Week 8:

• Caleb Williams had an OK day as his team faltered, throwing for 285 yards and running for 24 yards, but he had no touchdowns and one interception, leaving him without big fantasy impact (QB20).
• Tyler Allgeier was possibly set for bigger volume if his team could beat up on a weak Dolphins squad, but Miami flipped the script and blew out the Falcons 34-10. Allgeier was held to just 14 total yards on four carries and two receptions, though he scored a touchdown. He finished outside the top 20 backs but inside the top 30 in both standard and PPR.
• Troy Franklin led the way for the Broncos, catching six passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys, a team we should look to target often in the passing game.
• Mason Taylor had just 34 yards on five catches, a modest game, but he got into the end zone, making for a good fantasy day. That's often the difference between success and failure for fantasy tight ends.

So, we had two guys who met the criteria of “fantasy starter,” Allgeier ending up in the flex range, and Williams with a mediocre day. That's not bad! Let's do it again and find guys ranked outside of the starters at their position in Week 9 who will reach that lofty range.

The top 10 will represent the “starters” at quarterback and tight end, while the top 20 does the same at running back and wide receiver. We are using our FantasySP projections to determine where players are ranked.

Use FantasySP's weekly projections to find the players expected to perform best and help make your toughest lineup decisions each week!

Quarterback

Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Commanders

Every week, a player or two will keep popping up when looking at start/sit, sleepers, streamers, etc. to stand out as one of the top of the week. Darnold is that player at quarterback in Week 9, as he has a fantastic matchup on top of playing well this season.

The stats are positive across the board: 250 yards per game on 9.1 per attempt (best in the league among all players with at least 10 pass attempts) with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. I'll always bring up that he doesn't run the ball because it's a major detriment to his fantasy performance, but Darnold is doing everything else.

The Commanders have allowed the most yards per pass attempt and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Washington doesn't allow much running to QBs, but that matches up perfectly with Darnold since they allow so much fantasy production just through the air (including over 260 yards per game and 15 touchdowns).

Everything is pointing toward a big performance in this one. Seattle looks like a playoff team with an efficient offense at their best, and this matchup is likely to bring out their best.

Running Back

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills

Hunt is ranked just outside of the starters and barely makes the cut, but he has a great outlook in Week 9. We can start with the matchup: Buffalo has given up the second-most yards per rush attempt and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to running backs. Opposing RBs have averaged around 115 rushing yards per game while scoring nine TDs.

Isiah Pacheco is also expected to miss this game with a knee injury, leaving Hunt to lead the way. Pacheco leads the duo in carries (78 to 62) and receptions (11 to 8), so Hunt figures to get a bump in this one.

Brashard Smith will play in the backup role, and he might take more of the pass-catching work (he was a wide receiver in college), but Hunt is likely to get the bulk of the carries and the goal line work. He still has a bit of a low ceiling because the Chiefs abandon the run at times, but I like Hunt as a flex player with a good chance to break into the top 20.

Wide Receiver

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings

Detroit's offensive coordinator, John Morton, said this week that he talked to Williams about getting him more involved in the offense. Williams is on pace for just a little more than half of his numbers from last season, and that even includes the running game, where he took 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown in 2024.

Williams took huge jumps across the board, so it wouldn't have been a surprise to see a little regression, but he has become an unimpactful player for long stretches when that was rarely the case last year. It changes how we view him in both real and fantasy football.

With that discussion and focus on getting Williams the ball more, I'm expecting a bigger game from the young receiver here. Even if it's just a few little pet plays, like a rush attempt and a screen, Williams is probably going to have touches specifically drawn up for him, and an explosive player only needs one try to hit it big.

The Vikings looked better defensively early in the season but have fallen off, now allowing the seventh-most yards per pass attempt while sitting just a little better than average in fantasy points per game given up to wide receivers. Two weeks ago, Philadelphia's A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for over 300 receiving yards against Minnesota (yes, really), and the Chargers WRs combined for 140 in a blowout win last Thursday.

Williams has a chance for his best game of the season here if he can take advantage of a few extra looks to break just one big play. I'm thinking a trick play could find Williams, or maybe they just let him run in a straight line and throw an extra deep shot or two. There's upside here.

Tight End

Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots

Pitts is the other guy along with Darnold who just keeps finding his way into my articles because of his own work and his positive matchup. The matchup is the easy part: New England is giving up the eighth-most yards per pass attempt and sixth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends.

As for Pitts, he catches plenty of passes; his 39 receptions (5.6 per game) are third among tight ends. He doesn't have many explosive plays, though, as his 8.8 yards per catch are the second fewest of any TE in the top 10 in receptions. That makes him a decent PPR player but not so great in standard.

With New England vulnerable to the pass and tight ends, Pitts has a good chance to rack up volume in this game while maybe finding the end zone. He's a solid PPR guy and more of a good streamer in standard leagues whose upside will hinge on scoring a touchdown.