It’s looking more and more like whoever you drafted is who you’ll have to ride for the season. Injuries and bye weeks are making it increasingly difficult to fill all your starting spots with confidence.
Quarterback and tight end matchups: the positions where people seem to take the most risk in fantasy football.
And this week? There actually seems to be some light in the tunnel for streaming options.
While only Pittsburgh and Tennessee are on bye, injuries keep piling up. But Week 9 has some key mismatches that, if you spend time looking through the numbers, you’ll find. Lucky for you, I have done it for you.
So, who are our top fantasy football Week 9 QB & TE streamers? Let’s dive in.
Editor’s Note: The majority of point values are based on standard scoring leagues.
WEEK 9 QB STREAMERS
J.J. McCarthy, New York Giants @ Philadelphia
The Giants have an in-division clash on the road this weekend and will likely be operating without their workhorse back, Cam Skattebo (hamstring). Which means they’ll turn to the once-benched Devin Singletary now that Tyrone Tracy is on injured reserve and Najee Harris was released.
How much the Giants will trust Singletary is up in the air, but he’ll likely have to prove it first. New York may not care to give him that chance if Skattebo’s injury is not week-to-week or he plays.
At 4-2-1, the Giants lead the NFC East, and allowing Philadelphia out of the division basement is not on their radar.
Both Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely are healthy and they should collect targets in this matchup. With how banged up the Eagles still are overall, McCarthy should see his pass attempts and completions increase for a fourth consecutive week.
J.J. McCarthy is QB 23 on The Wolf’s Week 9 rankings.
Bo Nix, Denver @ Carolina
If you gambled on Bo Nix against Arizona, it paid off. But the likelihood is he moved back to benches ahead of a home matchup with Kansas City after scoring less than 10 points against the Chiefs in Week 1.
Except, Nix put up his second 222-yard games in a row (yes, for real). He also had his second consecutive two-score game. Nix has only scored multiple touchdowns three times this season, and he’s riding the high of a back-to-back coming into this matchup with Carolina.
I’m weary that he and the Broncos are travelling cross-country for a 1 p.m. start against the Panthers, but this game could be a shootout.
Carolina is allowing around 22.5 points to fantasy quarterbacks per game this season, which is attainable for Nix in this hot stretch. He has put up 31 and 25 in the last two games.
The Panthers are next to last in the NFL in run defense, but with the recent headlines, they know the Jonah Coleman train is rolling into town. Denver’s running back corps is not a guessing game this week.
But if it is the predicted shootout, Nix can also throw to Coleman. Even before his more featured role, he has nine catches through three games and is averaging 33 receiving yards per game.
Aside from Pat Bryant, Nix has five healthy wideouts and three healthy tight ends.
Bo Nix is QB 16 on The Wolf’s Week 9 rankings.
WEEK 9 TE STREAMERS
Greg Dulcich, Miami vs Detroit
You’ve heard it multiple times this year in this series: Detroit is the worst team in the league against tight ends. And in Week 9, starting linebacker Jack Campbell, corner D.J. Reed and edge rusher D.J. Wonnum have already been ruled out.
Additionally, corner Ennis Rakestraw Jr. has one career start – and will double it on Sunday – starting opposite him, corner Roger McCreary has never consistently held a starting job. Neither has starting edge rusher Tyler Lacy or starting corner Khalil Dorsey.
Greg Dulcich has 11 targets in the last two games, and his role has increased in the Miami offense since Week 5. Dulcich is also averaging 17.2 and 10.8 yards per catch in his last two games.
And if you’re asking about Miami’s other receivers, don’t bother. Dulcich is out-targeting them all.
Greg Dulcich is TE 34 on The Wolf’s Week 9 rankings.
A.J. Barner, Seattle vs Arizona
I will preface this by saying this choice is likely better for leagues with 12 or more teams.
But the matchup (this week and next) paired with the quarterback change, could allow A.J. Barner to have one of those WTF weeks that Davis Allen (Rams) had a few weeks ago.
Barner is listed as the starting tight end, but that’s about as good right now as Travis Etienne listed as the starter in New Orleans. Thankfully, Barner is not injured, but his contributions so far this season have not been game-changing.
But he likely works interchangeably with Sam Darnold and Week 9 starter Drew Lock, based on how Seattle uses tight ends. This gives him the chemistry to be a safety blanket for Lock – at worst – against a team fifth-worst against the position and second-worst against quarterbacks.
He hasn’t found the end zone yet, but he continues to average five targets per game. If he hadn’t had nine in the high-scoring affair in Washington, I’d say he could have a season-high in Week 9.
A.J. Barner is TE 31 on The Wolf’s Week 9 rankings.
