Do you have tough lineup decisions to make on Sunday? We’ve got you covered. Welcome to your one-stop shop for Week 9 fantasy football start/sit advice. In this article, Jeff Pratt and Dan Johnson highlight one pick from each of their positional start ’em, sit ’em articles for this week’s slate. Check out each article for a deeper dive into that position!
Quarterback
Jared Goff (Detroit Lions) vs. Minnesota Vikings
Detroit gets this in its building Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET—controlled climate, clean cadence, and a defense coming off a long night. Minnesota is pivoting back to J.J. McCarthy in Week 9, a change that can nudge pace and keep Detroit throwing four quarters. Goff’s 2025 line through Week 8 is steady QB1 math: 1,631 yards, 15 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 66.9 QBR. Efficiency holds when the reads are clean; it multiplies indoors.
The opponent data opens the runway. The Vikings have allowed opponents to complete 68.3% at 7.7 yards per attempt with an opponent passer rating of 104, surrendering 11 passing touchdowns to only three interceptions. Four days ago, the Chargers averaged 6.0 yards per play and piled 419 yards in a 37–10 win. That’s the recent tape and the season’s profile telling the same story: precision throws are available.
Detroit’s offensive structure fits the crack. The Lions are at +0.10 EPA/play and +0.23 EPA/pass, a top-tier efficiency footprint, and while their Pass Rate Over Expectation sits at −6.8%, it flips situationally when fronts soften or game flow accelerates. Indoors, Goff’s quick-game and play-action rhythm stress Minnesota’s money downs and middle windows, where high completion rates sustain drives. I’m projecting 32–36 attempts, 260–295 yards, and two to three touchdowns, buoyed by Detroit’s passing EPA edge and a Vikings defense that just leaked explosives on national TV. Start Goff confidently as a top-twelve quarterback this week.
Check out all of Dan’s start/sit Week 9 QBs here!
Running Back
Sit ‘Em: Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints) at Los Angeles Rams
Kamara has been determined to remain in New Orleans for the rest of his career, but his production as the lead back has tapered off over the last few contests. Since Week 4, the veteran is averaging a measly 3.06 yards per carry, failing to record more than 31 rushing yards in a game. Kamara has still bumped his fantasy floor due to his receiving capabilities, but as you would expect, he’s failed to hit double-digit points in three of his last four outings.
It certainly doesn’t help that game script typically takes the running game out of the equation quickly for the Saints. That may change in the second half of the 2025 campaign, but it almost certainly won’t this week against the Rams. L.A. allows the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs, leaving little room for optimism around Kamara’s fantasy prospects. The 30-year-old has also not been 100% for weeks as he continues to battle through an ankle injury.
There’s a chance Kamara could turn his recent string of bad showings around, but I would bench the star back this weekend.
Check out the rest of Jeff’s Week 9 RB start/sit picks here!
Wide Receiver
Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts (at Pittsburgh Steelers)
Indianapolis rides a 7–1 start with thirty-plus in six of eight and seventy-six across the last two, an offense humming on schedule and in rhythm. Michael Pittman Jr. keeps the chain moving and finishes drives: forty-three catches, 446 yards, and six touchdowns through Week 8. His role is sticky and defined—21.2% target share, 24.9% first-read rate, and 1.80–1.91 yards per route run depending on the source. The geometry fits his toolkit too: an 8.07-yard aDOT invites slant, glance, and dig volume that scales against soft zones and blitz replaces.
Pittsburgh’s defense has cracked. The Steelers rank last in pass defense by yardage at 273.3 per game and bottom-three overall by yardage allowed, with injuries forcing secondary shuffles. Quarterbacks complete 67.5% against them for 7.5 yards per attempt with a 97.8 rating, 13 touchdowns, and only five picks. EPA confirms the bleed: +0.07 defensive EPA/play allowed, a bottom-tier figure. They’re also living dangerously on money downs, permitting 41.8% conversions, while their pressure plan isn’t translating—39.3% blitz rate, 26.2% pressure, just three sacks in that early sample.
The Colts’ passing structure is clean—Daniel Jones’ timing, Jonathan Taylor’s gravity, and a coordinated first-read tree that feeds Pittman near the numbers. Expect quick-game answers to pressure, then shot-adjacent intermediates when Pittsburgh widens. Pittman’s usage + environment = bankable median with ceiling: eight to eleven targets, red-zone live given his six scores, and a top-twelve projection if Pittsburgh’s offense sustains pace at home. Fire him up.
Check out the rest of Dan’s Week 9 start/sit WR picks here!
Those are Dan and Jeff’s start ’em, sit ’em Week 9 fantasy football picks! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice next week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
