Week 9 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Cardinals vs 49ers

The Arizona Cardinals look to bounce back from their first loss when they take on the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 9 NFC West divisional matchup. FanDuel Sportsbook is projecting a 49ers win, however, with San Francisco currently listed as the 1-point favorite.

Week 9 NFL Fantasy Picks

If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 9 matchup.

Rondale Moore Fantasy

Start Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals: A.J. Green could be sidelined due to COVID-19 in Week 9 and that means another Cardinals receiver will have to step up. We like Rondale Moore in this spot. Moore earned a starting nod in Weeks 1 and 2 before Green overtook him on the depth chart. That's the best case study of Moore operating without Green in the lineup and he excelled, catching 11-of-13 targets for 182 yards and 1 touchdown. Kyler Murray is also dealing with a sprained ankle and the Cardinals will be looking to get the ball out quickly to protect their quarterback. That screams a big workload for Moore. Against a 49ers defense that ranks 23rd in Football Outsiders' pass-defense DVOA metric, that's a great opportunity.

Elijah Mitchell Fantasy

Start Elijah Mitchell, RB, San Francisco 49ers: The Arizona Cardinals defense continues to show a weakness against the run, setting up another perfect opportunity for the red-hot Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell is fresh off back-to-back games with 18 carries and he's turned in a pair of touchdowns and 244 rushing yards during that stretch. Arizona's defense ranks ninth in Football Outsiders' rush-defense DVOA metric and allows the 13th-most rushing yards per contest (120.1). By contrast, Arizona ranks second in pass-defense DVOA. San Francisco managed just 186 passing yards in their previous contest against Arizona and will look to provide a heavy dose of the run game in this one.

James Conner Fantasy

Sit James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals: James Conner has his worst outing of the year in Week 9 when he rushed only 5 times for 22 yards against a staunch Packers defensive unit. Unfortunately, the 49ers boast a similarly difficult matchup and allow the 10th-fewest PPR points to opposing running backs this season. San Francisco also rates seventh in rush-defense DVOA. While Chase Edmonds did only rush seven times against Green Bay, he played in 59% of the offensive snaps compared to Conner's 37% mark. Edmonds is more of a receiving threat and it's a good idea to stay away from Conner this week.

Brandon Aiyuk Fantasy

Sit Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Brandon Aiyuk's fantasy performances are trending mostly in the right direction after four catches and 45 yards last week, but he should still be avoided in Week 9. The Cardinals are fantastic against the pass and allow the fourth-fewest passing yards per game (198.9) to opponents. Deebo Samuel would be the only 49ers receiver to trust in Week 9 thanks to his 10.3 targets per game average. Samuel also leads the roster with 72 targets and no other 49ers pass-catcher owns more than 30.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. 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.