Welcome to the fantasy football Week 9 running back rankings hub!

Troubles abound at QB for New Orleans but they’ve got a week to figure it out. Alvin Kamara should run roughshod over the hapless Falcons this week. 2021 breakouts like the 49ers’ Elijah Mitchell and the Jets’ Michel Carter hug either side of the RB1/2 borderline. Philly’s Boston Scott and Jordan Howard are (agonizingly) both in the top-36 of the position with rookie Kenneth Gainwell kicked to the curb. KC’s Derrick Gore turned heads early on Monday but Darrell Williams had handily out-touched by him night’s end.

Below are my top-60 running backs for Week 9. These rankings are geared toward .5PPR scoring formats for Week 9 of the 2021 NFL season but should aid those who play in both non-PPR and full-point PPR formats. I’ve also included my top RB streaming option this week and DFS play of the week (cost via FanDuel).

Check back throughout the week to see how expectations have changed as news continues to roll in, enhancing our prognostication abilities. Feel free to hit me up on twitter @Ginger__Nic for any fantasy related advice.

Stream of the Week: Adrian Peterson at Los Angeles Rams

Peterson should kickoff his Tennessee tenure with a solid outing against the Rams’ run-funnel defense. LAR smartly built their defense to stymie opposing passing game, implicitly hoping that opponents will run the ball while LAR’s own offense racks up points on the scoreboard. Tennessee boasts a well run offense but they’re not going to be able to resist handing the ball off to Peterson 12-15 times at least. The Rams’ 48.2% NEFF run defense rating ranks a middling 19th in the NFL and their 21.4 .5PPR RB PPG allowed sits firmly in the middle (16th most). Peterson can immediately be started as a back-end RB2 in Week 9.

DFS Play of the Week:  Dalvin Cook ($8,800) at Baltimore Ravens

Time to eat chalk. Cook’s just the 4th highest-salaried running back on FanDuel’s Week 9 slate. Minnesota is in disarray but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Dual threat running backs of Cook’s ilk have been slicing and dicing Baltimore’s front-seven all year. The Ravens are currently allowing the 7th most .5PPR RB PPG (24.5) and their 64.6 per game RB receiving yards is 3rd most. Cook’s as much of a homerun as there is at the position this week. He’s a top-5 Week 9 play.

Week 9 Running Back Rankings