One-Hit Wonders or Here to Stay? Analyzing Week 9 Breakout Players: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Mike Gesicki, Rico Dowdle, Daniel Jones and More

Discussing fantasy football players who excelled in week 9 and then determining if more big games are coming or if it was a one-week blip.

Week 9 of the NFL regular season has passed, and now we get to step back and look over everything that happened.

Here, we’ll identify fantasy standouts from the previous week of play and then determine if they are here to stay or just a one-hit wonder. Here’s last week’s story. Also be sure to check out the panic meter series, with this week’s article coming out later.

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Wide Receivers

Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Demarcus Robinson are two wide receivers I want to write about after week 9.

With no DK Metcalf in the lineup, Smith-Njigba went off for 180 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions and 13 targets. Not having Metcalf to contend with helped JSN for sure, but it was his second straight game over 60 yards, and he’s had 50 or more yards in three of the past four contests.

While I do not expect Smith-Njigba to put up these kinds of numbers on a weekly basis, I also don’t think this was a one-week outlier. He’s got enough favorable matchups ahead to deliver more solid fantasy numbers, and I think he’ll remain a solid fantasy starting option in all formats for the remainder of the season.

While JSN might not be targeted this much when Metcalf returns, the Seahawks might also start involving the young wideout more if they fall out of the playoff picture. 

Robinson tallied 94 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions and nine targets in week 9. He took advantage of Puka Nacua missing a big portion of the game after being ejected.

While there is room for another receiver to step up in Los Angeles alongside Nacua and Cooper Kupp, I view Robinson’s performance as an outlier. This was just the second time he went over 50 yards in a game, and while he now has five touchdowns, those all came in three games.

Robinson might have the occasional big fantasy day, but they will be hard to project, and that means he’s only going to be a starting option in deeper leagues, and a pretty risky one at that.

Tight Ends

Mike Gesicki and Theo Johnson are the tight ends I want to discuss.

Gesicki went for 100 yards and two touchdowns on five catches and six targets in week 9. It was his second straight game with at least 70 receiving yards, and he scored for the first time.

In his case as well, an injury to a teammate helped. Tee Higgins was out with an injury, and he has been in several of Gesicki’s biggest games this season. Gesicki has barely delivered when Higgins has been on the field.

So I can’t really say that this was a one-game outlier or a performance that could be repeated unless I know the status of Higgins. He hasn’t practiced this week, which means Gesicki could be in for another big fantasy night on Thursday. When Higgins is out there though, Gesicki is a very risky fantasy starting option, and one I’d probably try to avoid.

Johnson had one of the best games of his young career in week 9, catching three of his six passes for 51 yards. It was the fourth time he’s reached at least three catches and first time he topped 50 yards.

The Giants are starting to look toward the future, and that means Johnson should be given plenty of looks the remainder of the season. He’s got a pretty favorable schedule ahead as well.

Those couple things make Johnson a fantasy player who is here to stay, instead of a one-week outlier. His production might be spotty for the next couple weeks, but in time, I see the young tight end becoming a decent weekly starting option. Scoop him up and stash him if you have a roster spot to play with.

Running Backs

Chase Brown and Rico Dowdle are the two running backs worth mentioning this week.

Brown attempted 27 runs in week 9, gaining 120 yards. He also had 37 receiving yards and a score on five receptions and targets. 

Brown has been emerging as the top back in Cincinnati, and after the injury to Zack Moss, Brown is the definite leader now. He might not get that many touches every single week, but as the workhorse back in a good offense, Brown has a good fantasy outlook every week.

I believe Brown is not only here to stay, but is close to being a locked-in fantasy starter from here on out. Even in tougher matchups, I like Brown as a starting option because of his scoring potential. 

Dowdle went for 75 rushing yards on 12 attempts in week 9. He also had 32 receiving yards, a touchdown, five receptions and six targets in the contest.

With Ezekiel Elliott inactive because of a disciplinary issue, Dowdle dominated the Cowboys’ backfield, getting 55 out of a possible 77 offensive snaps. Dalvin Cook played just seven snaps.

I don’t envision Elliott factoring into the backfield much going forward, and Cook isn’t going to turn back the clock. Dowdle is the Dallas back to own, and with Dak Prescott now out for a bit, I expect Dowdle to be even more involved offensively.

I think Dowdle is now here to stay, and is at least an average fantasy starting option for the remainder of the season. In tougher matchups, his big workload should allow him to score an average amount of fantasy points, while the favorable defensive matchups make Dowdle a near must-start fantasy player.

Quarterbacks

Daniel Jones and Geno Smith are the two quarterbacks I want to discuss this week.

Jones completed 20 of his 26 passes for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in week 9. He also had 54 rushing yards and a score on seven attempts.

Jones is a streaming option in the right matchups, and delivered another solid showing this past week. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in four games, but also has five games without a touchdown at all. He has only five interceptions on the season, and just two over the past five weeks.

Jones has now gone over 50 rushing yards twice, and the rushing score was his first this season. He’s tallied at least 20 rushing yards in all but three games - that might not seem like a big number, but a couple extra points can help offset some lower passing yardages.

Jones is another player where I can’t definitively say is here to stay or that week 9 was an outlier game. It all depends on the matchup he’s facing. The good news is, there’s plenty of favorable matchups going forward, so don’t forget about Jones when you are scrambling to find a starting QB.

Smith had 363 passing yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-34 passing in week 9. He also threw three interceptions and rushed for 16 yards on six attempts.

It was Smith’s fourth game over 300 passing yards, but just the second time he’s had multiple touchdown passes. He’s got more games with multiple interceptions (three).

Unlike Jones, Smith has a brutal schedule ahead, and for that reason (and some of his season-long numbers), I’d say Smith’s week 9 performance was an outlier. Smith might be able to reach decent fantasy numbers by passing a ton, but his inconsistencies make him a very risky fantasy starting option.

With more tough matchups coming, I’d try to stay away from Smith if I could.

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