Emmett Johnson Fantasy Football Start or Sit Advice for Week 9

Would you look at that? There’s another lightning-fast skill position player wearing No. 10 for the Chiefs, and he’s turning heads in the fantasy football community.

Rookie Emmett Johnson made his first real impact at the NFL level in Week 8, finishing his team’s narrow loss to the Broncos with 143 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. By DraftKings scoring, Johnson wound up with a healthy 28.3 FPTS last weekend.

Was it just a flash in the pan? Or can Johnson do it again? Let’s break down his value heading into Week 9’s matchup with the Jets.

Emmett Johnson Fantasy Outlook

There are two ways you can look at Emmett Johnson’s huge performance in Week 8. The first is very straightforward. On a team that is desperately lacking big play creators, Johnson looked like Kansas City’s most explosive offensive weapon — particularly on his 73-yard touchdown reception.

The other is likely a more measured take, though it’s also one that’s decidedly less fun. Johnson averaged an unsustainable 25.6 yards per touch against the Denver, and he needed to be that efficient, because he only garnered six touches in total. Johnson’s been almost a non-factor in the running game since Week 1, which, somewhat ironically, was the lone game in his rookie campaign where’s he’s exceeded six touches. It’s just a tough way to live as a fantasy asset.

Even more wild? Johnson was only on the field for 13 offensive snaps — his lowest output of the season. It’s certainly possible that Johnson’s massive achievement in Week 8 forces the coaching staff into giving the former fifth-round pick a slightly larger role, but even the most optimistic projection would probably be a 30% or a 35% snap share. Remember, Johnson’s behind Kenneth Walker III on the depth chart. Rashee Rice also returned from injury last Sunday, so the Chiefs aren’t quite as desperate for pass catchers as they had been in late October.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, in most normal 12-team fantasy formats, Emmett Johnson isn’t on the field enough to be anything more than a Hail Mary FLEX option. Though, he obviously has some real value as a handcuff and as an asset to stash in keeper leagues.

With that said, the Chiefs do have one of the highest implied point totals on this slate, and the Jets’ defense is spiraling at the moment, having conceded 30.7 points per contest dating back to the beginning of Week 6. This game could get lopsided enough that Johnson sees a larger workload that usual.