Editor’s update No. 2: The Second Circuit has granted Ezekiel Elliott a brief administrative stay, which means he WILL play this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City has done a fairly solid job against running backs, but Elliott is a must-start. In the meantime, Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden lose all fantasy value for this weekend. They are worth hanging onto for when Elliott inevitably loses his appeal.
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Editor’s update: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a torn ACL on Thursday. He is out for the year, and his status for the start of the 2018 season is unclear. For purposes of Week 8, we are working on updating our rankings, but Lamar Miller’s value changes a little bit. He is still someone you start in most leagues, but it will be something to track with the change to Tom Savage at quarterback.
We are now past the midway point of the 2017 NFL season and fantasy football playoff races are starting to take shape. Six teams are returning from bye while six more are heading into the bye week, which means plenty of moves will need to be made if you expect to win this week.
Week 9 has the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers all on a bye. For the running back position that means no Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen, Duke Johnson, Melvin Gordon, Jerick Mckinnon, Latavius Murray, James White, Dion Lewis, or the most elite of these guys, Le’Veon Bell. There have been some question marks in that group, but also some serious firepower.
In suspension news, Marshawn Lynch returns from his one-game suspension for the Oakland Raiders. Dallas Cowboys superstar Ezekiel Elliott had his suspension reinstated. He will now miss the next six games unless he wins an appeal in the coming weeks. For now, Elliott is out and Alfred Morris is the back you want to pick up in his absence.
Quarterback rankings, Week 9
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zachary Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
RB standard rankings, Week 9
Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | ZS | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @ NYJ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Leonard Fournette | JAC | vs. CIN | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Todd Gurley | LAR | @ NYG | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Kareem Hunt | KC | @ DAL | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Lamar Miller | HOU | vs. IND | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Aaron Jones | GB | vs. DET | 9 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 2 |
| 7 | Mark Ingram | NO | vs. TB | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| 8 | Doug Martin | TB | @ NO | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 8 |
| 9 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @ CAR | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | Joe Mixon | CIN | @ JAC | 15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
| 11 | Chris Thompson | WAS | @ SEA | 14 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 14 |
| 12 | Adrian Peterson | ARI | @ SF | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 13 |
| 13 | Carlos Hyde | SF | vs. ARI | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 23 | 11 |
| 14 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | vs. BAL | 11 | 13 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| 15 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | vs. ATL | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| 16 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @ GB | 20 | 18 | 11 | 20 | 21 | 12 |
| 17 | Alex Collins | BAL | @ TEN | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 26 | 15 |
| 18 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @ PHI | 18 | 17 | 21 | 17 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. TB | 10 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 17 |
| 20 | Marlon Mack | IND | @ HOU | 30 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 |
| 21 | Alfred Morris | DAL | vs. KC | 28 | 26 | 17 | 24 | 14 | 20 |
| 22 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. OAK | 35 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 23 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @ CAR | 19 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 16 | 27 |
| 24 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | vs. LAR | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| 25 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | vs. DEN | 31 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| 26 | Frank Gore | IND | @ HOU | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 26 |
| 27 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | @ MIA | 24 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 30 | 25 |
| 28 | Robert Kelley | WAS | @ SEA | 34 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 30 |
| 29 | Matt Forte | NYJ | vs. BUF | 25 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| 30 | Jay Ajayi | PHI | vs. DEN | 21 | 28 | 28 | 35 | 28 | 40 |
| 31 | Derrick Henry | TEN | vs. BAL | 27 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 31 |
| 32 | Buck Allen | BAL | @ TEN | 29 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 34 | 34 |
| 33 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | vs. WAS | 41 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 |
| 34 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | vs. ATL | 32 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 33 |
| 35 | Darren McFadden | DAL | vs. KC | 33 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 35 | 28 |
| 36 | Ty Montgomery | GB | vs. DET | 36 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 38 | 36 |
| 37 | Theo Riddick | DET | @ GB | 37 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 39 |
| 38 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | vs. BUF | 22 | 39 | 40 | 40 | 47 | 35 |
| 39 | Damien Williams | MIA | vs. OAK | 39 | 38 | 39 | 38 | 39 | 37 |
| 40 | D'Onta Foreman | HOU | vs. IND | 50 | 45 | 38 | 39 | 37 | 38 |
| 41 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | @ MIA | 42 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 50 |
| 42 | Wendell Smallwood | PHI | vs. DEN | 49 | 41 | 42 | 42 | 43 | 42 |
| 43 | Jalen Richard | OAK | @ MIA | 38 | 43 | 47 | 47 | 42 | 43 |
| 44 | Eddie Lacy | SEA | vs. WAS | 45 | 42 | 43 | 43 | 46 | 41 |
| 45 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | vs. LAR | 44 | 44 | 46 | 46 | 40 | 45 |
| 46 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @ JAC | 47 | 49 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 46 |
| 47 | Devontae Booker | DEN | @ PHI | -- | 46 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 44 |
| 48 | Jamaal Charles | DEN | @ PHI | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 48 | -- |
| 49 | Andre Ellington | ARI | @ SF | 46 | 47 | -- | 49 | -- | 49 |
| 50 | Mike Tolbert | BUF | @ NYJ | -- | 48 | 48 | 48 | 49 | -- |
| -- | Matt Breida | SF | vs. ARI | 43 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Chris Ivory | JAC | vs. CIN | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 48 |
| -- | Jacquizz Rodgers | TB | @ NO | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 47 |
| -- | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @ JAC | -- | -- | 49 | -- | 50 | -- |
