Welcome to the Industry Expert Consensus picks for Week 9 of the NFL season. As always, if you want to see how the experts performed last week check out my Week 8 Industry Expert Grading column and the Industry Expert Standings for all experts. So far this season the Consensus picks are sitting in the middle of the pack in the overall standings.
Three quarterbacks standalone at the top this week who were all selected 17 times (Brady, Rivers, Roethlisberger), looks like a must to get them in your cash games. I expected Drew Brees to be selected more after his huge game last week, but the experts seem to be fading him. I wonder if the general public will also. Running back is a little more spread out, but there is a gap after the top seven selections. The running backs provide a nice mix of expensive options down through cheap options. The wide receiver position has more high-priced players at the top again this week but has some cheaper options down the list that you can select to get some of those high priced wide receivers in your lineup. At tight end, it is all about Gates and Gronk, plus Heath Miller as the TE who faces the Raiders play of the week.
As a reminder, the number in the parenthesis is the number of experts that chose that player so you have more context regarding the gaps between players and the tiers.
Here are the consensus plays for Week 9…
Quarterbacks
Highly Touted
- Tom Brady (17) – Has had at least 275 yards and 2 TDs in every game this season
- Philip Rivers (17) – At least 300 yards and 2 TDs in five straight games and gets the Bears on Monday night
- Ben Roethlisberger (17) – Didn’t do too much in first game back from injury, but the experts like him to bounce back this week
Recommended
- Eli Manning (9) – Will be hard to duplicate his 6 TD passes last week, but gets a nice matchup against the Bucs
- Derek Carr (7) – Has 7 TD pass over last 2 weeks and still reasonably priced
Suggested
- Tyrod Taylor (4) – Expected to be ready to start this week, cheap option
- Jay Cutler (4) – Will need to put up some points against the Chargers on Monday night
- Aaron Rodgers (4) – Gets another tough defense (Panthers) this week
- Jameis Winston (3) – Faces Giants defense that just gave up 7 TD passes
- Drew Brees (3) – Huge game last week, but not many experts aren’t following the points here
Running Backs
Highly Touted
- Devonta Freeman (18) – Has had 130 or more total yards every game since Week 3
- Todd Gurley (13) – Tougher matchup for Gurley this week (at Vikings), not the chalk play, but still highly touted
- Jeremy Langford (11) – Expected to get a heavy workload with Matt Forte out, cheap option
- Mark Ingram (10) – Forgotten man in New Orleans with Drew Brees throwing for 7 TDs last week
Recommended
- DeAngelo Williams (9) – He was very productive the first two weeks with Le’Veon Bell out
- Doug Martin (9) – Has had 22+ touches in each of his last 4 games
- Darren McFadden (8) – Feature back for the Cowboys, but still fairly cheap
Suggested
- Dion Lewis (5) – Always good to have a piece of the Patriots offense
- Chris Ivory (4) – Jets are a big favorite in a home game against the Jaguars
- LeSean McCoy (4) – Reasonably priced for a former stud RB
- J. Spiller (3) – Khiry Robinson out for the year could mean more touches for Spiller
- Adrian Peterson (3) – Tough matchup, but he is always a threat for a big day
Wide Receivers
Highly Touted
- Antonio Brown (17) – Quieter day than many expected last week, could blow up this week
- Alshon Jeffery (17) – Targeted on 15 out of 33 pass attempts last week
- Odell Beckham Jr. (15) – Three touchdown catches last week and a good matchup with Bucs this week
- Julio Jones (12) – High price tag, but is usually worth it
Recommended
- Stevie Johnson (9) – With Keenan Allen out, experts expect Johnson to see more production, cheap option
- Michael Crabtree (9) – Has more targets than Amari Cooper and is cheaper
- Mike Evans (7) – Licking his chops after seeing Giants give up 7 TD passes last week
- Emmanuel Sanders (7) – Pick your favorite Broncos WR
- Demaryius Thomas (6) – Pick your favorite Broncos WR
Suggested
- Brandon LaFell (5) – Cheap WR option to get some exposure to the Patriots offense
- Julian Edelman (5) – At least 5 catches and 50 yards every week
- Stefon Diggs (5) – Price tag is creeping up, but a few experts “dig” him again this week
- Eric Decker (4) – Solid play if Brandon Marshall plays, could be great play if Marshall is out
- Amari Cooper (4) – More expensive than Crabtree, but has multiple TD upside
Tight Ends
Highly Touted
- Antonio Gates (13) – Could see even more targets than usual if Ladarius Green is out
- Rob Gronkowski (11) – High floor, high ceiling, high price
- Heath Miller (10) – Had 10 receptions with Big Ben back last week, now he gets to face the weak Raiders defense against the TE
Recommended
- Jordan Reed (9) – Has 5 or more receptions in every game he has played in
- Delanie Walker (8) – Most targeted receiver available for the Titans in a game where they will need to keep up with the Saints
- Greg Olsen (8) – Pretty expensive TE option, but he is the main target in Carolina
- Austin Seferian-Jenkins (7) – Hyped by a lot of experts, but still might not play, watch the injury reports
Suggested
- Charles Clay (4) – Had 5-82-1 earlier this season against the Dolphins (his former team)
- Benjamin Watson (3) – Coming off a big week, can he do it again?
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