Senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano joins Jen Piacenti to give fantasy managers his top starts and sits for Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season.
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00:00 to set those winning lineups for week nine of the fantasy football season. SI senior fantasy
00:05 analyst Michael Fabiano joins us to help us do just that. All right, Fabs, who are we firing up
00:10 at the quarterback position this weekend? First off, quarterback is a dumpster fire this week.
00:16 We've got second and third string quarterbacks all over the place with four teams on a bye.
00:20 Pickens are very slim. We'll start off though with Dak Prescott who's had two straight games
00:26 with over 20 fantasy points. He's looked really good and he's got a great matchup this week. Huge
00:31 game for our beloved Dallas Cowboys, Jen, against the Philadelphia Eagles. Their defense has been
00:36 awful against quarterbacks, allowing 19 plus points, four times to the position, including 31
00:42 to Sam Howell just last week. So I'm starting Dak Prescott and I like Derek Carr this week against
00:47 the Bears. I mean, he's been relatively productive. He's not putting up like these bananas numbers,
00:52 but still listen to this matchup against the Chicago Bears. They have allowed 18 plus points
00:57 to six quarterbacks this year, including five who've gone over 22. So I think Derek Carr is
01:03 a nice option if you need a replacement at quarterback. And if we are able to sit a
01:08 quarterback, I mean, you're right, the landscape, it's like, it's so tough right now. If we can sit
01:13 a quarterback, who should we sit? This is going to sound crazy to you, but Sam Howell is my sit
01:18 of the week. He's also my QB 12. That's how bad it is. Like you're probably going to have to start
01:23 Sam Howell, but the matchup's not good this week against the New England Patriots. They've been
01:27 very tough on quarterbacks, especially at home. They've held some really good quarterbacks to
01:31 minimal totals to a tongue of Aloha. Jalen Hurts are on that list. So I guess beware Sam Howell.
01:37 And then you could probably sit Gino Smith. I remember that guy last year who was the QB five,
01:42 and I still couldn't believe he was Gino Smith. Now he's Gino Smith again. The numbers have not
01:47 been great. He's really only had one or two good games from a fantasy perspective,
01:51 bad matchup across the country against Baltimore. I am sitting Gino.
01:55 The running back landscape also is a little bit tricky. And that's evidenced by two of your starts
02:01 this week, one of which is in a committee. The other one just hasn't looked good, but you say,
02:07 go ahead and start Rashad White and Zach Moss. Rashad White's actually been better the last
02:12 couple of weeks, giving you mid double digit fantasy points because he's being utilized as a
02:17 pass catcher. Like if it's going to be this way the rest of the season and he's had 13 targets
02:22 the last two weeks, then heck yeah, fire him up in PPR leagues. And the matchup's really good
02:26 against the Houston Texans. Rashad White is an RV two this week. And you mentioned Zach Moss.
02:31 We kind of been waiting for this whole thing in Indianapolis to go in Jonathan Taylor's direction.
02:36 It hasn't. Zach Moss continues to play enough snaps and get enough touches to be a viable
02:42 fantasy starter. And he's got Carolina this week. Their defense has given up 15 plus points
02:47 to six different running backs. So it goes without saying that you're starting Jonathan
02:50 Taylor, but I like Moss this week too. Alexander Madison is on your sit list. And I'm curious as
02:57 to whether this has to do with the Vikings offense in general or another running back on the team or
03:02 what your reasons are. So give it to me. It's a little bit of both. This week, Jaron Hall is
03:09 going to be the starting quarterback for the Vikings. Have you guys heard of him? Maybe not
03:12 because he's a rookie, which means that, well, this is going to be a matchup where Atlanta can
03:17 kind of stop the run with a little bit of ease. Let's put it that way because I don't think Hall
03:22 is going to beat them through the air. And Madison also is losing touches to Cam Akers.
03:27 The matchup's not great against Atlanta. So beware Alexander Madison. Same thing goes for
03:31 Damian Pierce. Hey, I liked him last week. I thought he had a good matchup against the Panthers.
03:36 He did not make up for that great matchup with fantasy points. In fact, he scored 4.6, had a
03:43 couple of chances in the red zone, could not cash it in. This week, he's got a matchup against the
03:48 Bucs. Second fewest fantasy points allowed a running back since week five. Unfortunately,
03:53 Damian Pierce has regressed from a fantasy perspective in his second NFL season.
03:57 All right, let's move over to the wide receiver position. Who you got in your starting lineups
04:02 this weekend? I love Garrett Wilson. And you know, his ceiling took a hit without Aaron Rodgers.
04:08 He's still putting up decent numbers, right? 17 or more points in two straight games.
04:12 He's got the lightning bolts this week on Monday night football. They have really struggled against
04:16 perimeter receivers. So even though Zach Wilson's no great shakes, Garrett Wilson's still putting up
04:21 some pretty decent totals. And I also like Terry McLauren this week. You may look at this matchup
04:25 and think, well, wait a minute, this is against the Patriots. It's a bad matchup. Well, actually
04:29 their defense really isn't what it used to be against wide receivers. They've allowed 10 plus
04:34 points, 11 times to wide receivers, including five who've gone over 17. Terry McLauren's a hot player
04:39 right now. I'm going to stick with him despite the matchup that may not look great on paper,
04:44 but it's actually not that bad. You're sitting two wide receivers that are arguably two of the
04:49 top wide receivers in the NFL, but I'm guessing this has to do with their quarterbacks.
04:55 I stuck with TJ Moore last week and it didn't work out against the Chargers. Even though it
04:59 was a negative game script for Chicago, all the targets went to Cole Comet. This week,
05:03 you've got the Saints. Not a great matchup. They've allowed the third fewest fantasy points
05:08 to perimeter receivers. And once again, no Justin Fields. It's going to be the
05:13 Bajan, Tyson Bajan. So that's just not a good matchup and it's not a good quarterback situation.
05:19 And neither is the situation in Arizona. It looks like at least right now,
05:23 Clayton Toon is going to start. Now it could be Kyler Murray. We'll figure that out later
05:28 in the week, but right now it looks like it's Clayton Toon. And if it's Clayton Toon,
05:32 he's playing the wrong tune for me in terms of starting mark. He's Brown. And I know he's been
05:37 very good. This is also a bad matchup. Cleveland has been really tough against perimeter receivers
05:42 on their home field. So if you have depth and Clayton Toon starts for the Cardinals,
05:47 Hollywood Brown probably should be best on your bench.
05:52 Moving over to the tight end position. I absolutely love it when this happens, Fabiana,
05:55 but two of your starts this week were actually in our waiver wire column last week. So maybe
06:01 they're even still available now. If you're not in a super deep league, give them to us.
06:05 If I'm in a league where Dalton Kinkade is still available, I should probably find a better league.
06:09 I got to be honest with you right now. He's had two huge games in a row last week. He had 17 and
06:14 a half points. He's got the Bengals this week. They've allowed the second most fantasy points
06:18 at tight ends. I have Dalton Kinkade in my top five at tight end. That's how much I love him
06:22 without Dawson Knox in the mix. And I'm going to go and take some hill to listen three weeks in a
06:27 row. Double digit points. They're using him as a pass catcher. They're using them on RPOs as a
06:31 runner. They're using him at quarterback. Heck, they're using them everywhere. So take some hill
06:36 at a really thin position against a bad bears defense. I will roll the dice, throw that dart
06:41 and start to some hill if I need tight end to. OK, I'm really interested in your sit tight ends,
06:46 because as we know, it's always tricky to start tight end no matter what. And you just said that
06:50 Bajent targeted Kmet more than anybody else. Yet you have him on your sit list, which means there's
06:57 probably a lot of tight ends that you like starting this week. So give it to me. I'm so excited. Why
07:02 are we sitting Kmet? Kmet is still in my top 15 at tight end. OK, there are just options that I like
07:08 better. And the Saints defense, they've allowed an average of fewer than nine points per game
07:15 to tight ends this year. So listen, if you have to start a cold command, I get it. He's a low end
07:19 option. And that's really it. And he's been really inconsistent. So having a good week doesn't
07:24 necessarily mean he's going to have another. And then Tyler Higby, who is like living on this
07:28 sit em list at tight end last week, he actually wasn't terrible. He had around nine points,
07:33 but that's kind of his ceiling right now. He's got the Packers this week. They've allowed double
07:38 digit points to just one tight end all season long. And Matthew Stafford is hurt, which means
07:42 we could see Brett Rippen at quarterback for the Rams. Keep tabs on the status of Stafford
07:47 throughout the week and honestly keep tabs on the status of a lot of these quarterbacks,
07:52 because as I mentioned at the top, there are a lot of second and third string quarterbacks
07:56 who might be starting this week. And it is not a good situation from a fantasy perspective.
08:00 That's why I have Sam Hall as a sit em and my QB 12. I get it. It's confusing. Trust me,
08:07 I'm a little bit confused when it comes to quarterbacks this week as well.
08:11 Yeah, especially with four teams on by with quarterbacks that you probably would have
08:14 started because let's face it, Russ Wilson has been startable. Brock Purdy has been startable.
08:18 Jared Goff has been more than startable. And most people are still starting Trevor Lawrence. So it
08:23 is a very thin pool of quarterbacks this week. But hey, we got you to give us the best advice.
08:30 And that's all we need to win our matchup. Come get all of Michael Fabiana's advice. Start sits
08:34 for every position including defense and yes, even kicker@si.com/fantasy.