5 breakout fantasy football stars to pick up for Week 9

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 31: Mike White #5 of the New York Jets celebrates after catching the ball for a two point conversion during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at MetLife Stadium on October 31, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 31: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins throws a pass in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on October 31, 2021, in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images) /

Mike White and Jordan Howard are among the top fantasy football pickups for Week 9.

The byepocalypse is over and Week 8 was a much more normal one for fantasy football managers. Only the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens were off on Sunday, giving us more football to dissect as the critical stretch run closes in.

Four more teams are on bye in Week 9, with the big headliner being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and all of their fantasy stars, although fantasy owners who start Terry McLaurin, D.K. Metcalf or D’Andre Swift will also be hurting as well. Let’s take a look at five pickups that can help your fantasy team in Week 9 with all rostered percentages referenced here courtesy of Yahoo leagues.

5. Top fantasy football pickups for Week 9 – Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa

Tagovailoa didn’t have a great matchup in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills and the results bore that out. The Dolphins scored just 11 points with Tagovailoa completing just 21-of-39 passes for 205 yards and a rushing touchdown, which is about as well as could have been expected from him against the stout Buffalo defense.

The beauty of fantasy football is that it is a matchup game and Tagovailoa has an extremely juicy matchup next week against the woeful Houston Texans, who have gotten routinely blown out over the past few weeks. Matthew Stafford put up a strong fantasy day against the Texans in Week 8, throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns before putting on his baseball cap with the Rams up 38-0.

This is a perfect streaming spot to use Tagovailoa, who is rostered in just 36 percent of Yahoo leagues, if you need to find a one-week fill-in for Tom Brady. Tagovailoa is just a week removed from a four touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons and should put up some huge numbers against Houston this week.

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