Fantasy football start or bench for Week 9

The fantasy football regular season is almost two-thirds of the way over. Teams will likely have to start separating themselves now. Getting rid of depth for star players and making good lineup decisions is what wins championships. Luckily, Canal Street Chronicles is here to try and help you win your fantasy matchups. These are suggestions for fantasy football start or bench in week 6 of the NFL regular season.

Fantasy football starters for week 9 of the NFL regular season

Aaron Rodgers has been bad to awful much of the fantasy season. Luckily for him, he gets to play one of the worst defenses in NFL history this week. Rodgers and the entire offense are relishing an opportunity to get clicking against this bad Lions defense. The Lions surrender over 22 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Rodgers is still trying to make receivers relevant halfway through the season and this week presents an opportunity to build rapport. Start Aaron Rodgers.

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What has happened to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers once feared run defense? Over their last two games, the Bucs have surrendered 404 yards total. Ride this trend though if you own any of the Los Angeles Rams running backs. The team is still trying to figure out who the starter is, but Darrell Henderson should see the field the most out of anyone. The last time Henderson started a game, he tallied two total touchdowns. Last week, in a blowout loss to the 49ers, Henderson barely saw the field as the Rams were trying out multiple runners. Against the Bucs this week, the game should be closer, and the team will have to rely on Henderson once again.

Speaking of bad defenses, the Atlanta Falcons secondary has been torched lately. In their last two games, the Falcons have surrendered 768 passing yards. One of these was to the dangerous Bengals but the other was a divisional matchup to PJ Walker and the Carolina Panthers. Now, Justin Herbert and the Chargers are coming to town. The Chargers are banged up at receiver, but someone has to catch the ball. Enter Josh Palmer. Palmer has quietly put together a good fantasy year already and that will have to continue this week if the Chargers are going to win in Atlanta. Especially after a bye week, this could be the Palmer breakout game that fantasy owners have been ready for.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram might have one of the best matchups in fantasy this week. The Jags are at home, welcoming a weary Raiders team on back-to-back long road trips. Last week, the Raiders were not able to slow down the Saints offense. Engram is having one of the best years of his career, and that should continue this week. The Raiders defense is tired and not good, especially against tight ends. When Trevor Lawrence struggles, he relies on Engram. In the Jaguars last four games, Engram has not seen less than six targets in any game. Volume and matchup is there. Engram should be in your lineups this week.

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Do not get cute, bench the bad matchups

The New England Patriots have surrendered the eleventh most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. That number can be deceiving though. When facing a basic offense, the Patriots have been lights out. The team surrendered just 15 points to the Browns and zero to the high-powered Lions. New England feasts on quarterbacks with basic skill sets and that should continue this week with Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger will be making just his second career start and it is on the road against a complex Patriots defense. Ehlinger likely is not in many starting lineups, but do not get too cute by simply looking at the numbers.

Is the New Orleans Saints defense back? In the past two weeks, the Saints have surrendered under 75 yards a game to running backs, one of the best marks in the league over this time period. This is bad news for the Baltimore Ravens backfield who cannot seem to figure out the lead back anyway. Neither Kenyan Drake nor Gus Edwards will see much running room when these two teams meet on Monday Night Football. Running back is very shallow this season so you might have to start one of them but be cautious. This is a bad matchup for the Ravens backfield.

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Jakobi Meyers had a productive game last week against the New York Jets. Meyers saw an incredible 13 targets in the game, catching nine for 60 yards and a touchdown. The last time Meyers had this kind of game was week 3. The next week, he saw just four targets. This volatility is not likely to get better against a good Indianapolis Colts secondary. On the year, the Colts give up the second fewest points to wide receivers. The Patriots might also rely on the ground game and defense to win this game, making the passing volume even lower. Jakobi Meyers is probably bench worthy this week.

Do not chase touchdowns, especially from low volume players. Mike Gesicki has a habit of doing well in games and then disappearing. After scoring last week, fantasy players might be thinking this is a trend. It is just incredibly hard to trust a tight end in this Dolphins offense. First, the team has dynamic playmakers at wide receiver that are the primary targets for the football. Second, Gesicki has caught three or fewer balls in six of the Dolphins eight games so far this season. In three separate games, he only caught a single pass. There have to be other options this week other than Mike Gesicki.

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