Fantasy Football: 6 Sleepers for Week 9

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, sleepers are NFL players who may be flying relatively under the radar. That could be an under-rostered player in season-long leagues, a player with an exciting matchup in a given week, or even a potential star just ahead of their true breakout.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a fantasy football hipster looking to roster an exciting new player before your league-mates hear about him, a daily fantasy manager looking for a lower-salary player to fill out a lineup loaded with studs, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered. We'll be bringing you six fantasy sleepers each and every week throughout the season.

Fantasy Football Week 9 Sleepers

Mac Jones, QB, New England Patriots

FanDuel Salary: $6,700

If you read this column on a weekly basis, you might remember that we wrote up New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones back in Week 8 due to his matchup with the Miami Dolphins. It wasn't a disastrous outing -- he finished as the QB21 -- but wasn't exactly what we were hoping for from the third-year passer.

However, things line up even better for Jones this week, so we're jumping right back on the bandwagon as he and the Pats take on the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders' defense has been the second-most generous unit in the league when it comes to giving up fantasy points to quarterbacks. Their secondary has struggled to the point of allowing a league-high 8.4 adjusted yards per pass attempt -- just one-tenth of a yard shy of Patrick Mahomes' career-long 8.5 mark. As a rule of thumb, you don't want to make opposing passers look like Patrick Mahomes.

Even a quarterback who has struggled as much as Jones has this year should be capable of putting up fantasy points on this defense.

Washington's current metrics don't even reflect the moves the team made at the trade deadline -- the Commanders traded away two of their top pass rushers this week in Chase Young and Montez Sweat. There's a chance this defense completely falls apart in the coming weeks.

Jones can have a solid fantasy day in Week 9.

Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

Rookie first-rounder Quentin Johnston hasn't quite enjoyed the runout many fantasy managers had hoped for when the Los Angeles Chargers drafted him to pair with Justin Herbert. The former TCU Horned Frogs' playmaker could barely get on the field through the opening weeks of the season, even after an injury to starting wideout Mike Williams.

Fortunately, he's been getting increasingly more involved in the offense each week since the team's bye.

Johnston is now coming off of a career-best game in which he caught 5 of 6 targets for 50 yards. The Chargers were able to get the ball in his hands close to the line of scrimmage, which helped showcase the tackle-breaking skills he showed off at the college level -- he broke two tackles on this first-down grab in their Week 8 win:

It's still hard to project Johnston for a favorable Week 9 outing considering his seven weeks of substandard production as well as the team's tough matchup against the New York Jets' stingy defense. That said, he's a first-round rookie with an increasing role in a high-powered offense.

He's well worth a stash in season-long leagues and could soak up a fair amount of targets if the Jets focus on locking down Keenan Allen.

Jonathan Mingo, WR, Carolina Panthers

FanDuel Salary: $4,900

If you haven't been playing close attention, you might not be aware that the Indianapolis Colts are bleeding fantasy points to opposing wide receivers almost every chance they get. Just take a look at some of these fantasy performances some top receivers have had against Indy this year:

Really, the only times we haven't seen a wide receiver hang up a WR1 performance on the Colts have either been wacky game scripts (like the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 or the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7) or when facing a backup quarterback. If you have a chance to play a solid receiver against the Colts, you should do it.

This week, that puts Carolina Panthers wideout Jonathan Mingo into streaming territory. The rookie wideout posted the best game yet of his young career last week as the Panthers emerged from their Week 7 bye, and he could build on his budding connection with fellow rookie Bryce Young against the Colts' poor secondary.

Royce Freeman, RB, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: $5,500

The Los Angeles Rams are still trying to find their footing after dealing away running back Cam Akers and subsequently losing Kyren Williams, but LA has seemed to settle on a split backfield between Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman. Henderson has had the slight edge in fantasy scoring through their first two weeks working together, but Freeman still has upside on his own.

Freeman may not have Henderson's long speed, but he has been quietly efficient this year -- he has put up 110 rushing yards (second-most on the team) on just 21 carries (fourth on the team) for a solid 5.2 yards per carry. He has a larger frame than Henderson and could earn a spot as the team's goal-line back going forward -- especially after he punched in a short score in Week 8.

This week, the Rams will take on the Green Bay Packers, whose defense has allowed opposing backs to average the sixth-most fantasy points per game. And considering that quarterback Matthew Stafford is dealing with a thumb injury, the Rams could be more incentivized to lean on the ground game in Week 9.

If you're in a pinch at RB this week, you could do worse than Royce Freeman this week.

Devin Singletary, RB, Houston Texans

FanDuel Salary: $5,400

Devin Singletary's role with the Houston Texans has steadily grown as the season rolls on -- the veteran back is siphoning work away from teammate Dameon Pierce. While Pierce began the year as the every-down back, the pair is now splitting the running-back opportunities virtually down the middle.

Singletary has been more effective than Pierce with his opportunities, which could be driving the shift we've seen in their workloads. His 49% success rate eclipses Pierce's 40.4% mark, and even his more generic 3.7 yards per carry clip outshines Pierce's 3.0 mark.

At this rate, it wouldn't be shocking to see Singletary assume the lead-back role before the end of the season. He might even get a bit of a head start on that this week -- Pierce missed Wednesday's and Thursday's practices with an ankle injury, putting his status for Week 9 in doubt.

With that in mind, Singletary should be in line for a fair amount of work against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. It's not a great matchup -- the Bucs have yet to allow a running back to score a rushing touchdown -- but Singletary is one of the few remaining backs in fantasy with a relatively low roster rate who is still seeing consistent work on a week-to-week basis.

Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots

FanDuel Salary: $5,100

It's been a few weeks since Pats tight end Hunter Henry has been in the spotlight, but he's set up for success this week against the Commanders. If Mac Jones can pull off a solid enough passing day -- like we outlined near the top -- it stands to reason that his best pass-catchers should have solid days as well, right?

Henry was the Patriots' go-to guy in the red zone when things were clicking earlier in the season. It's hard to remember now, but he was the TE1 after the first two weeks of the season. His production fell off as the offense went through a serious midseason slump, but they've emerged from that slump in time for a soft Week 9 matchup.

Henry could see additional opportunities this week as the team alters its offense to accommodate the loss of top wideout Kendrick Bourne. The Pats are severely lacking in healthy, capable wideouts right now, which could push more looks to their tight ends.

With Henry playing significantly more snaps than either of Mike Gesicki or Pharaoh Brown, he is in line for the biggest upgrade in fantasy production.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.