Fantasy football advice, Week 9: Who to start/sit for Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns

Bye week hell continues in Week 9 with six more teams on byes. And you thought it couldn’t have been worse than Week 8? Now fantasy owners get to scramble as skill position players on the Patriots, Bengals, Washington, Cardinals, Bears, and Texans all get to sit out of lineups.

But with the Cowboys and Browns squaring off on Sunday, options, though few of them, still remain for fantasy owners.

Hey, breaking news: The Cleveland Browns are bad. Know what else is bad? Their run defense. Only the 49ers are allowing more than the Browns’ 143 rushing yards per game, and the Cowboys have developed a bit of a reputation for running the football. So guess what -- Ezekiel Elliott is the top running back in fantasy for Week 9. Obvious advice is obvious.

Dez Bryant made his return in Week 8, and despite catching just 4-of-14 targets, Bryant notched 113 yards and a touchdown against a stingy Eagles defense. Appearing fully healthy, Bryant is back in the WR1 conversation, especially against a Browns defense that has four games of allowing three touchdown passes to opposing quarterbacks. Dak Prescott deserves streaming consideration with such a good matchup at hand, and can be considered a QB1 in 12-team leagues.

Jason Witten isn’t giving fantasy owners much to be excited about these days, but against a defense that is hemorrhaging touchdowns to opponents, he’s worth a dart throw since six teams are on bye. Cole Beasley also deserves low-end flex consideration for the same reason, but owners that don’t play with PPR scoring would do best to avoid.

Complementary-role players in the offense such as Alfred Morris, Terrance Williams, and Brice Butler don’t see enough usage to warrant fantasy consideration.

Corey Coleman is back after breaking his hand earlier in the season. Fantasy owners haven’t seen much of him in 2016, but he has the look of a special talent after dominating college opponents and hanging a 5-104-2 line against the Baltimore Ravens. Coleman and Terrelle Pryor will draw a Cowboys defense without Morris Claiborne, and may have to play serious catchup. Though the Cowboys have been known to chew clock, the volume could be there for each Browns receiver to post worthy fantasy numbers.

Gary Barnidge is in a similar boat as Witten, as both are uninspiring options at tight end who may need to be started in such a heavy bye week. Barnidge has yet to find the end zone in 2016, and fantasy owners need to be prepared for that trend continuing. Duke Johnson may get a few extra looks in a game with a potentially dismal game script for the offense, but he isn’t anything more than a low-end flex option.

Isaiah Crowell hasn’t topped 63 yards since his punishing 120-yard effort against Washington in Week 4, and he faces another top-10 rushing defense on Sunday. He and Cody Kessler can remain on fantasy benches for owners who aren’t in dire situations.