The Houston Texans will face the New York Jets 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 QB C.J. Stroud.
Is C.J. Stroud Playing in Week 9?
Stroud is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Texans’ 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 C.J. Stroud in Week 9?
It’s very possible that we underestimated the impact that Nico Collins had on the flow of Houston’s offense. His playmaking is one thing, but like Steph Curry in the NBA, the leverage Collins provides just by being active opens up things for everyone else, something that simply hasn’t been the case since he went down.
Stroud has 11 deep pass attempts over his past two games — in the last two games in which Collins started, he had 11 deep completions. Defenses aren’t respecting the Texans’ offense in the same fashion, and Stroud is struggling to adapt for our purposes with an average finish outside of the top 20 since his WR1 went down.
Things don’t get any easier this week with Stefon Diggs lost for the season and the Jets on the schedule. New York is a top-five pass defense this season in yards per attempt, yards allowed after the catch, sack rate, and touchdown rate, all of which figure to limit Stroud’s floor/ceiling combination.
The Jets won’t hesitate to bring the heat, which is another area in which Stroud’s production has fallen off of a cliff since Collins’ injury (Weeks 1-5: 63% completion percentage when pressured, since: 41.2%).
Get well soon, Nico. Stroud is my QB16 this week.
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.
C.J. Stroud’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Stroud is projected to score 15.1 fantasy points in Week 9. This includes 219.4 passing yards, 1.3 passing touchdowns, and 0.4 interceptions. It also includes 2.2 rushing attempts for 9.7 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight into the Jets’ Defense
The New York Jets’ defense has fallen off a cliff, and that pivotal moment came with Robert Saleh’s firing. Asking Jeff Ulbrich to be both the interim head coach and call a top-five defense is a tough ask. So far, he has not succeeded at either, with the defense having ranked 18th or below in each of the last three weeks, including against a Patriots team that has one of the worst offenses in the league.
There was a point this season when the Jets had top-five rankings in several metrics, but now they are only in the top five in terms of yards per play (second), success rate against the pass (first), and sack rate (fourth). They are then only inside the top 10 for one other metric (pressure rate without blitzing) but are at least 20th or above in most other areas.
C.J. Stroud’s 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 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
10) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
11) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
12) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
16) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
17) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
18) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
28) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
29) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
30) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
31) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
32) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
33) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
34) Jacoby Brissett | NE (vs. BUF)
35) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
36) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at NYJ)
39) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
40) Patrick Mahomes | KC (at DEN)