The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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 Kareem Hunt.
Is Kareem Hunt Playing in Week 9?
Kareem Hunt has been a workhorse for the Chiefs since returning to Kansas City ahead of Week 4. However, the eighth-year pro popped up on the first practice report of the week on Thursday as limited with a quad injury. He was a full participant on Friday and Saturday and will play on Monday.
Hunt was limited with a hip injury in last week’s first practice before logging full sessions the last two practices of the week. While this is a new injury, there was no indication that Hunt was any worse for the wear after the Chiefs’ Week 8 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Since Week 4, Hunt’s 21 carries per game are the second-most in the NFL (Kyren Williams is averaging 21.8). Due to that volume, he’s RB10 overall in that span. Although Hunt’s averaging a meager 3.7 yards per rush, he’s scored in three straight games and has gotten a steady diet of goal-line work.
We’ll continue to monitor the Chiefs’ 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 Kareem Hunt in Week 9?
Hunt has been worthy of our trust in three straight weeks, and unless this offense makes a U-turn, I’d expect that to continue against the fifth-worst yards-per-carry run defense in the league.
My lone complaint is the target rate. Hunt is being handed the ball 12 times for every target, a rate I’d like to see shrink with time. The addition of DeAndre Hopkins might make that something of a pipedream. Without the plus grade in the versatility department, Hunt will struggle to break into my top 12, but he’s a pretty clear start that you can feel good about right now.
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.
Kareem Hunt’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Hunt is projected to score 14.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.5 rushing attempts for 63.1 yards and 0.6 touchdowns. It also includes 2.4 receptions for 18.5 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense
Another defense that is at risk of ruining a good thing is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have now been inside the bottom 10 on four occasions this year and inside the bottom five on three of those. That was fine when the offense was at full strength, but asking the offense to score 30+ points without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin is a tough ask.
When you look at many of their metrics, things do not look that bad, but they consistently allow teams to move the ball on them in the passing game. They allow an average of 2.04 points per drive and 6.0 yards per play. Tampa Bay has conceded 26 or more points five times in the last six weeks and lost four of those games. Those numbers could easily be six and five with the Chiefs up next in Week 9.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Kareem Hunt’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs Insights
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team: This is the first of a seven-game stretch that sees Tampa Bay play five road games.
QB: Baker Mayfield has thrown for 325 yards and three touchdowns in three straight games – the last player with a four-game streak was Aaron Rodgers bridging the 2012-13 seasons.
Offense: The Bucs are averaging 2.57 points per drive, pacing for their second most this millennium (other: 2020, Super Bowl champions).
Defense: Over the past two weeks (BAL and ATL), Tampa Bay has allowed 3.6 points per drive (Weeks 1-6: 2.0).
Fantasy: We spent a lot of time last week trying to pin the tail on the Buccaneer WR most likely to step up when it proved to be the existing pieces—against the Falcons, Cade Otton, Bucky Irving, and Rachaad White accounted for 48.2% of Tampa Bay’s receiving yards and 56.8% of their receptions.
Betting: Tampa Bay is 4-16 ATS (20%) over their past 20 primetime games (0-2 this season in a pair of shootouts – 36-30 loss to the Falcons in Week 5 and a 41-31 loss to the Ravens in Week 7).
Kansas City Chiefs
Team: This isn’t the high-flying offense we want it to be, but there is an offensive floor that comes with Patrick Mahomes, and that’s enough—this team hasn’t lost a game in which they’ve scored over 20 points since December 4, 2022 (at Bengals).
QB: Mahomes doesn’t have a completion that traveled 20 yards in the air in October.
Offense: The Chiefs averaged 31.1 points per game in their 2022 wins. That number dropped to 25.0 last season and is even lower in their undefeated start this season (24.7).
Defense: They proved willing to ramp up the aggression last week in Vegas if they identify it as a weakness of their opponent – 47.1% blitz rate after checking in under 28% in each of their three games prior.
Fantasy: Mahomes hasn’t finished better than QB16 in six straight games and has a lower pass touchdown rate than Will Levis this season.
Betting: Mahomes has covered all three of his primetime games this season (Ravens, Falcons, and Saints) after covering just three of his most recent 11 regular season primetime games entering 2024.
