Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Eagles-Giants featuring Darren Sproles, Odell Beckham, Eli Manning, more

The Week 9 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants features a classic matchup between division rivals. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Coach Doug Pederson has decided there’s a good chance running back Darren Sproles will get more carries moving forward. His volume should increase in time for Week 9. Teammate Ryan Mathews just isn’t getting the job done. Sproles has been a steady fantasy contributor in PPR formats for a long time. Should he get more carries, he will now provide more value in standard formats as well. Sproles racked up 86 yards on 15 carries against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8. He seems poised to take over the No. 1 spot. He’ll be facing a Giants defense that is only slightly better than average at defending opposing fantasy rushers this season. Sproles could be an intriguing starter for the rest of the season.

As far as the team’s passing game goes, Sproles and the Eagles will depend on Jordan Matthews when it’s time to go vertical. Matthews saw a season-high 15 targets against Dallas and parlayed those looks into 11 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. The yardage total was underwhelming. That said, the Eagles did not trade for a wide receiver prior to the league’s deadline, which was widely speculated. That leaves Matthews as the only viable option in the passing game for the remainder of the season. That can only help him surpass his weekly projections. Just keep in mind, however, that the Giants possess one of the best secondary units in football.

After posting a season-high 403 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6, quarterback Eli Manning was held in check by the Los Angeles Rams prior to the team’s bye. He threw for just 196 yards and no touchdowns in Week 7. Week 9 presents an equally tough matchup against an Eagles defense that ranks in the top five and containing passers. Manning will be in tough and shouldn’t be expected to challenge his projections. At the same time if he can connect with wide receiver Odell Beckham early and often on Sunday, anything is possible.

Speaking of Beckham. His play and fantasy production has improved over the last several games after a slow start of the season. Beckham has scored three times in his last three games, although he was shut out by the Rams in Week 7. While he may get criticized a lot for his emotional play, the fact is Beckham is arguably the most electric receiver in the game of football. He’s dealing with a hip injury and he’ll be up against a strong Philadelphia secondary unit, but fantasy owners will still have high expectations of Beckham. As well they should.