Quarterbacks are the subjects of two of the most prominent storylines for Week 9. However, the other storyline is a feel-good story about an offense getting healthy and firing on all cylinders.
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Fantasy Football Storylines
Can Jordan Love Play Through his Groin Injury in Week 9?
Sadly, Jordan Love didn’t come out of last week’s victory unscathed after exiting early. On the plus side, the injury wasn’t serious.
Will rest and treatment be enough to get Love ready for a critical division matchup against the Lions this week? Practice participation and how he responds — or doesn’t — to treatment will create a clearer picture later in the week. Still, his availability or unavailability will significantly impact the value of Green Bay’s pass-catchers.
According to RotoViz’s pace app, when Malik Willis started, Green Bay had an NFL-low 21% situation-neutral pass rate on 38 plays in Week 2 and Week 3. Detroit’s juggernaut offense and stout run defense will almost certainly force Willis to throw more often if he starts.
Can Willis get the job done as a passer? He wasn’t ready for the NFL when he was forced into duty for the Titans as a rookie. However, Willis has thrived in Matt LaFleur’s offense, completing 74.4% of his passes with a blistering 9.64 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, per Pro Football Reference. Lamar Jackson‘s 9.14 adjusted net yards per pass attempt are the most among qualified passers this year. Of course, Willis has a small sample of just 39 pass attempts. Regardless, it’s an encouraging sample.
The larger body of work and Willis’s previous struggles are grounds for tempering enthusiasm about Green Bay’s pass-catchers. Yet, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed are viable options with Love or Willis.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Doubs was first on the Packers in routes (39) in Willis’s start, snagging four receptions for 80 yards on five targets. Reed was second in routes (33) but paced the team in targets (eight) and receptions (six) and was third in receiving yards (59). Moreover, the second-year wideout had four rushes for 56 yards.
Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks cut into each other’s workloads too much to be trusted in a low-volume passing attack if Willis starts. However, they are deep-league desperation options in a potential shootout if Love is active. Tucker Kraft caught a touchdown from Willis last week. His utility as a fantasy starter depends on the manager’s alternatives at tight end rather than who starts at quarterback for the Packers.
Can Bo Nix Build on his Best Game as a Passer Against Baltimore’s Pitiful Pass Defense?
Bo Nix made the most of a cupcake matchup last week, setting new highs for completions (28), completion percentage (75.7%), passing yards (285), yards per pass attempt (7.7), passing touchdowns (three) and PFF passing grade. It was Nix’s third game with multiple touchdown passes in his previous four and his fifth time eclipsing 200 passing yards this year.
Of course, passing is only part of the equation for the mobile quarterback. Among quarterbacks this season, Nix is fourth in rushing yards (259) and tied for third in rushing touchdowns (four).
Nix is the QB19 in fantasy points per game (15.5). Yet, he’s in excellent form, finishing as the QB8 in Week 5, the QB9 in Week 6 and the QB3 in Week 8. Nix has another dreamy matchup this week. According to Pro Football Reference, the Ravens have coughed up the third-most fantasy points per game (21.2), the most passing yards per game (311.6) and tied for the most passing touchdowns allowed per game (2.13) to quarterbacks this season. As a result, Nix should finish as a top-12 quarterback this week, and I would only definitively rank Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Jayden Daniels ahead of him before digging in deeper for Week 9.
The Rams are Healthy and Spectacular
Unfortunately, the football gods have deprived us of a large sample of Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua playing together. Still, they’ve been a wagon when all have been healthy together.
Stafford lit up the Vikings in Week 8, completing 25 of 34 pass attempts for 279 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Nacua and Kupp each delivered the goods for fantasy gamers who rolled with them in their returns from the Injured List (IL). Williams wasn’t left out of the fun. He had 23 rush attempts for 97 yards, seven targets, five receptions, 19 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown against the Vikings.
Someone might get left out any given week. Regardless, the Rams are a fantasy treasure trove when everyone is healthy, and, as I often say, a high tide raises all ships. Finally, the effectiveness of LA’s healthy offense makes Blake Corum a premium handcuff, albeit with some uncertainty about how much Ronnie Rivers would mix in if Williams were hurt.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.