Heading into Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season, workloads, snap shares and more trends have been established across the league’s backfields. The fantasy RB landscape hasn’t played out as expected due to injuries, leaving fantasy managers with plenty of tough decisions to make. With that in mind, let’s break down my fantasy football RB start/sit Week 9 picks.
Check out my full Week 9 start/sit article with picks at each position here!
Start ‘Em: Kimani Vidal (Los Angeles Chargers) at Tennessee Titans
After a massive first showing as the Chargers’ lead back in Week 6, Vidal took a step back in L.A.’s following matchup against the Colts, seeing a significant drop in usage and efficiency. This led to many fantasy managers erring on the side of caution for the Chargers’ last contest against a tough Minnesota defense. The second-year back responded by rushing 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown, firmly re-establishing himself as the guy in Omarion Hampton’s absence.
This time, I don’t think we need to worry about another dud following a big showing. There will be matchups over the coming weeks that could result in fewer touches for Vidal, but that won’t be the case against Tennessee. The Titans rank bottom-seven in rushing yards allowed and surrender the third-most fantasy points to opposing backfields. At this point, Hassan Haskins is little to no threat to Vidal’s usage, planting the latter in firm must-start territory this weekend.
Sit ‘Em: Rico Dowdle (Carolina Panthers) at Green Bay Packers
In the spirit of taking full accountability, Dowdle was one of my starts of the week last Sunday. It took approximately two drives to realize I had made a grave mistake. By no actual fault of Dowdle’s, Andy Dalton and the rest of Carolina’s offense put up arguably their most abysmal offensive showing of the season. The veteran back was actually efficient whenever he got an opportunity, averaging 6.75 yards per carry. Unfortunately, game script immediately took him out of the equation.
Bryce Young’s status will be key in determining what Dowdle’s fantasy ceiling and floor look like heading into Sunday’s clash with the Packers. If the starter is able to suit up, the 27-year-old back could be FLEX viable in deeper leagues, but it’s hard to feel confident. Despite being drastically less efficient, it was Chuba Hubbard who saw significantly more offensive snaps against the Bills. Hubbard also saw the goal-line opportunity in the fourth quarter, converting it into a touchdown.
This week, Carolina takes on a Packers defense that allows the third-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. All signs are pointing down for Dowdle just weeks after his breakout in Carolina.
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Start ‘Em: Bam Knight (Cardinals) at Cowboys
Heading into the season, if you had told me the de facto last man standing in Arizona’s RB room would be Bam Knight only eight weeks into the year, I would never have believed you.
However, that’s the situation Arizona finds itself in with James Conner done for the year, Trey Benson on IR and the other backs removing themselves from the equation with poor play. After leading the backfield just four weeks ago, Michael Carter was released on Monday. The 26-year-old signed with the practice squad, but his lack of efficiency (2.8 yards per carry) won’t lead to consistent touches. Emari Demercado committed one of the most egregious errors in recent memory and has barely played since, also missing time with an ankle injury.
That leaves us with Knight. The fourth-year back was efficient as the Cardinals’ workhorse in their last game against Green Bay, rushing 14 times for 57 yards and catching three passes. That production sets the stage for a much more significant day against Dallas this week. The Cowboys allow the second-most fantasy points to RBs and fourth-most rushing yards per game. Knight holds high-end RB2 value as the top guy until Benson returns.
Sit ‘Em: Alvin Kamara (Saints) at 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.
New RB start/sit picks drop weekly! Stay tuned for more RB start/sit Week 9 advice over the next few days.
Those are my RB start ’em, sit ’em Week 9 fantasy football picks! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice throughout the week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
