OwnersBox NFL DFS: Week 9 Picks

OwnersBox NFL DFS: Week 9 Picks

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

OwnersBox's SuperFlex contests provide participants with a chance to roster up to two quarterbacks per lineup, opening up the opportunity for major scoring boosts and more entertaining fantasy sweat overall.

Each week of the NFL regular season, we'll break down appealing candidates in the main Sunday slate for OwnersBox's NFL SuperFlex DFS contests. 

Quarterbacks

Josh Allen, BUF at JAC ($8,200)

Allen did it again in Week 8, racking up 35 fantasy points in a win against the Dolphins without even having to do much through the air. He racked up three total TDs on his way to his third straight game -- and fourth in the last five overall -- with more than 30 fantasy points. His Week 9 matchup appears to portend more of the same could be in order, as the Jaguars have been a sieve in the secondary all season while yielding 278.1 passing yards per contest and an AFC-high 75.6 percent completion rate at home.

Jacksonville has picked off just two passes while applying only modest pressure (11 sacks) in seven games. The Jags are giving up a hefty 11.8 yards per completion at home and have allowed 245 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts on passes to the deep right window -- an area where Allen has mustered 339 passing yards, three touchdowns and an 140 passer rating.

Tua Tagovailoa, MIA vs. HOU ($6,100)

Tagovailoa survived the trade deadline in a Dolphins uniform and he will be looking to help his squad snap a seven-game losing streak in Sunday's favorable matchup against the Texans. Tagovailoa's production unsurprisingly took a hit on the road against Buffalo's elite secondary in Week 8, as he finished with 14 fantasy points. The path to success should be easier Sunday, as Houston is allowing 253.2 passing yards per game and the fifth-highest completion percentage (71.0) of any team on the road.

The Texans are yielding an NFL-high 12.5 yards per completion on the road, and they've conceded the fifth-most passing touchdowns (15) to QBs overall. Houston has been tough on limiting QB rushing production on a yards-per-carry basis, but it's worth noting they're tied with the Chiefs and 49ers for most rushing TDs allowed to signal-callers (four). Additionally, with only 15 sacks through eight games, Houston shouldn't put too much pressure on Tagovailoa, who's already been reasonably well-protected by his offensive line (6.7 percent sack rate allowed).

ALSO CONSIDER: Matthew Stafford, LAR vs. TEN ($7,800) 

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara, NO vs. ATL ($7,200)

Kamara will likely be operating with Taysom Hill as his quarterback in Week 9, and although the versatile signal-caller's rushing prowess could lead to Kamara's touches taking a slight hit, Hill's presence could also help loosen up the Falcons' front seven a bit. Atlanta checks into the divisional clash allowing just 94.5 rushing yards per road game, a top-10 figure, but also having yielded a robust 43-325-2 line to running backs on 54 targets through the air in seven games.  

Kamara has been shouldering a heavy workload all season compared to prior years, logging fewer than 16 carries just once. He's put up between 16 and 30 fantasy points in his last three contests with a couple of notable performances through the air, and he has four total TDs in the last two contests alone. While Mark Ingram's presence may progressively send Kamara back down to prior volume levels, he should still be heavily involved Sunday in his customary dual role.

Aaron Jones, GB at KC ($6,800)

There's a bit more risk associated with Jones than there otherwise would be if Aaron Rodgers wasn't sitting out this contest due to COVID-19 protocols, but even if the Chiefs opt to stack the box a bit against fill-in Jordan Love in his first NFL start, the matchup remains a favorable one. Kansas City is allowing 121.8 rushing yards per contest, along with 4.6 adjusted line yards and 4.3 RB yards per carry. Running backs have also enjoyed solid production through the air against the Chiefs, which have surrendered a 50-451-1 line through eight games.

Jones already has 33 receptions and four receiving touchdowns on the season, and he's averaging an efficient 4.5 yards per carry. He checks in having scored 20 and 23 fantasy points in two of his last three games, and his red-zone role is more massive than ever this season with an average of just under 5.0 touches per game in that area of the field. Jones could be in position to benefit from KC's tendency to let runners get past the first line of defense – the Chiefs are ranked 27th in second-level yards per carry allowed (1.4), while Jones has an impressive 17.3 percent broken-tackle rate and the speed to quickly get up the field.  

ALSO CONSIDER: Austin Ekeler, LAC at PHI ($7,300); Josh Jacobs, LVR at NYG ($5,800)

Wide Receivers

Cooper Kupp, LAR vs. TEN ($8,000)

Kupp's inclusion almost needs no further explanation, as the fifth-year wideout has been on a tear all season. He'll come into Sunday night's interconference showdown with fantasy point totals ranging from 24 to 37 in the last three games, all contests in which he's eclipsed the century mark in yardage. Kupp has also seen double-digit targets in seven of eight contests and nine targets in the one game in which he failed to hit the mark.

The Titans have been up and down in the secondary all season, but they tilt toward being a below-average unit overall that tends to give up plenty of chunk plays even as they hold opposing quarterbacks to some of the lower completion percentages in the league. Tennessee has yielded the most receptions (132) and receiving yards (1,728) to wideouts, while tying with multiple teams for second-most TDs surrendered to the position (12). Kupp's role and volume is about as locked in as it gets, making him a click-it-and-move-on type of play in what could well be a high-scoring primetime showdown.

Stefon Diggs, BUF at JAC ($6,800)

Diggs has seen a salary drop from last week despite the fact he was able get into the end zone and produce a respectable 15 fantasy points against the Dolphins. The All-Pro wideout has five tallies of at least 15 fantasy points this season and has logged at least seven targets in all but one game. He'll be in position to exploit the deficiencies in the Jaguars' secondary described in Allen's entry, especially when factoring in Jacksonville has allowed an elevated 77.0 percent catch rate to wideouts while conceding an 104-1,346-6 line to the position.  

Tee Higgins, CIN vs. CLE ($5,300)

Higgins has continued to thrive in his second season, posting five double-digit fantasy-point tallies and a 29-353-2 line on 49 targets in six games. As those numbers demonstrate, Higgins remains a key component of the Bengals' passing attack despite the arrival and success of star rookie Ja'Marr Chase, and both players could be headed for big games in the Week 9 AFC North clash.

The Browns have allowed 13.8 yards per reception and nine receiving TDs to wideouts. Higgins has seen at least six targets in five straight, including tallies of 10 and 15 in two of those contests. The second-year speedster is also logging 25.5 percent of the Bengals' air yards and is averaging a red-zone touch per contest. The Browns could also well be down star cornerback Denzel Ward (hamstring) again Sunday, which would naturally further Higgins' chances of a strong return on a very reasonable salary.

ALSO CONSIDER: Deebo Samuel, SF vs. ARI ($7,200); Justin Jefferson, MIN at BAL ($6,600)

Tight Ends

Travis Kelce, KC vs. GB ($7,100)

It's often prudent to jump on a star player in tournaments the week after a bad game, especially if that contest also happened to be a highly visible nationally televised affair. Such is the case with Kelce in Week 9, as he famously put together a pedestrian 4-27 line that included a fumble on seven targets versus the Giants on Monday night. It's fairly safe to say the All-Pro tight end will be on a mission of redemption Sunday, especially with the Chiefs passing game as a whole looking for a much-needed breakout effort. The Packers corners are tough, which funnels plenty of action toward the tight end, as evidenced by the 43-393-3 line Green Bay has given up to the position on 53 targets. Kelce has otherwise looked like himself this season when factoring out last week's clunker, meaning you're getting a player with a ceiling well north of 20 fantasy points at what might be reduced rostering rates this week.

Dallas Goedert, PHI vs. LAC ($5,500)

The Chargers have been vulnerable to big plays from tight ends this season, as they've surrendered a hefty 13.4 yards per reception and five TDs to the position. As with the Packers, the Chargers' stingy secondary cuts off paths to big downfield plays and tends to force QBs to look for their tight ends more often, with the Bolts already having faced 50 targets to TEs in seven games. Goedert has between five and seven targets in three of his last four games, and he's hit the 70-yard mark in two straight. He also has four double-digit fantasy-point tallies in seven contests and will be in position to thrive when factoring in that a significant portion of the production the Chargers give up through the air comes in the short and intermediate areas of the field.

ALSO CONSIDER: Mike Gesicki, MIA vs. HOU ($5,200)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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