Fantasy Football Week 9 Running Back Preview: Waiver adds, deep stashes, starts, sits, and more

This is my ninth season writing for CBS Fantasy. I've been in the industry for around 15 years, playing Fantasy Football for more than 20. In those 20 years, there have not been a lot of running back waiver wires worse than the one we have in Week 9. 

There is not one running back in my top 36 at the position this week that is rostered in less than 65% of leagues. The lone hope is Tyjae Spears, and as of Tuesday morning, we aren't expecting him to play. If you are desperate for a starting running back in Week 9 your only option is to make a trade. Here are three backs I would target at different price points:

Tony Pollard has scored at least 14 PPR Fantasy points in three of his last four games and five of seven games this season. But he's on a terrible offense, Spears could be coming back soon, and Pollard didn't cost a lot on Draft Day. I'm hoping those three factors mean you could acquire Pollard for a mi-RB2 cost because I think he's closer to a top-12 running back the rest of the season.

Alexander Mattison should be cheaper than Pollard, but his volume has been very similar lately. Mattison has at least 17 touches in four straight games. He's coming off a terrible performance against Kansas City, but they are one of the most difficult matchups for running backs. You should be able to get him for a bench piece or a very small upgrade somewhere else.

Devin Singletary is the bargain rental. Tyrone Tracy is in the concussion protocol, and the Giants are on a short week, so we expect Singletary to handle the majority of the work in Week 9. The Giants face the Commanders, who have given up 5.35 yards per carry to running backs this year, second only to the Giants. He should be even cheaper than Mattison because he's hopefully just a one-week rental.

Now, let's get to the rest of the Week 9 RB Preview:

Week 9 RB Preview

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 9 at this time. Here's what it means:

• 7 -- James Cook has seven rushing touchdowns this season. He had four in his career entering 2024.
• 34.1% -- Tank Bigsbyr's 34.1% avoid rate is second only to Kenneth Walker.
• 15.2% -- Jonathan Taylor's 15.2% explosive rush rate leads all running backs.
• 20 -- De'Von Achane has seen 20 targets in the three games he's played with Tua Tagovailoa.
• 2.01 -- Aaron Jones is the only running back with more than 100 routes this year and a YPRR over two.
• 203 -- Breece Hall has run 203 routes this year, 28 more than any other running back.
• 26 -- Najee Harris has 26 red zone rush attempts but only one rush TD. Every other back with at least 20 red zone rush attempts has at least three rush TDs.

My full set of Week 9 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 9. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.