Week 9: Fantasy Football Love/Hate List

We have officially hit the mid-way point of the NFL season and that means not only are your favorite teams starting to engage in the home stretch of Playoff races, your fantasy teams are also starting to fight for those pivotal playoff seeds. In this article I will highlight my 5 Love and 5 Hates heading into Week 9:

Teams with a Bye: Chicago, Cleveland, LA Chargers, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh

5 Love Picks

QB: Jared Goff vs NYG- Jared Goff is having a very good sophomore season under new HC Sean McVay. He now has what he didn’t have last year: targets. This year Goff has Watkins and Cooper Kupp to throw to on top of a very good O-line. He faces a banged up Giants defense this week and I think he should be able to throw all over that secondary. Expect big things from him.

RB: Alvin Kamara vs TB- Alvin Kamara started the season as the 3rd string RB for the Saints as Mark Ingram and AP were ahead of him. Now that Peterson is gone, Kamara has been able to shine. The Saints are using a run heavy offense this season and we could see Kamara used heavy in the Red Zone like he was last week. Kamara is a must add and start this week as he faces a very weak Bucs defense that has allowed 117 yards per game and almost 4 yards per carry.

WR: Will Fuller vs IND- Will Fuller is official a man on a mission. He has 7 TD’s on only 13 receptions. His best game of the season came last week when he caught 5 passes for 125 yards while adding on 2 touchdowns. That was against the Legion of Boom, imagine what he can do against the horrendous Colts defense this week. Don’t even hesitate putting Fuller into your leagues.

TE: Jack Doyle vs HOU- Yes... I know what you’re thinking. How could you possibly love anybody on the Colts this week but hear me out. The Texans defense has really struggled with shutting down the Tight End the past few weeks and Doyle has really come up for the struggling Colts team. Expect a good week from the Colts TE.

FLEX: Alfred Morris vs KC- Zeke has been re-suspended for about the 100th time this season (don’t worry he’ll be back next week probably) and now the Cowboys have to look at the backups to fill his void. The Cowboys announced that Morris was taking reps with the first team during practice this week so all signs point to Morris taking most of the snaps this week. Most RB’s can put up numbers with that O-line in front of them so pick up Morris now even if it’s against a good Chiefs defense.

5 Hate Picks

QB: Andy Dalton vs JAX- Let me start by saying I do think Andy Dalton has started to show improvement fantasy wise since having a terrible start to the season and he always has the dangerous AJ Green to throw to. That being said I hate his defensive matchup this week. Dalton squares off against the Jaguars who have been one of if not the best defense this season. Even worse is that they are coming off a bye week meaning the defense is all rested up. Expect Dalton to get sacked and picked off all day.

RB: Marshawn Lynch vs MIA- I was as excited as the next person to see Beast Mode return to the league this year but he has done nothing but disappoint this year Fantasy wise. This week’s hate isn’t so much that I don’t think he can run all over Miami’s defense its more that he has been very inconsistent and he is coming off a 1 game suspension. I would keep him on the bench this week.

WR: AJ Green vs JAX- This may come as a surprise to most because well… its AJ Green but trust me there is a method to my madness. He is facing the Jaguars defense who has done a great job shutting down some of the best WR’s in the league this season. In this case I am not saying bench Green because obviously the rewards with him outweigh the risk but just don’t be surprised when a less than favorable matchup takes away from his production. There are btter option this week.

TE: OJ Howard vs NO- OJ Howard has been one of the most disappointing rookies this season. An absolute monster coming out of Alabama he has not been productive in the Bucs offense at all this year. To make matters worse, there is a good chance Winston doesn’t play this week due to further injuring his shoulder. Also the Saints D has really stepped up this season so I do not believe that Howard can produce this week.

FLEX: Frank Gore vs HOU- I’ll keep this one simple. The Colts have been an all around disaster this season and I do not see it getting much better. Frank Gore has not been a solid option for a few years now and he goes up against a good run stopping Texans defense. Just leave him on the bench where he belongs.

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