The Minnesota Vikings will face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Aaron Jones
Is Aaron Jones Playing in Week 9?
Jones is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Vikings’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Aaron Jones in Week 9?
Is Aaron Jones what Najee Harris has been for years? That is a reasonable floor with a capped ceiling and inconsistent inefficiency in an offense that hovers around the league average.
Jones accounted for every single Vikings RB carry in the Week 8 loss to the Rams, racking up over 20 touches for the third time in five games. That said, it was his third game this season without a 10-yard carry and fifth time in six weeks without a rushing touchdown.
- Weeks 1-3: 9.5% of carries have failed to gain yardage
- Since: 19.4% of carries have failed to gain yardage
Jones showed well in his team debut against the Giants, but since then, his boom/bust rate (percentage of carries gaining at least 10 yards minus percentage of carries failing to gain yardage) in the seven weeks since is -8.9%.
- Harris (2021-23): -8.6% boom/bust rate
Jones has given us some peaks (three RB1 finishes) and valleys (two finishes outside of the top 25 at the position). I think we see a little more stability moving forward in the middle of those two outcomes. This matchup doesn’t scare me, and his versatility helps create a floor that lands him as a middling RB2, a ranking that I think will be on the high end of expectations as we come down the stretch of the fantasy regular season.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Aaron Jones’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Jones is projected to score 15 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 17.2 rushing attempts for 84.2 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 1.3 receptions for 18.9 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Indianapolis Colts Defense
It appears as though we may have an improving unit on our hands in the Indianapolis Colts’ defense. After finishing in the bottom half in three of the first five weeks, they have now ranked 16th or above in each of the last three weeks. Doing that against the Titans and Dolphins was not all that impressive, but their most recent outing against the Texans was a promising sign.
Indianapolis is still struggling to get pressure, and that has been showing up in terms of their sack rate, their ability to prevent third-down conversions, and their EPA on dropbacks. A big part of their recent improvement has been performing better on third downs and in the red zone, so hopefully, they can maintain their momentum in those areas.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Aaron Jones’ Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. SEA)
12) Tyjae Spears | TEN (vs. HOU)
13) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
15) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
16) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
17) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
20) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
21) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
22) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
23) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
24) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
25) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
26) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
27) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
28) Ameer Abdullah | LV (vs. LAC)
29) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
30) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
31) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
32) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
33) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
34) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
35) Jerome Ford | CLE (at BAL)
36) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
37) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
38) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
40) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
41) Justice Hill | BAL (vs. CLE)
42) Trey Benson | ARI (vs. SF)
43) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
44) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
45) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
46) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
47) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
48) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at DEN)
49) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
50) Kareem Hunt | KC (at DEN)
51) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
52) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
53) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
54) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
55) Kendre Miller | NO (at TB)
56) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
57) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
58) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
59) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
60) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
61) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
62) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
63) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
64) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
65) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
66) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
67) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
68) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
69) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
70) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
71) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
72) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
74) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
75) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
77) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
78) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
79) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
81) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
82) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
83) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
84) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
85) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
86) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
87) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
88) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
89) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
90) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
92) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
93) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
94) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
95) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
96) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
97) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
98) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
99) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
100) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
101) James Conner | ARI (vs. SF)
102) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings Insights
Indianapolis Colts
Team: The Colts are 4-4 this season, with five games decided by a field goal or less (2-3 in those games).
QB: Pressure is one thing; seeing ghosts is another – Richardson went 6-of-20 for 78 yards and an interception against the Texans when not pressured.
Offense: The Colts gained 21.2 yards per drive in the Week 7 win against the Dolphins, their lowest rate of the season. In the loss to the Texans on Sunday, that number was 21.0.
Defense: In Weeks 1-5, the Colts forced a punt on 23.6% of drives, a rate that has spiked to 48.6% since.
Fantasy: Anthony Richardson hit Josh Downs for a 69-yard touchdown pass of the season – his third of 50-plus yards.
Betting: Indianapolis has covered eight of their past 10 road primetime games (this is their first game since Week 13, 2022).
Minnesota Vikings
Team: The Vikings have played just three true road games this season – after this week, they go on the road for three straight (Jaguars, Titans, and Bears).
QB: Sam Darnold posted his highest in-pocket passer rating of the season on Thursday night (134.0, he’s been over 106.0 in six of seven games.
Offense: In Weeks 1-4, Minnesota averaged 6.5 yards per play on first down, a rate that is down to 4.8 since.
Defense: The Vikings posted their highest pressure rate of the season in Week 7 against the Lions (58.6%) but couldn’t make Matthew Stafford uncomfortable in Week 8 (11.8%, 18 percentage points below their previous season low).
Fantasy: Against the Rams on Thursday night, Sam Darnold started hot and then struggled – 67.5% of his fantasy points as a passer were scored on Minnesota’s first two drives.
Betting: Since 2020, 74.4% of Vikings games played after Halloween have gone over the total (29-10-1, league average: 48.4%).
Betting: The Vikings are 1-5-1 ATS in their past seven games played on extended rest.