Fantasy football advice, Week 9: who to start/sit for Indianapolis Colts vs. Green Bay Packers

Bye week hell continues in Week 9 with six more teams on byes. And you thought it couldn’t have been worse in 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 Colts and Packers squaring off on Sunday, options, though few of them, still remain for fantasy owners.

Andrew Luck’s ceiling returns to its highest potential with a full arsenal of receiving options at his disposal, including T.Y. Hilton, who is no longer on the injury report despite dealing with a hamstring injury. In a game that has shootout potential, Luck, Hilton, and Donte Moncrief all deserve to be penned into lineups of all formats.

Frank Gore’s usage and goal-line prowess has made the veteran running back more than serviceable despite being in the twilight of his career, although he has a difficult matchup against a Packers defense that has hampered the fantasy production of running backs all season. Gore is likely a touchdown-dependent flex option for Week 9, but with six teams on bye, fantasy owners could certainly do much worse.

With Dwayne Allen set to return to action, Jack Doyle’s fantasy value may be reduced to solely being a receiving option in goal-to-go situations. It remains to be seen what kind of role Allen will return to after Doyle’s emergence in his absence, so while Allen’s presence dashes Doyle’s upside, Allen isn’t worth fantasy consideration for Week 9.

Allen, Phillip Dorsett and complementary running backs Robert Turbin and Josh Ferguson aren’t on the fantasy radar for Week 9.

Aaron Rodgers has looked more like the Rodgers of the past than the broken version of him in 2015 and the early-goings of 2016 of late, and now he draws a sieve-like Colts defense that may be without top cornerback Vontae Davis in addition to field general Mike Adams. Though the potential absence of Randall Cobb puts a dent in his ceiling somewhat, having Ty Montgomery back in action will certainly help. Montgomery’s hybrid role as a receiver and running back could have him pile up fantasy points against a Colts defense that has allowed the seventh-most catches to opposing running backs this season. Montgomery is a high-end flex option, and should be penned into lineups along with Jordy Nelson and target monster Davante Adams. The lack of a running game has enabled several receivers in the Packers’ offense to be fantasy-worthy.

The Packers’ depth has certainly been tested all season, and the remaining complementary players like Aaron Ripkowski, Richard Rodgers and Jeff Janis do not deserve fantasy consideration for Week 9 and beyond.