Bold Predictions For Week 9 Fantasy Football: Devin Singletary & More

It’s time to get bold.

Every Thursday here at Fantasy Life, I provide a few bold predictions for the week ahead. Week 9 features a Hall of Fame running back who may be on the decline, as well as one of the most polarizing tight ends in football.

Fantasy Football Bold Predictions For Week 9

Derrick Henry Fails To Reach 7.0 Fantasy Points

Unless you are in a very shallow league, you probably don’t have the luxury of benching Derrick Henry this week.

But by Friday morning, you’ll wish you did.

It’s no secret that Baltimore’s offense is suddenly a major concern. Lamar Jackson is likely out for the rest of the season, while Tyler Huntley will also miss the rest of the year. The Ravens are trading for Jacoby Brissett, which will help stabilize things a bit. But not this week. With the Ravens playing on Thursday, undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano will start against Jacksonville, seriously capping the ceiling of this offense.

Of course, even in a bad offense, you don’t project Henry for seven or fewer fantasy points. But if he once again doesn't do much in the passing game, he could be in trouble in this spot. Jacksonville remains an elite run defense, surrendering a league-low 3.4 yards per carry. The Jaguars are allowing the sixth-lowest explosive rush rate (7.5%), while sporting the eighth-highest stuff rate (22.4%). Just 23.3% of the yards surrendered by this defense have come on the ground, the lowest rate in the league. Henry has always been a game script-dependent player in fantasy, and with Fagnano under center, it is much more likely the Ravens find themselves trailing. If that happens, Henry could end his day with 45-50 scoreless rushing yards with limited pass game usage.

Devin Singletary Finishes As A Top-15 RB

Full disclaimer: This mostly applies if Cam Skattebo (hamstring) doesn’t suit up. Because with Tyrone Tracy already on injured reserve and Najee Harris released, the Giants would have to turn to Singletary as their lead running back.

Motor has always been an underrated running back and if Skattebo is out, he would be in line for 17-20 touches against a reeling Philadelphia run defense. Since Week 4, the Eagles are surrendering 4.5 yards per carry (10th-most) and 1.34 YBC/ATT (11th-most). During that span, the Eagles are also sporting just a 56.6% rushing success rate on defense, a bottom-five mark in the league. Philadelphia is coughing up 20.6 rushing fantasy points per game over the past five weeks, the ninth-most in the NFL.

But let’s imagine a scenario where Skattebo does play. If that happens, I actually still think Singletary can finish as a top-30 fantasy option, providing some FLEX consideration for those in a pinch this week. The Giants clearly aren’t fully committed to giving Skattebo a massive workload, and that would especially be true if he isn’t 100% healthy.

Don’t sleep on Singletary in Week 9.

Kyle Pitts Finishes As A Top-Five TE

You simply have to completely throw out everything the entire Atlanta passing game displayed last week. Just remove it from your mind. Michael Penix really struggled in the awful weather, tossing four interceptions. Things should be much better in Madrid this weekend, which will benefit Pitts, who had been red hot prior to Week 8.

The Bengals defense (minus last week) may be a bit improved, but they still cannot cover the tight ends. Opposing tight ends are averaging 12.9 fantasy points per game against Cincinnati this season, the ninth-most in football, while also averaging the third-most targets per game (9.6). Meanwhile, only the Lions have allowed more receiving yards per game to tight ends than the Bengals (88.7), making this a get-right spot for Pitts. I’d honestly feel even better about Pitts if Cincinnati’s top corner DJ Turner, who is dealing with a heel injury, suits up for this game. Because if he’s active, he’ll likely shadow Drake London, and Turner shadowing has led to the Bengals allowing the fewest yards per game to opposing WR1s this season (36.4).