Thursday Night Football Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit' Em for Cardinals vs 49ers

Thursday Night Football games aren't always the most well-played NFL contests, since both teams are on short weeks, but that doesn't reduce their importance when it comes to fantasy football. With only a couple of days to think about start em, sit 'em options, they are often some of the toughest decisions of the week.

With that in mind, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for Thursday's Week 9 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers.

Who Should I Start Fantasy Football 2019

Start Kenyan Drake, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Making his debut on a short week in a tough matchup following a trade, there's definitely some risk in playing Kenyan Drake. With David Johnson and Chase Edmonds both banged up, though, there's also plenty of upside. Drake averaged 5.5 targets per game in Miami to start the year, and with Arizona sitting as 10.5-point underdogs, there should be plenty of passing volume for him in his Cardinals debut.

Start Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers: The Cards are giving up the NFL's most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks in 2019, thanks in part to 277.0 passing yards allowed per game (fourth most in the NFL). Jimmy Garoppolo hasn't posted big fantasy numbers this season, but the other time he faced a team allowing top-five QB fantasy numbers he notched a season-high 22.6 points against the Cincinnati Bengals. Look for him to take advantage of this matchup with another solid outing.

Who do I Start Fantasy Football

Sit Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals: The 49ers defense is one to avoid at all costs. They rank second in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA rankings, including first against the pass. The 49ers and the New England Patriots are the only teams holding opposing QBs to an average of single-digit fantasy points. Kyler Murray ranks 10th at the position in fantasy points per game, but he's a long shot to keep rolling in a matchup this difficult.

Sit Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Connected to Murray and the 49ers stifling QBs, they're also allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts. Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk could salvage some value in PPR formats, since playing from behind should mean plenty of targets are available, but their ceilings will be severely limited in this game.

For more help setting your lineups, be sure to check out our Week 9 PPR fantasy football rankings.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.