NFL Week 9 gets underway with a Thursday Night Football showdown between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts at 8:20 p.m. ET.
In this article, I’ll be using various FantasyLabs tools and other industry metrics to break down the slate.
And don’t forget to check out our Lineup Builder if you like to hand build your lineups, or our Lineup Optimizer for those of you that like to enter multiple lineups into tournaments.
Studs
Jonathan Taylor had a quiet start to his season, but he has been rolling lately. He’s scored at least 21.2 DraftKings points in five straight weeks, and he’s posted a Plus/Minus of at least +4.97 in each contest. He hasn’t gotten the typical volume for a stud running back – he’s averaged just 15.8 carries and 3.2 targets over his past five weeks – but he’s made up for it with elite efficiency. Taylor has averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and 12.6 yards per reception this season, so he doesn’t need 20+ touches to put together a big game.
His price tag has skyrocketed of late, but he should still be able to return value vs. the Jets. The Jets rank just 23rd in Football Outsiders rush defense DVOA, giving Taylor an Opponent Plus/Minus of +4.7 on DraftKings. The Colts are also favored by 10.5 points, and Taylor has averaged a Plus/Minus of +8.29 in six games as a favorite of at least a touchdown (per the Trends tool).
Overall, Taylor owns the top Median and Floor Projections in our NFL Models. He should garner plenty of rostership on a slate with tons of value.
