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Week 9 of the 2023 fantasy football season concludes with a Monday Night Football matchup between the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers. This NFL game is particularly interesting because it represents a strength against a strength and a weakness against a weakness.
The Chargers' elite offense will face off against the Jets' top-level defense, while the Jets' weak offense will take on the Chargers' struggling defense. This creates an intriguing scenario for fantasy football because it's difficult to predict who will take advantage of their direct matchups.
The following breakdown takes all of that into consideration, as well as many other factors, to suggest a list of players to avoid in the final Week 9 game. It should be helpful to managers looking for a Monday night miracle, those looking to hang on to a victory, and DFS players, among others.
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Monday Night Football Week 9 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em fantasy football
Managers must weigh a large number of variables for each available player when making fantasy football lineup decisions. This is one of the best strategies to maximize final scores in lineups, rather than blindly starting players based on name value alone.
Some of the factors that must be considered include recent individual performances, injury situations to relevant players, potential game scripts, direct weekly matchups, and projected offensive output, among many others. These variables help to determine which fantasy options to target each week.
The Start/Sit Optimizer makes this complicated process much easier. This useful tool considers all of the variables on any players in a given week to generate lineup suggestions and fantasy projections.
Managers who take advantage of it often gain an edge over the rest of their fantasy leagues. It was also used to help produce a list of potential targets and fades for a Week 9 contest between the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Official injury reports are always an important factor when making fantasy football lineup decisions on players from any game. In this particular MNF showdown, each team has a situation at wide receiver that is worth monitoring.
The Chargers will be without Josh Palmer, who has been serving as their WR2 since Mike Williams went on the injured reserve list. This means that rookie Quentin Johnston will likely see an expanded role.
The Jets are in danger of being thin at wide receiver with Allen Lazard questionable to play and expected to be a game-time decision. They recently traded away Mecole Hardman, so they lack depth in the position. Managers can expect Garrett Wilson to take on as large of a target share as he can handle, especially if Lazard is out.
All of these various factors, along with many others, were taken into careful consideration when coming up with the following list of potential players to target and others to avoid. This can be used for fantasy football lineups on Monday Night Football in Week 9 for the 2023 NFL season.
MNF Week 9 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Justin Herbert
The New York Jets will present a challenging matchup for superstar quarterback Justin Herbert. They have been one of the best overall defenses in the NFL this year, including allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Herbert still can't be left on the bench as he ranks among the top 10 players in his position, though his Week 9 situation is not ideal.
Austin Ekeler
While the Jets' defense ranks toward the top of the NFL in many statistical categories, they have ranked in the middle of the pack in defending fantasy running backs. Austin Ekeler is one of the best overall fantasy options whenever he's healthy and is a sneaky-strong play this week as the Jets defend the pass much better than the run.
Also Read: Austin Ekeler fantasy outlook
Breece Hall
Ever since Breece Hall became fully healthy, he has taken over as the featured back for the Jets. Dalvin Cook no longer threatens his workload as Hall is the focal point of their entire offensive game plan. Hall has finished among the top ten running backs in fantasy football in each of the past three weeks and four times in total this season.
Keenan Allen
Much like Justin Herbert, superstar wide receiver Keenan Allen must be started this week, despite playing in a difficult matchup. The Jets are the top-ranked fantasy defense in limiting points to the position and Allen will likely be covered by elite cornerback Sauece Gardner often. He still can't be left on the bench as he is the overall WR6 in fantasy football this year.
Also Read: Week 9 WR rankings
Garrett Wilson
When Aaron Rodgers went down with an Achilles injury, Garrett Wilson saw his fantasy value decrease with Zach Wilson taking over at quarterback. He has quietly bounced back strong in recent weeks, exceeding seven receptions and 12 targets in three of his past four games. The Chargers entered Week 9 allowing the most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, so Wilson is an excellent option.
Gerald Everett
One of the few weaknesses of the Jets' elite defense has been defending fantasy tight ends. They entered this week ranked in the bottom 10 in the entire NFL in doing so. Gerald Everett has quietly finished among the top eight tight ends in each of the past two weeks and could see additional targets this week with Josh Palmer out.
Managers looking to acquire any of these Week 9 targets should consult the fantasy football trade analyzer first.
MNF Week 9 Fantasy Football Sit 'Em Picks
Zach Wilson
The biggest improvement that Zach Wilson has made this season is that he is no longer throwing a ton of interceptions. He has totaled just one of them across his past five games. Despite him taking a step forward, and also having a favorable matchup this week, he can still be avoided in fantasy football. He has ranked among the top 20 quarterbacks just once this year.
Quentin Johnston
With Josh Palmer being recently placed on the injured reserve list, rookie Quentin Johnston will get a prime opportunity at an expanded role in a high-powered passing offense. While this makes him an ideal addition to fantasy football rosters, he should be left on the bench in Week 9. The Jets allow the fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers.
Allen Lazard
Whether or not Allen Lazard is available to play this week as he is listed as questionable with an injury, he is not a legitimate fantasy option either way. None of his potential replacements would be on the fantasy radar either, despite facing off with the Chargers' NFL-worst passing defense. It's likely Garrett Wilson that will be targeted as much as possible.
Tyler Conklin
The Jets' passing game hasn't been strong enough to support Tyler Conklin as a legitimate tight end streaming option. He has yet to finish among the top 12 players in his position in any week during the 2023 NFL season so far. This means he has never profiled as a starter in any week this year, so he is off the radar in fantasy football leagues.
