DailyRoto: Week 9 Fantasy Rankings

Life can toss you a curve or two, and Shaquelle Evans’ presence atop the Week 9 rankings is proof positive of that. Second only to Edmonton’s Ricky Collins ($7,179), Evans ($7,348) is rivaling Hamilton’s Brandon Banks ($14,000) as the league’s premier deep threat. No one has more receptions of better than 30 yards than Evans, who has eight such catches on his way to also leading the league with a 20.2 yards per catch average.

Evans and teammate Kyran Moore ($7,436) should thrive in Week 9 as the Roughriders face an Alouettes defence that ranks last with 328 passing yards allowed per game. Those numbers suggest a rebound performance from Cody Fajardo ($8,491), who failed to produce a touchdown last week despite throwing for 313 yards and adding 56 on the ground.

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QUARTERBACKS

Who’s all-in on Trevor Harris ($11,655) as he faces his former REDBLACKS teammates for the first time? Ottawa is eighth in passing yards allowed (302.1) and have allowed 11 completions of better than 30 yards. It’s all or nothing with Harris when it comes to majors; he’s had four games of multiple touchdown passes and three games where he failed to pass for one. Mike Reilly ($10,753) could be ranked lower, but Fantasy users are of the belief that his numbers can’t get worse than the 66 yards he produced in the Lions’ lacklustre loss to the Roughriders in Week 7. The possible addition to speedster Ryan Lankford ($5,365) could inject some life in BC’s deep ball attack.

Nick Arbuckle ($5,797) has yet to produce a start of least 20 Fantasy points. That might change considering the Stamps are facing the league’s top run defence in the Bombers (67.9 yards), and with Calgary’s eighth-ranked ground game sputtering, Arbuckle will need more than a big play or two in order to keep the Stamps’ offence on the field instead of the D being at the mercy of Winnipeg’s ball-control assault.

Dane Evans ($5,831) should be more aggressive, especially if Banks returns to the lineup after missing last week’s win over Saskatchewan. Take your pick of high-risk pivots in the returning Antonio Pipkin ($6,663) or the still-struggling Dominique Davis ($6,827).

RUNNING BACKS

At the least, C.J. Gable ($8,474) has strong scoring potential going against an Ottawa run defence that has allowed a league-high 11 rushing scores. For all of their passing fireworks, the Roughriders are third in yards per game on the ground, which is why William Powell ($9,633) is a good bet to extend his streak of rushing majors to four straight games.

This is one week where Andrew Harris ($11,765) may not offer much bang for his bucks as he deals with the Stampeders, who allowed just 6.0 Fantasy points per game rushing to Harris last season. The FP will be there with his receiving, but this might be a good week to shy away from Winnipeg’s workhorse. If William Stanback ($9,014) can’t make it against Saskatchewan, Jeremiah Johnson ($6,079) has shown that there are still some miles left in the tank. REDBLACKS back John Crockett ($4,500) has rushed for at least 62 yards in each of his first four games but has yet to score a major.

Terry Williams ($5,735) gets a slight edge over Romar Morris ($3,773), yet don’t expect high-end rushing production going against the Bombers’ top-ranked run defence. If healthy, Maleek Irons ($4,500) offers upside, but look for receiver Anthony Coombs ($4,284) to get the bulk of touches in Hamilton’s backfield.

RECEIVERS

Collins’ value improves with the departure of Kenny Stafford ($4,936) to Saskatchewan. He’ll also benefit from the return of Greg Ellingson ($8,459), who missed last week’s loss to the Stampeders. Winnipeg allows just 6.8 yards per pass, a number that will be challenged by Calgary’s duo of Reggie Begelton ($7,222) and Eric Rogers ($8,531), with teammate Markeith Ambles ($5,118) holding some sleeper potential.

Brad Sinopoli ($7,270) has scored touchdowns in his last two games and will take a considerable share of targets if R.J. Harris is lost to the REDBLACKS for a third straight game. The health of Darvin Adams ($7,267) greatly impacts the rest of Winnipeg’s receiving corps. Pivot Matt Nichols ($8,794) needs Adams to offer a big-play element the rest of the unit struggles to provide. If Banks is out again, this makes for a good week to run with Bralon Addison ($6,008), who is overdue for a breakout after failing to score a touchdown since Week 2. “Overdue” doesn’t begin to explain the plight of BC’s Lemar Durant ($5,290), who has caught four passes for 14 yards in his last two games.

The aforementioned Lankford, who scored twice on returns in Week 7, should see his value climb if indeed he will be part of the Lions’ offence. This could be a good week to take a deeper dive into the receiving pool, starting with Edmonton’s Tevaun Smith ($2,605), who is expected to see more targets now that Stafford is gone. The return of Pipkin to Montreal’s lineup should be good news for Eugene Lewis ($5,071), who paired well with Pipkin late last season. Still, look for B.J. Cunningham ($6,467) to remain a huge part of the Als’ passing game, especially if Stanback and his dual-threat skills are in street clothes. Devonte Dedmon ($2,500) will likely have more than his share of users following the 377 return yards he amassed in Ottawa’s loss to Montreal last Friday.

DEFENCES

Give Calgary ($5,638) a slight edge over Winnipeg ($5,436). The two defences have forced a combined 42 turnovers, but the Stampeders and their Pick-6 potential win out. Saskatchewan ($4,429) becomes more interesting if Stanback is out and the Alouettes are forced to make Montreal attempt more than 30 passes. Hamilton ($3,995) and Edmonton ($4,577) face error-prone pivots, but take the Eskimos as they take on a REDBLACKS offence that has thrown a combined 13 interceptions.