Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Bills-Seahawks featuring LeSean McCoy, Russell Wilson, Christine Michael, more

The Week 9 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Seattle Seahawks features teams that pride themselves on strong defensive play going to battle. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Running back LeSean McCoy was quoted as saying he feels significantly better ahead of the team’s Week 9 game against the Seahawks. The signs point to him being ready to play. McCoy last played a full four quarters back in Week 6. In that game he scorched the San Francisco 49ers for 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It should be noted however that the Seahawks have given up the fourth fewest points to fantasy running backs this season. McCoy is Buffalo’s best weapon, but in a tough matchup on the road, he will have a hard time getting close to his projections.

Maybe McCoy can get some help from teammate and wide receiver Robert Woods on Monday night. Woods caught four passes for 50 yards against the New England Patriots in Week 8. He’s the team’s default No. 1 receiver with Sammy Watkins still dealing with a fractured foot. Percy Harvin is back with the team but he likely won’t produce anything of significant value in Week 9. Woods won’t be owned by many teams in standard formats, but he could produce some value in PPR leagues. Reaching his projections against Richard Sherman and the rest of the Seahawks is going to be really difficult.

Russell Wilson’s days as a top notch fantasy quarterback appear to be in the past. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 4. Even with the rushing ability he has out of the pocket, Wilson still needs to throw touchdowns in order to have value in fantasy leagues. Consider too that Buffalo is pretty good at defending opposing quarterbacks and it might be a good idea to start someone else in Wilson’s place. He’s got to find the end zone sooner or later. If he doesn’t do it in Week 9, Wilson won’t even touch his projected totals.

His fantasy owners can at least partially point the blame at running back Christine Michael. While Wilson hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in three weeks, Michael has rushed for three touchdowns in that same time span. It’s too bad the Seahawks ran only 19 offensive plays in the first half of Week 8’s loss to the New Orleans Saints. That’s part of the reason Michael was held to only 42 total yards. He should be better against the Buffalo Bills, but last week didn’t exactly set the bar high. This game might be a lot closer than most people think as both offenses are struggling.