Monday Night Fantasy Football Start Decisions: Bam Knight, Jake Ferguson, Marvin Harrison and More

Week 9 of the NFL regular season ends with an NFC matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

Let's go over some trending start/sit decisions involving players from that game.

Use the FantasySP start/sit tool for help with any last-minute lineup decisions.

Bam Knight Trending Decisions

Knight is a very popular name on the start/sit tool, and has been for most of the week. He's in trending decisions against George Pickens and Javonte Williams.

Knight was my No. 21 fantasy PPR running back for week 9. I really like his matchup against the Cowboys, but he was tough to trust over more proven fantasy players.

Williams was my No. 8 PPR back, so I clearly prefer him over Knight. Fantasy owners agree, with Williams starting over Knight in every situation - however, 42% of fantasy owners are starting both.

If you have a couple roster spots open yet, starting both running backs tonight makes a lot of sense to me.

Pickens is my No. 17 PPR wide receiver for week 9, so he and Knight are ranked pretty similarly, just at different positions.

While this decision is closer in my eyes, I still easily prefer Pickens over Knight. Fantasy owners are starting Pickens 36% of the time, while Knight is being started in under 3% of leagues - both are being started in 61% of leagues.

Again, if you have two starting spots open, these two are solid options.

Jake Ferguson Starting Decisions

Ferguson is in a couple starting decisions as well. We'll compare him against Marvin Harrison and Trey McBride.

Ferguson struggled in week 8, but I ranked him third for week 9. I believe he will bounce back and get rolling again.

McBride was my No. 1 PPR tight end, so I prefer him over Ferguson, but it's a close call. I give McBride the edge because he's a bit more trustworthy than Ferguson.

Fantasy owners also like McBride more, starting him 50% of the time, while Ferguson is started just 6.25% of the time over McBride. Both guys are started in nearly 44% of leagues. That's how I'd treat them as well - McBride over Ferguson, but I'd love to get both guys into my fantasy starting lineup if I rostered them.

Harrison was my No. 20 ranked wide receiver, so he was a ways behind Ferguson, and at an easier position to find fantasy help at. Surprisingly, Ferguson is only started in 16% of leagues, while Harrison starts over him 14% of the time. Both guys are being started in 68% of leagues. 

While I like the idea of starting Harrison tonight, I do prefer Ferguson over him. It really is a coin flip though, and I understand if you take Harrison over Ferguson.

Other Start/Sit Decisions

It looks like Jacoby Brissett is going to start for Kyler Murray again. While his matchup is stellar, I'd still prefer Prescott over him in fantasy lineups.

Prescott was my No. 8 fantasy QB for week 9, and I expect him and this Cowboys' offense to get back on track after a down showing last week. 

Murray was my No. 12 fantasy QB for the week, so it was a close call between him and Prescott. I had Brissett ranked in the early 20s, in a week where four teams were on byes.

Brissett's matchup is stellar, but I wouldn't take him over Prescott. You have to go with the more proven QB, and not chase the favorable matchup in this one. If you have Murray and need to pivot, then starting Brissett is fine, but I would have taken a chance on another QB playing earlier this week.

Dallas' CeeDee Lamb is a player I really like tonight, for obvious reasons. He's the top fantasy player for this contest, and I would be expecting big things out of him - this week, and every week going forward.

After Lamb, Williams, Knight, Prescott, Brissett, Harrison, Pickens, Ferguson and McBride, the fantasy options fizzle out.

Backup running backs Michael Carter, Emari Demercado and Jaydon Blue are just deep-league assets tonight, and probably guys to avoid in most formats. The favorable matchups for the Arizona backs make Carter and Demercado semi-appealing assets, but I still like Knight to do most of the heavy lifting, and the other two to only help here and there.

There's really no other Dallas pass catchers I'd consider outside Lamb, Pickens and Ferguson. Guys like Jalen Tolbert, Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin would be desperation plays.

McBride and Harrison are the Arizona pass catchers you want to be playing, while everyone else can be avoided. Michael Wilson has some deep-league upside, but I'm talking a deep, deep league - he's only a better option than Tolbert, Flournoy and Turpin because the Cardinals have less top-end talent.

I don't see Zay Jones, Greg Dortch or Elijah Higgins doing much for Arizona. Even in favorable matchups, I'd do my best to avoid those guys.

As for kickers and DSTs, I'd do the following: start Brandon Aubrey over Chad Ryland at kicker; start the Cowboys DST over the Cardinals DST (although I'd prefer to avoid both DSTs). 

I expect this to be a pretty high-scoring game, so the kickers could shine, while the DSTs are probably going to put up lackluster scores.