Every round of a fantasy football draft brings with it decisions to be made, pitfalls to avoid and potential league-winning upside if you make the right picks. And our analysts are here to make sure you’re well prepared for every round of your draft; here are their thoughts on what to do – and what not to do – with your ninth-round pick (rounds based on consensus ADP in 1/2 PPR scoring formats as of Aug. 3):
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Q1. Who has the greatest sleeper potential in Round 9?
The Ravens apparently had a first-round grade on JK Dobbins, leading them to select him in the second round despite having Mark Ingram on the roster. Ingram has crossed the 30-year-old threshold and running back is a young man’s game. If you’re drafting for pure upside, Dobbins has it. He won’t have a 15-plus touch role with Ingram in the mix, but if Ingram were to miss time, he’d be a must-start RB1/2.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
Marvin Jones isn’t exactly the sexiest pick, but he’s absolutely going to outperform his ADP if he can stay healthy. Jones and Golladay form a lethal duo in Detroit and they should be incredibly productive this season with Matthew Stafford back on the field. It doesn’t feel as good as selecting someone like Darius Slayton, who flashed last year, in the same round, but it’s the smarter decision.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
Emmanuel Sanders is getting up there in age, but there were few better landing spots for him than New Orleans. Sanders has an elite catch rate and will now have perhaps the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL throwing him the ball. He should see plenty of targets as the first legitimate second wide receiver option next to Michael Thomas, and if he can just improve on his touchdowns (he hasn’t scored more than four since 2016) could be in for a huge year. Ignore the old-man bias – Sanders is an excellent sleeper this year.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
Q2. Who has the greatest bust potential in Round 9?
I’m not sure why Emmanuel Sanders is being drafted in this range, as he’s now 33 years old and playing in an offense that’s clearly Michael Thomas’ baby. We watched Sanders decline as the year went on, finishing with 45 yards or less in nine of his final 11 games of the season (playoffs included), and that was on a team that lacked a true No. 1 option. In order to get Sanders targets, they need to be taken away from Thomas and/or Alvin Kamara, something that’s unlikely to happen.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
As someone who highly recommends streaming defense or waiting until your last pick to select a unit, it’s very easy to highlight the San Francisco 49ers D/ST as a bust candidate for Round 7. The likelihood that a defense repeats as the No. 1 fantasy option is very minimal and the cost to acquire the 49ers means that you’re sacrificing depth at other key positions. I’d suggest waiting several rounds and picking up a defense with a good week one matchup. If you draft the 49ers here, you have too much invested in them to ever drop them.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
Mike Williams led all receivers last year with an 18.1 aDOT as Philip Rivers didn’t hesitate to throw it up to him in deep in contested situations. Ordinarily, that would have probably made Williams a sleeper coming into this year, as his two touchdowns from last year were almost certainly due some positive regression. But with Tyrod Taylor replacing Williams, both the deep targets, and the number of targets, are likely to decline, and the Chargers should likely lean on their strong defense and running game. In other words, Williams has the potential to be completely unstartable this season, making him a bust even in the ninth round.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
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