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Week 9 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Giants vs Washington

By Larry Rupp

Evan Engram's recent uptick in targets makes him a great start in Week 9.
Evan Engram's recent uptick in targets makes him a great start in Week 9. / Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
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A couple of NFC East divisional foes clash in Week 9 as the New York Giants go on the road to take on the Washington Football Team. Each team is looking for a win to stay in the race for the division title and Washington heads into the matchup as 2.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook's Week 9 NFL betting odds.

If you need help with your fantasy football lineups, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for the Week 9 Giants-Washington showdown.

Who Should I Start Fantasy Football

Start Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants: Evan Engram may not be living up to the hype he was surrounded with coming into the season, but he has started to trend in the right direction over the past two weeks. Engram has seen 19 targets over the past two games and caught 11 of them for 107 yards. Over the course of the season, Engram has played in over 80 percent of the offensive snaps in every game. Engram should see a high number of targets again this week against a Washington defense that has given up 408 yards to opposing tight ends this season (No. 22 in the NFL).

Start Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team: There is not much to like about the Washington Football Team when it comes to fantasy football, but wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been a bright spot on the offense. McLaurin's been targeted at least 7 times in every game this season and has reached at least 90 receiving yards three times. In fact, he has seen double-digit targets in three of the past four games. McLaurin draws a decent matchup in Week 9 as the Giants are giving up 252.8 passing yards per game (No. 23 in the NFL). If Washington wants to be successful in the passing game, quarterback Kyle Allen will look McLaurin's way early and often on Sunday.

Sit Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants: This is a tough matchup for all Giants' wide receivers, but especially Darius Slayton. The Washington Football Team has given up the least passing yards per game in the NFL (185.9) and allowed the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Over the past three games, Slayton has averaged just 40.0 receiving yards on 3.0 catches. While Sterling Shepard has a little bit of upside in this game due to the recent volume of targets he has been seeing, Slayton relies on chunk plays and that makes him a boom-or-bust player in fantasy football. With a matchup like this, he trends more toward being a bust this week.

Sit J.D. McKissic, RB, Washington Football Team: Washington's backfield has been an interesting storyline in fantasy football this year as rookie Antonio Gibson was expected to take over as the No. 1 option, but J.D. McKissic has stuck around a bit. McKissic outsnapped Gibson in the team's last game against the Dallas Cowboys, but saw just 7 touches compared to Gibson's 21. While McKissic is on the field a lot, his fantasy points come more from the passing game than anything else. That is tough to rely on as running back targets out of the backfield vary so much week to week. With Washington favored, the game script might be more favorable to Gibson than McKissic this week.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. 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.