Sports

Fantasy Football Rankings: 5 most polarizing players for Week 9

Nairavoice · Nov 6, 2026 · 6 min read

We have five Yahoo rankers every week, and this column will look at five of the buzziest names of the week. I’m looking for players where there is real disagreement, and I’m using a little something called “coefficient of variation” to help me find just that. These rankings will be tinkered all the way until kickoff, so please check back in on our weekly rankings pages and Sunday AM sit/start show for the absolute latest.

These blurbs are also in The Blueprint, which is my weekly rankings and analysis column. The RB version is out on Wednesdays, while the WR version and the QB/TE/K/DEF version are each out on Thursdays before Thursday Night Football.

Player

My Positional Rank

Yahoo Consensus

Highest

Lowest

Dak Prescott

QB8

Woody Marks

RB18

RB22

Stefon Diggs

WR22

WR23

Ashton Jeanty

RB23

RB24

Rome Odunze

WR33

WR30

Dak Prescott (at IND) – 20.1 proj. points

It hasn’t been the best Prescott season, and the Cowboys’ run game has been so bad that they’ve lost some inexcusable games along the way. The good news is Prescott has a healthy WR and OL right now, and his defense looks as pathetic as usual. He’s been the QB13 in fantasy points per game this year on just QB8 EPA per dropback. It’s been much higher than that for long stretches, and I can see that coming back after a recent stretch of games against BAL, HOU, TB and GB. Prescott was the QB6 and QB11 in the last two games against softer opponents.

The Colts defense is one of the worst in the NFL, possibly the worst without DT DeForest Buckner. They were smoked by the Jaguars last week after firing their GM in late October. Dallas heads on the road as 6-point road favorites with a healthy implied team total of 28.5 points (fourth). There are truly no excuses here.

Woody Marks (at LAC) – 78.5 proj. total yards

It sounds like David Montgomery is going to miss another one. In three games without him, Marks is the RB29 on RB17 usage, 16.3 carries, and 2.7 targets per game. Marks is a replacement-level back who can play in all phases, but expecting efficient outings behind this OL is asking too much. He’s finished below his expected half PPR point totals in 5 of 7 games.

The good news is the Chargers’ run game isn’t one to fear. They rank 10th in half PPR points allowed to opposing backfields at 22.2 per game. Los Angeles has been particularly vulnerable against ground games, ranking fourth in rushing points allowed per game to running backs (17.3) while ranking 27th against RB receiving. They’ve allowed a top-16 finish in 4-straight games, including Blake Corum (RB15), Kenneth Walker (RB1), J.K. Dobbins (RB16), and Emanuel Wilson (RB6). Houston enters the contest as 4.5-point road favorites with a 22.5-point implied team total (16th).

Stefon Diggs (vs. LAR) – 43.5 proj. receiving yards

In three games without Terry McLaurin (IR), Diggs is the WR30 on WR24 usage. His role isn’t going to change in terms of snaps or alignment, but the Commanders may pass more without McLaurin helping to establish a lead and first-read targets are easier to justify to Diggs without their top target.

On tape, Diggs is playing this crafty slot/underneath role in ways like Travis Kelce plays it. He’ll find soft spots in zone and out of structure. He’s a clear red zone threat with space getting tight. He’s also not creating a ton of separation at the top of his routes in man coverage. That’s okay. Diggs had 9.8 expected half PPR points (WR24) last week in a decisive win. He’s a fantasy WR3 right now, while Antonio Williams is starting to break out in a full-time role.

The Rams rank 26th in half PPR points allowed to WRs at 22.4 per game, and teams routinely tilt away from passing against them, as their 47% neutral pass rate allowed ranks 30th (third-lowest). Diggs operates primarily in the short and intermediate areas, with 70% of his targets coming under 10 air yards and 57% between five and 20 yards, while the Rams sit 14th against intermediate WRs and 24th against short WRs. Washington enters as 5.5-point home underdogs with an implied team total of 21 points (23rd).

Ashton Jeanty (at SF) – 68.5 proj. total yards

Jeanty is the first player to have the same or fewer carries in 8-straight games to open a season, per Doug Clawson on X. I don’t think this was pre-game comments or ankle-related either. Coach Klint Kubiak has been scaling down his carries for a long time and communicated to Jeanty before this game about the role change.

Raiders HC Klint Kubiak likened Ashton Jeanty’s potential workload to Christian McCaffery’s during OTAs, adding that great backs don’t want to come off the field.

With Jeanty getting outsnapped by Mike Washington Jr. yesterday, asked if he thinks this is now more of a shared… pic.twitter.com/1P3xeRMOEB

— Sam Warren (@samwarren83) November 2, 2026

Week 8 easily could be a one-game experiment to fix a completely broken run game, but it’d be a surprise if Jeanty went back to his early-season workhorse role. It’s clear Kubiak, who pounded the table for Mike Washington and wasn’t around for the Jeanty top-10 selection, views this duo as closer to even than Twitter does. Some of that is scheme-related, as Washington is a better athlete for the wide zone, while Jeanty’s power-based skill set is struggling to find cutback lanes and hit the hole in time.

Jeanty’s pass-game role is very safe, and I’m currently projecting a more even split on early-down runs, just how it has been from Week 3 on when he’s been the RB18 on RB15 usage. The error bars here are obviously extremely wide, but if there’s a game script that leans Jeanty, it’s clearly while trailing. The Raiders are 10-point dogs to the 49ers.

Rome Odunze (vs. TB) – 49.5 proj. receiving yards

Odunze is WR3 in catches of 15+ yards (19). He’s also the only WR with 11+ explosive catches to not have a TD on them. That’ll change soon. Odunze is the WR46 on WR51 usage since Williams has returned, and the signs are there for a bigger end of the season as a boom-bust WR3.

p style=”text-align:left”>The matchup will be a battle. The Buccaneers have been great at limiting downfield shots against them, and they have size at CB1 with Zyon McCollum. In total, Tampa is allowing the 27th-most points to the position per game, recently shutting down the Panthers duo and Drake London. George Pickens did hit them for a WR5 finish in Week 5, but they’ve tightened things up since then. The saving grace is the Bears still project for 26.75 points, and the Bucs are allowing the second-fewest rushing yards per game.

Show Some Love By Sharing