DraftKings NFL DFS Picks For Week 9 Main Slate: Believe In Malik Willis

This week's NFL DFS slate offers plenty of intriguing options, from Kenneth Walker as a heavy favorite ot the potential Jonah Coleman coming-out party.

Here are my top plays for the Week 9 DFS main slate.

Quarterback

Malik Willis vs. Detroit Lions ($5,100)

Malik Willis will likely be a popular redraft streaming quarterback this week, but he also projects as a strong value play in DFS circles.

After a slow start to the year, Willis has now scored multiple touchdowns in each of his last three games, averaging 20.8 fantasy points per game during that span. He’s also completed just over 66% of his passes over the last two weeks, as Miami’s passing game has found a bit of a rhythm with their young wide receivers finally healthy.

That’s a good sign, especially heading into a favorable matchup with the Lions. Detroit has been a pass defense to attack all year, and they continue to deal with key injuries on that side of the ball. The Lions are allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing signal callers (25.4), while every quarterback against them has scored at least two touchdowns.

Despite the Dolphins being 1-7, they’ve been fighting each week. But keeping games somewhat competitive has also kept Willis from airing it out, only eclipsing 30 passes twice all year. If the Lions offense does what it should do in this spot, we could easily see Willis set a season-high in pass attempts.

Willis also provides rushing upside, averaging 5.1 carries and just over 32 yards per game on the ground. His 9% designed-rush rate ranks third among quarterbacks, while his identical 9% scramble rate ranks fourth. Because the Lions play as much man coverage as anyone in football, they have been very susceptible to quarterback scrambles. We just saw Kyler Murray rush for 35 yards against them last week, and Detroit is now allowing the seventh-most rushing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks (20.9).

Others to consider:

Patrick Mahomes vs. NYJ ($6,100)
Jared Goff @ MIA ($6,600)

RELATED: Fantasy Life's NFL Betting Game Model provides bettors with projected spreads, totals and projected win percentage for the home team to help bettors accurately handicap all Week 9 games.

Running Back

Kenneth Walker vs. New York Jets ($9,000)

Following a historic start to his Kansas City tenure, Kenneth Walker has slowed down a bit as of late, rushing for a combined 105 scoreless yards on 35 carries over the past two weeks. He was outshined by Emmett Johnson in Denver last week, but Week 9 should look more like the early-season version of Walker.

The Chiefs are 10-point home favorites against the Jets on Sunday, which is already a good spot for a running back. And while it wasn’t really an issue against the Raiders last week, this Jets run defense is much worse without defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat in the middle.

In fact, with Sweat off the field this season, the Jets are allowing 4.4 yards per carry, four rushing touchdowns and 1.43 YBC/ATT, while posting a 55% defensive success rate. With Sweat off the field, they only allow 3.5 YPC and 1.14 YBC/ATT, while posting a 66.4% rush success rate. Overall, the Jets are surrendering the 12th-most fantasy points per game to opposing backfields (20.1), making this a plus matchup for Walker to get back on track and post a huge game.

Jonah Coleman @ Carolina Panthers ($5,300)

Last week, Jonah Coleman started the game as J.K. Dobbins’ understudy in the Denver backfield.

He ended it with the leading role.

Sunday started with Dobbins handling the first five carries of the game, while Coleman took most of the passing work. It appeared we were in store for Dobbins playing his usual role and Coleman taking the role of the injured RJ Harvey.

But everything changed to end the first half.

Late in the second quarter, Coleman started to play much more. And then Denver got inside the 5-yard line where Coleman played every single snap, though he was stuffed over and over again. Still, the Broncos started the second half the same way they ended the first—with Coleman dominating the backfield. During the final two quarters, Coleman out-snapped Dobbins 18-1, with the rookie making some key plays to help Denver defeat Kansas City, including a 52-yard catch-and-run followed by a 5-yard touchdown run. For the game, Coleman ultimately played 68% of the snaps and touched the ball 15 times.

Now the lead running back for the Broncos, Coleman sets up as a very strong play this weekend. The Broncos get one of the worst run defenses in football in the Carolina Panthers, a unit that is stuffing just 17% of runs at or behind the line of scrimmage this season, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. Carolina is also allowing 1.8 yards before contact per rush (5th-worst) to go along with a 10.1% explosive rush rate (9th-highest).

I expect a much more efficient game on the ground from Coleman this week, while he should stay involved as a pass-catcher. He caught four of five targets last week, and playing alongside Bo Nix will always lead to targets, as 27% of his pass attempts have been at or behind the line of scrimmage, the third-highest rate among quarterbacks. Fifteen to 18 touches against one of the league’s worst run defenses is a solid spot.

Sign me up.

Others to consider:

Christian McCaffrey vs. LV ($8,000)
Devin Singletary @ PHI ($4,600)

Wide Receiver

Puka Nacua @ Washington Commanders ($8,800)

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Puka Nacua has been extremely busy since the Rams lost Davante Adams. Over the past two weeks, Nacua has posted a massive 44% target share, while drawing a target on 39% of his routes. During that span, the Rams have deployed 13 personnel on 59 offensive plays, by far the most in the NFL. Nacua has run 12 routes as the lone receiver on the field since Adams has been sidelined, giving him virtually zero competition any time Los Angeles drops back to pass.

He has a great Week 9 matchup, facing a vulnerable Washington pass defense allowing the 13th-most fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts on the season. The Commanders continue to blitz at one of the highest rates in football, while playing Cover-2 on the back end. Nacua has been targeted on 36% of his routes against Cover-2 this season, the second-highest rate among receivers, while averaging a solid 2.30 YPRR.

The Rams will continue to force-feed Nacua screen passes, which could benefit him against a Washington defense allowing 9.6 yards after the catch per reception on screen passes, the 10th-worst mark in the league.

Stefon Diggs vs. Los Angeles Rams ($5,600)

Looking at the other side of this game, Stefon Diggs feels a bit underpriced.

Sure, the yardage wasn’t there, but he found the end zone again last Monday, his fifth score in six games. It was also his third touchdown from inside the five-yard line, as the veteran remains a popular target for Jayden Daniels when Washington gets in close. Diggs should remain very busy on Sunday, as not only are the Commanders obviously without Terry McLaurin, but now they could also be missing both Treylon Burks and Dyami Brown.

On paper, the Rams don’t look like a very inviting matchup. However, they could be without two starting corners, as Jaylen Watson is out for the season, while Trent McDuffie is dealing with a back issue. If McDuffie were to sit, that would massively boost this matchup. But even if he’s active, Diggs should be fine. The Rams have been elite at defending the perimeter, allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing outside wide receivers. But against slot receivers, they rank just 15th in fantasy points per game. Diggs, meanwhile, has lined up in the slot around 61% of the time this season.

Others to consider:

CeeDee Lamb @ IND ($8,300)
Rashee Rice vs. NYJ ($6,400)
Jaylen Waddle @ CAR ($5,700)

Tight End

Sam LaPorta @ Miami Dolphins ($5,100)

Sam LaPorta has now been very quiet over the past two weeks, hauling in four of seven targets for 51 scoreless yards against Green Bay and Minnesota. I wasn’t shocked to see LaPorta struggle last week, as he was asked to stay in and block more than he has all year against Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy scheme. As a result, his 73% route rate was his lowest of the season, but I expect that to climb back up towards the 80-90% range this weekend.

And given the matchup, that’s really exciting.

The Dolphins are coughing up 15.7 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season, the third-most in the NFL. They are also allowing 6.9 receptions per game to the position, also the third-most in football. Jameson Williams has been red hot as of late, and because he and LaPorta just aren’t allowed to both have good games, the latter has struggled. But this matchup might actually favor the tight end, so look for him to bounce back on Sunday.

Others to consider: