NFL DFS Week 9 DraftKings Main Slate Look Ahead: Early Values in Our Projections

Week 9 features another nice 11-game NFL slate on Sunday afternoon following a morning matchup in Madrid. Seven games kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET for a busy start to the day, with four games in the late window. It should be another full Sunday of fantasy football action, so let’s take an early look at Sunday’s slate and see which players stand out as values in the projections.

From a game-script perspective, the San Francisco 49ers are a good place to start since they have the highest implied team total on the board as they host the Raiders. The Falcons-Bengals game matches that Raiders-49ers matchup for the highest over/under on the board, with the Cowboys-Colts and Lions-Dolphins games also offering point totals over 50. While kickoff is still a few days away, it’s never too early to start strategizing for your NFL DFS lineups for Week 9. Even in the middle of the week, some potential values are already popping in our early projections, and you definitely want to have them on your radar.

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Throughout the season, every Wednesday, I’ll be taking a look at the players who are standing out as top values for the coming week by using the early projections in our NFL Player Models. Of course, these models update frequently.

Things will likely change between now and Sunday, but it’s still good to have a plan of attack.

If there’s news between now and lock — and there will be — the models will update to reflect that.

As always, they’re powered by Sean Koerner — one of the most accurate fantasy rankers in the industry.

And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

Or you can just use our NFL DFS sims to effortlessly create advanced lineups.

Finally, make sure to check out all the projections available for purchase within the FantasyLabs Models. Subscribers now have the option to purchase Derek Carty’s THE BLITZ from our Marketplace.

You can also combine them to create your own aggregate projections:

NFL DFS Quarterback Values

Dak Prescott ($6,500) Dallas Cowboys (-6) vs. Arizona Cardinals (51.5 total)

In the FantasyLabs Consensus projections, Dak Prescott has the highest Projected Plus/Minus at quarterback for the second straight week. Prescott is the fifth-most expensive QB on the board, but he gets a great matchup against the Colts and is expected to air it out as Dallas looks to bounce back from a tough overtime loss to Gardner Minshew II and the Cardinals last week.

Minshew and J.J. McCarthy are bargain options worth watching, but Prescott projects to offer even more value, mostly due to his favorable matchup.

Last week, even in the loss to the Cardinals, Prescott had a solid game with 19.8 DraftKings points. He threw for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran for 20 yards and a second score. He was even sharper with 23.3 DraftKings points against the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 7, and he has been consistent with at least 17 DraftKings points in six of his seven games since Week 1.

The Colts gave up three passing touchdowns to the Jaguars last week and have given up 15 QB touchdowns in their eight games this season. They looked unmotivated and uninspired last week against the Jags, making this a favorable matchup for Dak and the Cowboys to get back on track.

Prescott has a pair of premium receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens who can be paired with him in a nice QB-WR stack. Ryan Flournoy is a more affordable option who has also been involved, so consider mixing him into the player pool as well.

NFL DFS Wide Receiver Values

Xavier Worthy ($4,400) Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5) vs. New York Jets (47.5 total)

Another team looking to get back in the win column in Week 9 is the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost back-to-back road games to the Seahawks and Broncos. Xavier Worthy has the highest Projected Plus/Minus at wide receiver in the FantasyLabs Consensus projections this week, as he has been stepping into a larger role for the Chiefs over the last few weeks.

Worthy has at least three catches and at least six targets in four straight games. He could be due for some positive regression after posting three catches for 11 yards and three catches for 13 yards over the last two weeks. He showed a higher ceiling with seven catches for a season-high 73 yards in Week 6 against the Chargers.

Worthy did get more work with Rashee Rice out for that ceiling game, but he still got seven targets against the Broncos in Rice’s Week 8 return. Since the Broncos and Seahawks have two of the top secondaries in the league, it isn’t surprising that Worthy had slightly down games. His salary has dropped to the point that he has the potential to be a great value in this bounce-back spot against the Jets.

The Jets have allowed nine wide receiver touchdowns this season, including six in their last four contests.

Worthy is getting enough attention from Patrick Mahomes in this offense to be a solid bounce-back play in Week 9.

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NFL DFS Running Back Values

Jonah Coleman ($5,300) Denver Broncos (-2.5) at Carolina Panthers (43.5 Total)

Two running backs stepped up in big ways last week and look set to emerge as lead backs for their teams in the next few weeks. Jonah Coleman had a monster game in Denver’s win against the Chiefs, and Tyler Allgeier stepped up for the Cardinals in their win over the Cowboys. In Week 9, the two rising options rank 1-2 in the FantasyLabs Consensus Plus/Minus projections at running back.

Coleman just edges out Allgeier since he is $100 cheaper and gets a very favorable matchup against the Panthers. The Broncos drafted Coleman out of Washington in the fourth round, and he looks ready to carry the workload for the next several weeks after returning in Week 7 from a four-game stint on IR.

In Denver’s huge statement win at home against the Chiefs, Coleman led the team in rushing and receiving. He ended up with 41 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and caught four of his five targets for 63 yards on his way to a season-high 20.4 FPTS.

With RJ Harvey (knee) on IR and missing at least the next three weeks, Coleman and veteran J.K. Dobbins will share time in the backfield. Coleman has looked much more effective than Dobbins this year. Dobbins could still vulture a touchdown in the right situation, but Coleman should be set for more work, especially after his success as a receiver in Week 8. That receiving role was Harvey’s specialty before his injury.

The Panthers have allowed the second-most DraftKings points per game to running backs this season, giving up 11 total RB touchdowns in their seven contests, including five in the last two weeks. If Coleman does get most of the work in this matchup, as expected, he’ll be in a smash spot at a very affordable DraftKings salary.

NFL DFS Tight End Values

Dalton Schultz ($3,200) Houston Texans (-5) at Los Angeles Chargers

The Texans return from their bye week to visit the winless Chargers. In that matchup, Dalton Schultz has the highest Plus/Minus projection of all tight ends in the FantasyLabs Consensus Projections.

Schultz could pick up some of the targets left by Jaylin Noel’s absence. Noel (toe) is on IR and will miss the rest of the season. The veteran tight end was already a very reliable PPR option and racked up 33 catches (4.7 per game) in his first seven games of the season. He exploded for 12 catches and 29 DraftKings points in Week 2 without Nico Collins, but he has also been part of the Texans’ recent success, catching nine passes on 12 targets for 78 yards in his last two games before the bye.

As one of C.J. Stroud’s most trusted checkdown options, Schultz should stay busy enough to be a good value this week against the Chargers. While the Chargers have not allowed a tight end touchdown since Week 1, they have allowed an average of 6.0 catches for 52.4 receiving yards per game to the position this season.

Schultz’s salary has slid under $3,500, which gives him a great chance to return value with both a high floor and a high ceiling in this matchup with the Chargers.

Pictured: Dak Prescott
Photo Credit: Imagn