James Conner has gone from a handcuff to a top-five fantasy scorer
It’s Week 9 in the fantasy football season, which means a lot of fantasy players are in desperate need of a win this week to keep their playoff hopes alive.
It doesn’t help that there are six teams on bye this week, leaving many scrambling to put together the best lineup possible. From a running back standpoint, owners must make do without Saquon Barkley, David Johnson, Joe Mixon, Marlon Mack, T.J. Yeldon, Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement. On the flip side maybe Leonard Fournette will return for Jacksonville after the bye. Maybe?
As for Week 9, there are four running backs in the top 12 that were either afterthoughts in fantasy drafts or weren't drafted at all, but in a week like this, you are going to need them. Besides, James Conner in particular has pretty much made everyone forget about Le'Veon Bell... unless you drafted Bell and weren't able to add Conner to your roster at some point.
Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K I Flex
Teams on bye: Arizona, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Philadelphia
| Rank | Player | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Todd Gurley | LAR | at NO |
| 2 | Kareem Hunt | KC | at CLE |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | vs. TEN (Mon.) |
| 4 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. LAR |
| 5 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | at SEA |
| 6 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | vs. TB |
| 7 | James Conner | PIT | at BAL |
| 8 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | vs. ATL |
| 9 | James White | NE | vs. GB |
| 10 | Latavius Murray | MIN | vs. DET |
| 11 | Nick Chubb | CLE | vs. KC |
| 12 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | vs. HOU |
| 13 | Mark Ingram | NO | vs. LAR |
| 14 | Chris Carson | SEA | vs. LAC |
| 15 | Lamar Miller | HOU | at DEN |
| 16 | Jordan Howard | CHI | at BUF |
| 17 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | at BUF |
| 18 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. NYJ |
| 19 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | at MIN |
| 20 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | at WAS |
| 21 | Alex Collins | BAL | vs. PIT |
| 22 | Aaron Jones | GB | at NE |
| 23 | Doug Martin | OAK | at SF (Thurs.) |
| 24 | Isaiah Crowell | NYJ | at MIA |
| 25 | Sony Michel | NE | vs. GB |
| 26 | Dion Lewis | TEN | at DAL (Mon.) |
| 27 | Matt Breida | SF | vs. OAK (Thurs.) |
| 28 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | vs. CHI |
| 29 | Peyton Barber | TB | at CAR |
| 30 | Chris Thompson | WAS | vs. ATL |
| 31 | Jalen Richard | OAK | at SF (Thurs.) |
| 32 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | at SEA |
| 33 | Ito Smith | ATL | at WAS |
| 34 | Derrick Henry | TEN | at DAL (Mon.) |
| 35 | Frank Gore | MIA | vs. NYJ |
| 36 | Duke Johnson | CLE | vs. KC |
| 37 | LeGarrette Blount | DET | at MIN |
| 38 | Mike Davis | SEA | vs. LAC |
| 39 | Raheem Mostert | SF | vs. OAK (Thurs.) |
| 40 | Devontae Booker | DEN | vs. HOU |
| 41 | Chris Ivory | BUF | vs. CHI |
| 42 | Jamaal Williams | GB | at NE |
| 43 | Javorius Allen | BAL | vs. PIT |
| 44 | Trenton Cannon | NYJ | at MIA |
| 45 | Alfred Morris | SF | vs. OAK (Thurs.) |
| 46 | Spencer Ware | KC | at CLE |
| 47 | C.J. Anderson | CAR | vs. TB |
| 48 | Alfred Blue | HOU | at DEN |
| 49 | Ty Montgomery | BAL | vs. PIT |
| 50 | Kyle Juszczyk | SF | vs. OAK (Thurs.) |
— Rankings by Michael Horvath, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. Horvath is a Canadian who also happens to be a fantasy football (not to be confused with CFL) and fitness nut. Follow him on Twitter @realmikehorvath.
