Fantasy Football Week 9 running back rankings: Michael Carter looking to make it three good games in a row
Ranking the running backs for Week 9
By
Chris Towers
•
2 min read
With another superstar running back going down with an injury, you might think the position is especially thin for Week 9, but that actually isn't really true at the top, at least. Of the top 12 in preseason ADP, eight are going to be available for sure and should be considered must-start Fantasy options, and two more -- Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey -- could be back from their injuries. At least among the top options, things are OK.
Of course, if you've been paying attention you know that the top of the position is hardly the only thing that matters, and it gets a lot dicier once you get outside of the top 12. Cordarrelle Patterson is my No. 11 RB for this week, and he's got a tough matchup against the Saints coming off a pretty ugly game for the Falcons offense without Calvin Ridley. He's no sure thing, and neither is Michael Carter, my No. 12 RB in PPR leagues. His passing game role has been super valuable with Mike White at QB throwing 40% of his passes to running backs, but he also hasn't done much as a runner and really only has two good Fantasy games for the season. You should start him, but you shouldn't necessarily feel great about it.
And things only get sketchier from there, with a menagerie of backups and small-sample-size heroes making up much of the RB2 tier.
Get your first look at the running back rankings for Week 9 from yours truly. To see Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings' rankings, make sure you head here. We'll be updating this throughout the week with new notes and rankings as we get news and the rankings get tweaked, so make sure you bookmark the page.
Week 9 RB Rankings
- Najee Harris vs. CHI
- Austin Ekeler @PHI
- Alvin Kamara vs. ATL
- Ezekiel Elliott vs. DEN
- Aaron Jones @KC
- Jonathan Taylor vs. NYJ
- Darrell Henderson vs. TEN
- Dalvin Cook @BAL
- Cordarrelle Patterson @NO
- Joe Mixon vs. CLE
- Nick Chubb @CIN
- Myles Gaskin vs. HOU
- Michael Carter @IND
- Devontae Booker vs. LV
- Josh Jacobs @NYG
- Darrel Williams vs. GB
- Chase Edmonds @SF
- Christian McCaffrey vs. NE
- Mike Davis @NO
- Zack Moss @JAX
- Damien Harris @CAR
- Boston Scott vs. LAC
- Melvin Gordon @DAL
- Elijah Mitchell vs. ARI
- Devin Singletary @JAX
- David Montgomery @PIT
- James Robinson vs. BUF
- Jeremy McNichols @LAR
- Javonte Williams @DAL
- Adrian Peterson @LAR
- Kenyan Drake @NYG
- Khalil Herbert @PIT
- Tony Pollard vs. DEN
- Ty Johnson @IND
- AJ Dillon @KC
- James Conner @SF
- Nyheim Hines vs. NYJ
- D'Ernest Johnson @CIN
- Chuba Hubbard vs. NE
- Devonta Freeman vs. MIN
- David Johnson @MIA
- Alexander Mattison @BAL
- Jeff Wilson vs. ARI
- Brandon Bolden @CAR
- Kenneth Gainwell vs. LAC
- Salvon Ahmed vs. HOU
- Sony Michel vs. TEN
- Mark Ingram vs. ATL
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