Week 9 Thursday Night Fantasy Football Starting Options: Are Texans' C.J. Stroud and Tank Dell Worth Starts? What About Jets' Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams?
Breaking down the best fantasy football starting options from the week 9 Thursday night game between the Texans and Jets.
Week 9 of the NFL season kicks off with an AFC clash between the Houston Texans and New York Jets.
Let’s take a look at the best starting fantasy options from the contest. We’ll cover more of these players in start/sit decision stories on Thursday, so be sure to check back for those.
Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.
Quarterbacks
C.J. Stroud and Aaron Rodgers lead their teams into battle on Thursday.
Rodgers has 1,896 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season. He’s completed 61.6% of his passes and has added 44 rushing yards. He’s scored in double digits for fantasy points in seven straight games, but only has one 20-point showing or better all season.
Stroud has 1,948 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, four interceptions and has completed 66.5% of his passes. He has 84 rushing yards. Stroud has had a couple weak fantasy showings in a row, and could be in store for another with his pass catchers banged up.
The matchup for Stroud is also tough on paper, with New York allowing just 14 fantasy points per week. The matchup against the Texans is slightly above average for Rodgers, with Houston giving up 17 points per week. Both quarterbacks are projected for 14 fantasy points in this one.
At first glance, Stroud easily looks like the best starting QB in this game, but I’d give Rodgers the slight edge. The matchup is better for him, and he’s got more pass catchers to throw to. Stroud will still be started in a lot of leagues, but I wouldn’t feel too confident in him.
Running Backs
Joe Mixon is the clear workhorse back for the Texans. Dameon Pierce is out with a groin injury, so Dare Ogunbowale and J.J. Taylor will back Mixon up.
Breece Hall is the top back for the Jets, while Braelon Allen serves as the No. 2 RB.
In five games played, Mixon has 503 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 102 attempts. He’s added 115 receiving yards and a touchdown on 14 receptions and 20 targets.
Ogunbowale has just four touches over the past three games, but could get a couple more looks with Pierce out.
Hall has 428 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 111 attempts this season. He’s added 316 receiving yards on 33 catches and 46 targets.
Allen has 187 rushing yards and two scores on 49 carries. He’s got 74 receiving yards and another touchdown on nine receptions and 14 targets.
The matchups for the backs in this game are brutal. New York allows 19 fantasy points to opposing backs, while Houston only gives up 18.
In the week 9 projections, Mixon is projected for 18 PPR fantasy points, while Hall is set for 17. Allen is set at five points and is the last RB from this game with a projection.
I also like Mixon the most from this contest, and that’s because he won’t be giving many touches and snaps away. Hall is the clear second option, and is going to start in nearly every league because of his pass-catching ability. Allen is just a starting option in deep leagues, and one I’d like to stay away from in this tougher matchup.
Wide Receivers
Houston already has played without Nico Collins for a while, and now will be without Stefon Diggs for the remainder of the season.
That leaves Tank Dell as the top Houston wideout for week 9. He has 229 yards and two scores on 24 catches and 38 targets so far this season. Dell only has four targets in three of the past four games, and those have been when Collins has been out or Diggs getting injured.
In week 8, Xavier Hutchinson played the next-most snaps among the receivers. He only had 19 yards on a single catch and target though.
Robert Woods played 24 snaps and had 18 yards on two catches and targets. John Metchie only played 20 snaps, but finished with 29 yards on three catches and four targets.
For New York, Garrett Wilson continues to lead the way, while Davante Adams hasn’t really taken off with the Jets.
Wilson has 573 yards and three touchdowns on 51 receptions and 83 targets this season. He has 17 targets in two games since Adams was acquired.
Adams has 84 yards on seven catches and 15 targets in his two games with the Jets.
Allen Lazard will miss another game with his chest injury. With him out last week, Mike Williams played 36 snaps, but didn’t get a target.
The matchup for the Texans’ wideouts is extremely tough, as New York allows just 25 fantasy points per week. It’s a fairly average matchup for the Jets’ wideouts, with Houston allowing 33 points per game.
In the week 9 projections, Wilson leads the way at 14 PPR points. Dell and Adams sit at 13 points. The only other wideout in the projections is Williams, and he’s at only three points.
I like Wilson the best in this contest, although I think he and Adams both have good showings and deserve to start in most leagues. In a pinch, I’d start Dell, but I’m also not feeling great about it - I’d much rather start him in a deep league.
There’s no other wideouts I’d want to start from this game, but I’d rank them this way: Williams, Metchie, Hutchinson, Woods.
Tight Ends
Houston’s Dalton Schultz and New York’s Tyler Conklin are the top tight ends from this game.
Schultz has 223 yards on 23 catches and 38 targets this season. He could take on a larger role this week with Collins and Diggs now out.
Conklin has 240 yards and two scores on 26 grabs and 38 targets. He’s caught a touchdown in two straight games.
The matchups for the two tight ends are very tough. New York only allows nine fantasy points per week, while Houston allows seven.
Schultz is projected for nine PPR points, while Conklin is at seven points.
I like Schultz between the two tight ends, but wouldn’t feel great about playing him in the tougher matchup. I still think he can put up solid numbers without many other proven pass catchers on the team. Conklin is usually a decent streaming option, but I’d also try to avoid him in the brutal matchup.
Kickers
Greg Zuerlein has been kicking for the Jets, but he’s now on injured reserve. The team signed Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader to the practice squad, so it’s anyone’s guess as to which guy will get the nod.
Ka'imi Fairbairn does the kicking for the Texans. He’s 19-of-21 on his field goals and has made all 17 of his extra points.
Fairbairn is projected for seven fantasy points. Regardless of who kicks for the Jets, Fairbairn is the better fantasy option.
Defenses/Special Teams
The Jets’ defense allows 286.8 total yards and 21.3 points per game. New York has six takeaways and nine giveaways.
The Texans surrender 280.3 yards and 22.4 points. Houston has 12 takeaways and eight giveaways this season.
New York’s D/ST is projected for eight fantasy points, while Houston sits at six.
I also like the Jets’ D/ST more in this contest, but not as much as the projections do. I also wouldn’t mind playing the Texans’ D/ST, but both are more average starting options than elite ones to me.
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