Fantasy Football Week 9: Biggest Sleepers at Every Position
When you find new faces to insert into fantasy football lineups it's euphoric, but don't forget grizzled veterans who can fuel a midseason run. Some of them are sleepers, too.
This week's biggest sleepers include notable names, former Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowlers and career starters.
Though some of our Week 9 selections have name recognition, they're not getting enough respect as fantasy assets.
We're going to change that with a call to action. Don't leave these guys on the scrap heap.
All sleeper picks are available in more than 50 percent of leagues based on FantasyPros roster percentages.
QB Matthew Stafford at Seattle Seahawks (32 Percent Rostered)
Matthew Stafford isn't a sleeper by name, but he's only rostered in 32 percent of leagues, which will change soon.
Last Thursday, Stafford had his best outing of the season, throwing for 279 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, finishing fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy scoring.
Los Angeles Rams wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp could play together for just the third time this season. When they both suited up in Weeks 1 and 8, Stafford threw the ball 49 and 34 times, respectively, two of his three highest totals in pass attempts this season.
Nacua suffered a knee injury at practice this week, but Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters he "wouldn't bet against the receiver playing on Sunday."
Stafford will likely test the Seattle Seahawks pass defense, which is tied for eighth in touchdowns allowed. Nacua and Kupp will likely see a lot of action in a critical NFC West showdown.
QB Joe Flacco at Minnesota Vikings (4 Percent Rostered)
On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Colts declared quarterback Joe Flacco their starter over Anthony Richardson for this week's Sunday Night Football contest with the Minnesota Vikings.
Flacco will get a favorable matchup against a pass defense that's giving up the seventh-most yards per game and tied for sixth in touchdowns allowed.
Over the last two weeks, Minnesota has surrendered six passing touchdowns. If the Vikings continue to blitz at the league's highest rate, leaving their cornerbacks on an island, Flacco should be able to pick apart their defense.
In two starts against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, Flacco threw for 548 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. He's in a good spot for a high-production fantasy outing.
Like Flacco's previous year with the Cleveland Browns, he's a viable fantasy option for the second half of the season.
RB Tyler Allgeier vs. Dallas Cowboys (40 Percent Rostered)
Fantasy managers may want to get accustomed to the Atlanta Falcons' two-man backfield instead of a Bijan Robinson-dominated ground attack.
In Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robinson and Tyler Allgeier nearly split the Atlanta Falcons' rushing workload in half, logging 13 and 12 carries, respectively. Atlanta may continue to divvy the running back touches in that fashion.
Allgeier has logged a double-digit number of touches in two of the Falcons' last three games, racking up 105 yards and scoring a touchdown in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers.
Atlanta will face the Dallas Cowboys, who have allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns and fantasy points to running backs while giving up the ninth-most rushing yards per game through eight weeks.
If there's any matchup to start two running backs in the same backfield, it's against the Cowboys' porous defensive front. Dallas has surrendered 184-plus rushing yards in four of its seven games.
Both Robinson and Allgeier could post RB1 fantasy numbers on Sunday.
RB Miles Sanders vs. New Orleans Saints (5 Percent Rostered)
Managers will have to scrape the bottom of the free-agent pool for this pickup, but Miles Sanders is worth a dart throw on the fantasy sleeper board.
On Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens, which opens up targets for Xavier Legette and the team's backup wideouts. That said, Sanders could continue to see an uptick in pass-catching opportunities as well.
Last week, the Panthers held Johnson (ribs) out. Without him, Legette and Sanders led the team in targets with seven apiece.
Sanders could be a mismatch playmaker out of the backfield with the ability to outrun linebackers and beat safeties in coverage.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Panthers could make Sanders available on the trade block with rookie running back Jonathon Brooks nearing his debut.
Carolina could bench Sanders to keep him healthy or showcase the versatile running back for trade purposes. In the latter scenario, he could see several targets on Sunday.
WR Jalen Tolbert at Atlanta Falcons (21 Percent Rostered)
Over the past few weeks, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks has been on injured reserve recovering from an infection in his knee following surgery, so Jalen Tolbert is the team's No. 2 wide receiver.
After his most productive outing of the season, catching seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, his receiving numbers tapered off. In the Cowboys' last two contests, he's recorded seven catches for 87 scoreless yards.
This week, though, Tolbert could be in line for another strong performance. He'll face the Atlanta Falcons, who give up the 12th-most fantasy points to wide receivers and rank 18th in yards allowed through the air.
Cowboys' star receiver CeeDee Lamb will draw a lot of attention from Falcons' lead cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. and Atlanta's safeties over the top, which could result in more looks for Tolbert on the perimeter.
WR Elijah Moore vs. Los Angeles Chargers (5 Percent Rostered)
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman garnered a lot of attention on the waiver wire, so he may not be available after his two-week stretch with 15 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown.
So, we'll dive deeper into the free-agent pool for Elijah Moore.
Over the previous two weeks, Moore has hauled in 14 out of 18 targets for 126 yards. Last week, he led the Browns in targets (12) with Jameis Winston under center.
Along with Jerry Jeudy, Moore lines up for a significant number of his snaps in the slot, so he'll match up against Los Angeles Chargers' slot defender Ja'sir Taylor, who's allowing a 100.8 passer rating in coverage.
With Winston set to start for the remainder of the season, the Browns' passing attack should be more potent with his big arm, which probably results in multiple pass-catchers posting noteworthy stat lines. If you missed out on Tillman, add Moore to your roster.
WR Tyler Boyd vs. New England Patriots (4 Percent Rostered)
Last week, the Tennessee Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs, and in the following matchup against the Detroit Lions, Calvin Ridley saw 15 targets.
Assuming defenses focus on Ridley after his Week 8 performance, his target share may not be sustainable. As a result, someone else will have more opportunities following Hopkins' departure.
Like Ridley last week, Tyler Boyd saw a season-high in targets (six), and he could be the pass-catcher who emerges in the Titans offense.
Titans head coach and offensive play-caller Brian Callahan likely trusts Boyd more than any of the other backup wideouts behind Ridley.
Boyd played under Callahan during their time with the Cincinnati Bengals between 2019 and 2023. During those five years, Callahan was the Bengals offensive coordinator under head coach and play-caller Zac Taylor.
Regardless of who starts under center for the Titans, Boyd may continue to see more than a handful of targets for the remainder of the season.
This week, Boyd draws a decent matchup against the New England Patriots, who are tied for ninth in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers and rank 23rd in pass defense for total yards.
TE Juwan Johnson at Carolina Panthers (5 Percent Rostered)
The New Orleans Saints offense will get a boost with quarterback Derek Carr set to return from an oblique injury that sidelined him for three games.
The Saints lost wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to a season-ending knee injury. Consequently, Carr will have a handful of targets to spread around the passing attack. He could lock on to one of his tight ends against the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers allow the most fantasy points to tight ends.
Juwan Johnson leads Saints tight ends in targets (24), catches (18) and receiving yards (184). Last week, he cleared concussion protocol and should be ready to suit up for a favorable matchup with the Panthers' 25th-ranked pass defense.
Remember, when these teams played in Week 1, the Saints scored 47 points. Johnson scored his only touchdown so far this season in that game.
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Fantasy points scored against statistics are provided by FantasyPros.
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Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.