At the beginning of the week there were two top waiver adds; Mark Walton and Jaylen Samuels. The biggest difference between the two was that Samuels' value was contingent on James Conner missing time. That contingency came through and Samuels now projects as a top-12 running back in Week 9.

Without Conner or Benny Snell, I project 16 carries and five targets for Samuels against a Colts defense that has been up and down this season against running backs. 

The absence of T.Y. Hilton only helped Samuels' value as I find it less likely the Colts will put up a big number and make the Steelers throw the ball 40 times. But even when they do throw, I'd expect Samuels to be heavily involved in the passing game as well. 

Own Conner but missed on his backup? There are still a couple of guys available on waiver wire, they just won't be as good as Samuels.

Week 9 RB Preview
RB Preview
Who's Out

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

TB Tampa Bay • #22
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.
Edmonds may lose his backup role to Drake once David Johnson comes back. I'd like to hold him but understand if you can't.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 37.9% - Broken-tackle rate for Darrell Henderson, tops among players with at least 25 attempts. I'm trying to hold him as a stash.
  • 146 - Air yards for Miles Sanders, the most among running backs. 
  • 13.9% - Target share for Austin Ekeler since Melvin Gordon and Hunter Henry came back. That's not enough when you're only getting 3-5 carries per game.
  • 1 - Touchdown for Leonard Fournette despite the fact he's on pace for more than 2,000 total yards. 
  • 5 - Catches in three games for Le'Veon Bell since Sam Darnold returned. He had more than that in two of three games without Darnold. 
  • 21 - Touches for James White in three full games with Rex Burkhead this year. 
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
LV Las Vegas • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ KC KC -2.5
OPP VS RB
31st
PROJ PTS
4.5
RB RNK
46th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
331
REC
3
REYDS
11
TD
1
FPTS/G
4.5
NO New Orleans • #5
Age: 34 • Experience: 13 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs NE NE -3.5 O/U 44.5
OPP VS RB
2nd
PROJ PTS
10.9
RB RNK
NR
YTD Stats
RUYDS
470
REC
12
REYDS
96
TD
7
FPTS/G
15.1
TB Tampa Bay • #25
Age: 36 • Experience: 13 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs MIN KC -2.5
OPP VS RB
6th
PROJ PTS
9
RB RNK
25th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
362
REC
19
REYDS
129
TD
3
FPTS/G
9.8
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 9 Adds
LV Las Vegas • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ownership
60%
Mattison has spent most of this season in the stash section, but he has double-digit carries in two of his past three games and at least 50 yards in four of his past six. Jamaal Williams, Royce Freeman and Duke Johnson have all scored on this Chiefs defense in secondary roles, and Mattison could get as much work as any of those guys.
BUF Buffalo • #26
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ownership
62%
Johnson looked like the best back last week, and I'm hopeful that will earn him more touches. At the very least, he's used more in the passing game than Carson, and that's the best place to find success against the Raiders. Carson was also limited in practice this wee. If he's out Johnson would vault ahead of Mattison.
DET Detroit • #34
Age: 32 • Experience: 3 yrs.
Ownership
37%
Carson got the most touches for the Lions in Week 8. At the very least that makes him interesting against a bad defense like the Raiders. But you have to be really desperate to start him. Just watch the injury report on Sunday morning, because he's questionable.
Stashes
WAS Washington • #29
Age: 27 • Experience: 3 yrs.
Ownership
42%
Guice is the top stash priority. He's supposed to be back for Week 11 and that's right when the run schedule gets easier for Washington.
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ownership
35%
Much like Mattison, Pollard is just one injury away from a featured role in a very good situation. I prefer Mattison because of Cook's injury history, but both Pollard and Mattison need to be rostered virtually everywhere.
LAC L.A. Chargers • #4
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.
Ownership
7%
Edwards is looking at 15-20 touches per game with goal-line opportunities if Ingram goes down.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top Plays
ARI Arizona • #38
Age: 28 • Experience: 4 yrs.
Week 9 Prices
FanDuel
$5,000
DraftKings
$4,000
The pricing is really tight on FanDuel this week, so this value stands out like a sore thumb. I can't make a case for sitting him in cash games and it's not easy to make the case in tournaments. It's a lot easier to just play Samuels and get creative somewhere else.
Contrarian Plays
MIA Miami • #22
Age: 27 • Experience: 2 yrs.
Week 9 Prices
FanDuel
$5,700
DraftKings
$4,500
I'm glad Walton struggled a little bit against the Steelers. The fumble helps too. I wouldn't want to play a Dolphins running back as chalk, but I'll have plenty of exposure in tournaments with a low price and low ownership.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

Non-PPR Rank

PPR Rank

RB

FPTs

PPR FPTs

1

1

Christian McCaffrey

24.67

30.49

2

2

Dalvin Cook

21.07

24.78

3

3

Ezekiel Elliott

20.75

24.00

5

4

Leonard Fournette

18.05

23.24

6

5

Saquon Barkley

17.21

21.81

4

6

Nick Chubb

18.77

21.25

8

7

Aaron Jones

16.53

20.77

10

8

Jaylen Samuels

15.45

19.43

7

9

Josh Jacobs

17.04

18.96

11

10

Chris Carson

14.69

17.50

9

11

Tevin Coleman

15.75

17.27

13

12

Le'Veon Bell

13.11

16.33

15

13

Phillip Lindsay

12.34

15.72

20

14

Mark Walton

10.81

15.02

14

15

Marlon Mack

12.85

14.90

23

16

Austin Ekeler

9.96

14.37

12

17

Derrick Henry

13.34

14.18

18

18

Melvin Gordon

11.32

13.69

16

19

Mark Ingram

11.46

13.42

19

20

David Montgomery

10.90

13.06

26

21

Jamaal Williams

9.49

12.75

25

22

Royce Freeman

10

12.57

36

23

James White

7.06

12.49

22

24

Lesean McCoy

10.00

12.44

17

25

Sony Michel

11.35

11.87

21

26

Jordan Howard

10.55

11.25

29

27

Kenyan Drake

8.58

11.14

24

28

Adrian Peterson

9.73

11.12

31

29

Devin Singletary

8.10

10.33

32

30

Duke Johnson

7.74

10.30

40

31

Tarik Cohen

5.59

10.12

27

32

Carlos Hyde

9.40

10.00

30

33

Ronald Jones

8.45

9.92

28

34

Frank Gore

9

9.89

35

35

Miles Sanders

7.33

9.73

34

36

Ty Johnson

7.37

9.49

So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 9 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.