10 RB sleepers to target for fantasy football Week 9
By Dustin Baker
If you’re in need of a running back to provide some support for your fantasy football lineup, check out adding one of these running back sleepers.
Notable hits for sleepers last week in this analysis included Jerick McKinnon, Boston Scott, Nyheim Hines, Damien Harris, Jamaal Williams, and Justin Jackson. Overall, these six players were not heavily sought after in 2020 fantasy drafts, but they did produce a profitable Week 8 output.
So, let’s find out who could surprise the masses during Week 9.
**Please note: The selection of these 10 sleepers is assessed from a 10-team, PPR league perspective.
1. Chase Edmonds (ARI)
Game: Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, 11/8, 4:25 pm EST)
Starting Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake is hobbled by an ankle injury, and it is unclear if he will play in Week 9 against the Dolphins. If Drake is unable to give it a go, Chase Edmonds will be the next man up as RB1. There are some weeks where Edmonds is a damn good RB2 to start as a sleeper because he catches the football out of the backfield. So, he is a no-brainer sleeper this week.
Miami allows 18.7 PPR points per game to tailbacks. That is the 10th-worst in the NFL. Edmonds may not be a sure-fire RB1 for every team in the NFL. Yet, for this contest in Miami, Edmonds will fill in admirably. Start him as a sleeper at RB2.
2. Justin Jackson (LAC)
Game: Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (Sunday, 11/8, 4:05 pm EST)
Jackson is another capable halfback that catches the football. It makes the 25-year-old a tremendous asset in relief for the Chargers usual RB1, Austin Ekeler. In Ekeler’s absence, it has been tricky at times to determine which running back will assume the workload. For the most part, Jackson has been nominated. He tabulated 142 yards from scrimmage in Week 8 against the Broncos, which is wickedly productive. The Raiders don’t stifle running backs all that much, so put Jackson into your lineup.