Week 9 RB Rankings: Kimani Vidal and Tyrone Tracy Rushing Into Opening

It's Week 9.

We're almost to the halfway point of the NFL regular season, and fantasy campaigns are closer to the end than the beginning.

When games kick off this Sunday, we'll be in the month of November.

November.

Unreal.

I know I say this every year, but it increasingly feels true: Time doesn't fly—it dies.

This game of ours, this fantastical amusement of absurdity, is an affair of attrition.

Sometimes, survival is sufficient.

Let's get into the Week 9 RB edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

Favorable betting factors and situational spots
Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, my Week 9 fantasy rankings, and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 9 fantasy football plays.

Access our full rankings and projections with a FREE FantasyLife+ subscription when you download and install Comet, an awesome AI-powered web browser via Perplexity. Get Comet AND FantasyLife+ for free. Win. Win. Win.

Week 9 Running Back Rankings

Kimani Vidal Should Stay Hot in Week 9

In Week 5, No. 1 RB Omarion Hampton (ankle, IR) suffered what increasingly seems to be a serious injury. Even now, Hampton is still in a walking boot. Although the Chargers will soon be able to designate him for return, he seems nowhere close to activation.

And that means Kimani Vidal could stay hot for a while longer.

In his three games as the fill-in lead back, Vidal has put up 300 yards and 2 TDs on 50 carries and 11 targets. Since Week 6, he's the No. 6 RB in Utilization Score (82, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

Vidal has little competition in the backfield, especially with depth RB Hassan Haskins (hamstring) dealing with a soft-tissue injury, and his matchup is nearly perfect against the Titans, who are No. 2 in largest fantasy boost allowed to RBs (+7.4).

On top of that, the Titans could be without two DL starters in EDGE Arden Key (thigh) and DT Jeffery Simmons (hamstring), both of whom missed last week.

The Chargers are traveling across the country for an early 1 p.m. ET game, but they're still 10-point favorites.

With a highly run-friendly game script, Vidal could have a career-best rushing performance.

Tyrone Tracy Is A Fantasy Starter Once More in Week 9

First things first: It sucks that RB Cam Skattebo (ankle, IR) is out for the year. He was a fun player to watch, and for fantasy purposes he was exhilarating to roster.

But he's now gone, and that means it's Tyrone Tracy time: He's the new No. 1 RB for the Giants.

Remember, last year—as a rookie—Tracy amassed 1,053 yards and six TDs on 180 carries and 47 targets in his 13 games as the team's No. 1 RB.

We've seen him in this role before, and he has gotten the job done.

For the season, Tracy is a priority waiver wire add, even in Guillotine Leagues.

And for this week, especially with four teams on bye, Tracy will be a must-start fantasy player in most leagues.

On the one hand, the Giants are 2.5-point dogs. On the other hand, they're at home, and the 49ers are playing their second straight road game and fourth in five weeks.

Additionally, the 49ers are severely injured in their defensive front seven.

EDGE Nick Bosa (knee, IR): Out
EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos (knee, hamstring): Out since Week 5
EDGE Bryce Huff (hamstring): Out Week 8
EDGE Sam Okuayinonu (ankle): Exited Week 8
DT Jordan Elliott (ankle): Exited Week 8
DT Alfred Collins (shoulder): Exited Week 8
LB Fred Warner (ankle, IR): Out
LB Dee Winters (knee): Exited Week 8

Tracy might not be Skattebo, but he could have Skattebo-like production in Week 9.

Bam Knight Plays Soft Cowboys Defense in Week 9

When this season started, and the Cardinals had RBs James Conner (ankle, IR), Trey Benson (knee, IR) and Emari Demercado (ankle) as the top players in their backfield, I forgot that Bam Knight was in the league.

And if I'm being fully honest … I actually forgot that he even existed.

But here we are: In Week 7—before the team's bye—Knight started ahead of Michael Carter, and he had 64 yards on 14 carries and 4 targets for the Cardinals.

While his production was modest, his usage was acceptable (58% rush share, 30% route rate, 65 Utilization Score), and now he has a matchup against the Cowboys, who are No. 32 in defensive rush SR (49.3%, per RBs Don't Matter).

What's more: The Cardinals—as non-divisional 2.5-point road dogs—are on the right side of QB Kyler Murray's splits (per Action Network).

Murray Outside Division: 35-22 ATS | +1.74 Margin | 19.7% ROI
Murray as Underdog: 33-18-2 ATS | +2.81 Margin | 24.2% ROI
Murray on Road: 27-13-2 ATS | +3.27 Margin | 29.2% ROI

With an extra week of rest, Knight should have little problem exploiting the soft run defense of the Cowboys.

The Checkdown

De'Von Achane (Dolphins) vs. Ravens: Even with their 34-10 win last week, the Dolphins have not performed to offensive expectations this season. Even so, Achane has 774 yards and 7 TDs this year on 107 carries, 43 targets, and an elite 92 Utilization Score. With QB Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins at home are 23-13 ATS (21.7% ROI), and the Ravens are No. 4 in most fantasy points allowed to RBs (25.1).

D'Andre Swift (Bears) at Bengals: Since the Week 5 bye, Swift has been one of the league's most productive backs with 24.5, 20.3 and 14.1 fantasy points on 384 yards and 3 TDs on 44 carries and 6 targets in three games. The Bengals defense is bad everywhere, and this week it might be without EDGEs Trey Hendrickson (hip) and Cameron Sample (knee).

Jaylen Warren (Steelers) vs. Colts: Warren has just 1 TD on the season, but since the Week 5 bye he has 294 yards on 40 carries and 10 targets in three games. Eventually, he will find the end zone. The Colts might be without EDGEs Tyquan Lewis (groin) and Samson Ebukam, and I—to my distaste—have the Steelers as a five-star bet in our Fantasy Life Game Model.

Kareem Hunt (Chiefs) at Bills: Last week Hunt got the usage that matters—100% goal-line share, 60% SDD, 50% LDD—and he converted that into 42 yards and 2 TDs. The Bills are No. 30 in defensive rush DVOA (4.2%), and they're dealing with injuries in their defensive front seven to DTs DaQuan Jones (calf) and Ed Oliver (biceps) and LBs Matt Milano (pectoral) and Terrel Bernard (ankle). With QB Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs as road dogs are 10-1-1 ATS (72.3% ROI) and 9-3 ML (87.0% ROI).

Tyjae Spears (Titans) vs. Chargers: Since Week 6, Spears has been the No. 1 RB for the Titans (51% snap rate, 61 Utilization Score), and the Chargers are No. 27 in defensive rush DVOA (1.3%, per FTN).

Notes for my Week 9 RB Rankings

Byes: This week, the Browns, Jets, Eagles and Buccaneers are on bye.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.

Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
Sun AM: Revise rankings
Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 pm ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 9 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
Against the Spread (ATS)
Over/Under (O/U)
Team Total (TT)
Moneyline (ML)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
Expected Points Added (EPA)
Success Rate (SR)
Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
Short Down and Distance (SDD)
Long Down and Distance (LDD)

Players Mentioned in this Article

KimaniVidal
RBLAC
PPG
9.81
Proj
9.26