Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings Review: Ryan Tannehill, Josh McCown help weather the bye-week storm

With six more teams on a bye this week, Chris Towers digs through the rankings for some value in Week 9.

Week 9 Rankings: Standard | PPR

Our trio of experts -- Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings -- publish their first rankings of the week every Tuesday, and Chris Towers is here to break them down for the week ahead.

1. Who is the best waiver-wire QB to stream?

• Jamey: Ryan Tannehill
• Dave: Josh McCown
• Heath: Dak Prescott

The Dolphins have found success in recent weeks by leaning on Tannehill less. With Jay Ajayi running wild, Tannehill has more than 30 pass attempts just once in his past four games. It should come as little surprise, of course, that Tannehill has passed for just two touchdowns in that span, given how inefficient he has been in his career. It has worked out for the Dolphins, but Fantasy players will need a lot more from him if he is going to be worth starting this week. The good news is, he's running up against a defense that has been absolutely dreadful so far this season. The Jets are allowing over 300 yards passing per game, with 15 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The pass rush is still trouble, but if the Dolphins can keep Tannehill upright, he can have success against this aging secondary.

If Josh McCown can just stay healthy, he can be a viable starting Fantasy quarterback. He has proven that again this season, totaling 18.4 and 22.6 Fantasy points in his two starts respectively this season. For all the Browns' faults, they have a decent line and some weapons in the passing game, and McCown is competent enough to put up numbers, especially when playing from behind. This week's matchup against the Cowboys is a tough one; the defense has been better than expected, and the Cowboys are pretty good about dominating the time of possession. However, McCown has a knack for ending up with solid numbers at the end of games that shouldn't go well, making him a perfectly fine fill-in -- assuming Cody Kessler is unable to play due to a concussion.

It's getting harder and harder to imagine the Cowboys moving away from rookie Dak Prescott as he continues to pile up wins. The offense has been humming without Tony Romo, thanks to the dynamic rushing duo of Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot. Prescott has really come into his own as a Fantasy player over the last two games as well, averaging 28.9 Fantasy points per game against a pair of tough defenses. This Browns' defense is, well, not so tough. The concern here might be that the Cowboys go up big enough early that Prescott doesn't need to do much in the second half, but if he's available in your league, he should still have enough value to be worth starting.

2. Which typical must-start QB are you sitting?

• Jamey: Derek Carr
• Dave: Russell Wilson
• Heath: Matthew Stafford

It's tougher to justify sitting a top-notch quarterback on a week when six teams are on a bye, but it shouldn't be hard to find room for Carr on your bench this week. With the Broncos on the schedule, it's hard to justify playing anyone but the best quarterbacks. As good as Carr is, he's certainly not matchup proof. The Broncos haven't surrendered 20 Fantasy points to a quarterback since Week 1, and held Carr to just 30 combined over two games last season. As good as Carr has been this season, this is too much to ask.

If you are looking for a reason to be optimistic about Wilson, his second-half run from a year ago is a pretty good place to start. After throwing just 10 touchdowns in his first nine games, Wilson went on an absolute tear to close the season, throwing at least two in each of his final seven games, with 24 total in that span. We certainly know he is capable of making up for lost time in a hurry, but it's hard to see him doing so at this point, given how hobbled he has looked. He has yet to rush for more than 16 yards in a game, and it's clear his ankle and knee injuries are holding him back. Wilson is probably underrated as a pocket passer, but his ability to make plays in and out of the pocket with his feet is what makes him special, and he just doesn't have that right now. Until he proves he is healthy, Wilson is a matchup-dependent quarterback.

Stafford has been a major disappointment over the past few weeks, tossing just two touchdowns against Washington and Houston in Weeks 7 and 8. And now he has to face the Vikings. And then he goes on a bye. That certainly isn't an ideal stretch, especially not for a quarterback who looked like he might have been making the leap to elite in the first half of this season. You probably aren't dropping Stafford, but it's hard to trust him against a Vikings defense that ranks right there with the Broncos as the stingiest to opposing quarterbacks.

3. Which RB moved up most from Week 8 to Week 9?

• Jamey: Charcandrick West
• Dave: Charcandrick West
• Heath: Jonathan Stewart

West's move up is obvious and predictable, and if Spencer Ware is forced to sit out, it should work out nicely for Fantasy players; Ware averaged 11.7 Fantasy points per game in nine starts last season. If he does get the start, expect plenty of work and nice production from West, especially with Jamaal Charles likely sidelined by continuing knee troubles as well. The Chiefs signed Bishop Sankey this week, a sign that they aren't expecting to have their full complement of running backs available this week. If West gets the opportunity, expect big things from him against an improved-but-still-mediocre Jaguars defense.

Cam Newton hasn't been happy about the beating he is taking from opposing defenses lately, and Stewart could be the primary beneficiary. He already has been, rushing for four touchdowns over the past two games, and if Newton is a little more hesitant to run the ball even on the goal-line moving forward after the big hit that left him concussed back in Week 4, Stewart could see a big boost in his Fantasy value. He's already been a pretty useful Fantasy option over the last two seasons when healthy thanks to his high workload, but had a pretty low ceiling most weeks due to Newton serving as the goal-line back. If Stewart sees an increase in work at the goal-line, he's going to be a solid starter most weeks.

4. Who is the best RB to stream?

• Jamey: Antone Smith
• Dave: Antone Smith
• Heath: Darren Sproles

Peyton Barber got the majority of the backup work two weeks ago against the 49ers, rushing for 84 yards on 12 carries, but it was Smith who stepped in to relieve Jacquizz Rodgers in Week 8. Smith played 22 snaps to Barber's three Sunday, and has to be considered the favorite to see more work Thursday against the Falcons if Rodgers and Doug Martin are sidelined by their injuries. However, Smith did touch the ball just five times on those 22 carries, and he may have just been in the game so often with the Buccaneers forced to pass so much. Smith and Barber will likely split work this week, which makes it tough to rely on either. However, both could have value as low-end fliers this week.

Sproles may not just be a situational player anymore these days. He played nearly 80 percent of the Eagles' snaps in Week 8, and Ryan Mathews seems to have lost the confidence of the coaching staff thanks to fumble issues. Wendell Smallwood also fumbled on his only carry Sunday, which probably won't endear him to the coaches either. That leaves Sproles as the lone back with any real promise here, and he has done a terrific job so far this season. He rushed for 86 yards in Week 8, while adding five catches, and could be in line for a similar workload if the Eagles' coaching staff has truly soured on Mathews. The Giants' defense is improved this season, but they shouldn't exactly scare you off, making Sproles a decent RB2 this week.

5. Which WR has the most to prove in Week 9?

• Jamey: Odell Beckham
• Dave: Kelvin Benjamin
• Heath: Brandin Cooks

Odell Beckham looked like he was finally back on track after his massive 222-yard performance in Week 6, but a hip issue seemed to limit him the following week. He ended up with just five catches for 49 yards and no touchdowns. Beckham is averaging a career-low in yards per game, and has scored just three times in seven games, a disappointing sign from someone who has been among the league's elite receivers in the first two seasons of his career. He has a tough matchup against the Eagles on the way in Week 9, but if the bye week allowed him to get healthy, he should be matchup proof. We'll see if that's the case.

It sure looked like Benjamin was in for a breakout after the first two games of the season when he hauled in three touchdowns and racked up 199 yards on 13 catches to open the season. Unfortunately, he has been largely held in check since, recording just one game with more than five catches, while averaging just 53.6 yards per game with one score over the last five. His numbers lately have been better, with 70 or more receiving yards in each of the past three, but he hasn't scored in that stretch, and has caught just 53.6 percent of the passes thrown his way. On the whole, Benjamin looks an awful lot like the guy he was as a rookie, except he hasn't been finding the end zone quite as much of late. If that trend continues into Week 9 against the Rams, it's going to be hard to view Benjamin as much more than a low-end starting option moving forward.

When Brandin Cooks plays at home, he's a stud. Even including his pedestrian rookie season, Cooks has averaged 80.9 yards per game on 5.6 catches, with 12 touchdowns in 17 career games at the Superdome. When he plays on the road, Cooks has five touchdowns in 16 games, while averaging 52.7 yards per game. For whatever reason, the Superdome is like Cooks' own personal Coors Field. He's a superstar at home, and a borderline Fantasy relevant receiver otherwise. The matchup against the 49ers is a good one, but does the location trump that? It will be interesting to see.

6. Who is the best WR to stream?

• Jamey: Kenny Stills
• Dave: Tyreek Hill
• Heath: Torrey Smith

These are all, naturally, big-play receivers, so you're just hoping any one of them can hit on a big play and reward you for taking the risk. Hill is probably the riskiest of them all, given his limited role -- he played just 21 snaps even in his breakout Week 8 performance -- but he does have a nice matchup against the Jaguars. Smith has a similarly solid matchup with the Saints, while Stills might have the best of the bunch, against a Jets defense that has been beat deep consistently. He also typically plays a healthy role, playing 92.1 percent of the Dolphins' snaps so far this season, which makes him a bit of a safer play among this group. Coming off a bye, he is owned in just 23 percent of CBSSports.com leagues, making him a nice flier.

7. Who is the best waiver-wire TE to stream?

• Jamey: Cameron Brate
• Dave: Austin Hooper
• Heath: Cameron Brate

Thursday's game between the Falcons and Buccaneers is expected to be such a shootout, even the tight ends might get in on the fun. Hooper will get the start with Jacob Tamme sidelined by a shoulder injury, and he already played 73 percent of the team's snaps in Week 8. He caught all five passes thrown his way for 41 yards, and gets a great matchup against this Buccaneers defense. Brate is likely to see a similar workload, as he has for much of the season, so the question is which do you like more, given the matchup?

Brate has been a consistent part of the Buccaneers' offense, but is averaging just 35.4 yards per game, making him touchdown dependent for Fantasy relevance. If we think this is going to be a high-scoring game, of course, his chances for finding the end zone go up, making him a fine flier.