Week 9 fantasy football rankings: D-Hop across the pond

Week 9 fantasy football rankings: D-Hop across the pond
Photo by Getty Images

These are my very early ranks, so keep in mind I post these on Thursday. Make sure you check the injury report on Sunday for players that have missed practice. If it doesn't look like a player will play this week, I typically won't rank him. Keep in mind, these are PPR rankings, and don't forget to set your lineup for Thursday Night Football.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.

@JoshJordan975

@Moneyline975

@JerryBoKnowz

QB

1 Aaron Rodgers

2 Russell Wilson

3 Matthew Stafford

4 Deshaun Watson

5 Dak Prescott

6 Patrick Mahomes

7 Lamar Jackson

8 Derek Carr

9 Kirk Cousins

10 Josh Allen

11 Gardner Minshew

12 Jimmy Garoppolo

13 Tom Brady

14 Carson Wentz

15 Philip Rivers

RB

1 Dalvin Cook

2 Christian McCaffrey

3 Ezekiel Elliott

4 Saquon Barkley

5 Leonard Fournette

6 Aaron Jones

7 Tevin Coleman

8 Le'Veon Bell

9 Josh Jacobs

10 Nick Chubb

11 James White

12Chris Carson

13 Melvin Gordon

14 Derrick Henry

15 Mark Ingram

16 Mark Walton

17 Austin Ekeler

18 Phillip Lindsay

19 Marlon Mack

20 Jamaal Williams

21 Royce Freeman

22 Adrian Peterson

23 Tarik Cohen

24 Jaylen Samuels

25 Jordan Howard

26 Devin Singletary

27 Miles Sanders

28 Kenyan Drake

29 David Montgomery

30 Carlos Hyde

WR

1 DeAndre Hopkins

2 Amari Cooper

3 Mike Evans

4 Chris Godwin

5 D.J. Chark

6 Tyler Lockett

7 Julian Edelman

8 Stefon Diggs

9 Tyreek Hill

10 Adam Thielen

11 Kenny Golladay

12 Allen Robinson

13 Davante Adams

14 John Brown

15 Michael Gallup

16 T.Y. Hilton

17 Odell Beckham Jr

18 JuJu Smith-Schuster

19 Keenan Allen

20 Tyrell Williams

21 Golden Tate

22 Robby Anderson

23 D.K. Metcalf

24 Alshon Jeffery

25 D.J. Moore

26 Marvin Jones

27 Emmanuel Sanders

28 Danny Amendola

29 Christian Kirk

30 Jarvis Landry

31 Chris Conley

32 Terry McLaurin

33 Courtland Sutton

34 Devante Parker

35 Mike Williams

36 Curtis Samuel

TE

1 George Kittle

2 Travis Kelce

3 Hunter Henry

4 Darren Waller

5 Evan Engram

6 Mark Andrews

7 Zach Ertz

8 Jonnu Smith

9 Darren Fells

10 Jimmy Graham

11 Dallas Goedert

12 Greg Olsen

13 Jason Witten

14 Ryan Griffin

15 T.J. Hockenson

DEF

1 Bills

2 Patriots

3 49ers

4 Seahawks

5 Eagles

6 Cowboys

7 Vikings

8 Browns

9 Jets

10 Packers

11 Bears

12 Panthers

13 Titans

14 Colts

15 Jaguars

KICKER

1 Justin Tucker

2 Robbie Gould

3 Matt Prater

4 Mason Crosby

5 Harrison Butker

6 Jason Myers

7 Brett Maher

8 Joey Slye

9 Adam Vinatieri

10 Nick Folk

11 Josh Lambo

12 Steven Hauschka

13 Ka'imi Fairbairn

14 Dan Bailey

15 Chris Boswell

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The future is bright! Composite Getty Image.

Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.

Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.

Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.

Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.

The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.

Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”

And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.

Astros plate discipline

Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.

Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.

Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.

Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.

What is Dana Brown saying privately?

Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!

We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!

The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!


*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!

https://houston.sportsmap.com/advertise

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome