The Los Angeles Rams will face the Seattle Seahawks 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 Kyren Williams.
Is Kyren Williams Playing in Week 9?
Williams 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 Rams’ 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 Kyren Williams in Week 9?
I’m not sure what the more mind-boggling stat is. The fact that Williams has scored in 10 straight games or that just one of his 158 touches has gained more than 17 yards.
I think there’s certainly risk in Williams’ profile (3.8 yards per carry is underwhelming, and an 86.4% catch rate isn’t likely to sustain), with the Rams welcoming back their high-volume receivers who project to soak up plenty of usage in scoring situations. Yet, that results in a minor downtick in rest-of-season value, not an actionable change that will impact your lineup setting this week or any moving forward.
Williams hasn’t finished a week worse than RB21 in nearly 400 days, a run that has seen him produce RB1 numbers in 69.2% of contests. I don’t hate the idea of moving him at a Tier 1 price tag if your roster needs help elsewhere (road games against the 49ers and Jets in Weeks 15-16), though I wouldn’t at all force it as a role like this is rare — even if the metrics raise some minor red flags.
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.
Kyren Williams’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Williams is projected to score 19.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 18.2 rushing attempts for 79.4 yards and 1 touchdown. It also includes 2.8 receptions for 17.1 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: Seattle Seahawks Defense
The Seattle Seahawks padded their stats nicely in the early part of the season, but there were some warning signs that this defense might not last, which has proven to be the case. They have now ranked in the bottom half of teams in each of the last five weeks and have allowed 28 points or more in four of those games.
The hope was that their ability to generate pressure without blitzing, which they rank fourth in this season, would see them improve as the year went on, but that has not been the case. Based on the way this is trending, this could be a bottom-10 unit before long. That could still be an improvement on last year’s 29th-ranked performance, but it would be a hollow “win.”
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Kyren Williams’ 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)
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks Insights
Los Angeles Rams
Team: Over their past three games, the Rams have coveted seven-of-nine red zone drives into touchdowns (prior: seven-of-17).
QB: Matthew Stafford posted his best EPA against zone in a game since Week 6, 2021 (it was the first time he posted a positive number since Week 1, the last time he had both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua)
Offense: In the return of their two star receivers, the Rams operated at their slowest pace of the season and it worked – they averaged a season-best 5.8 yards per play.
Defense: In Weeks 5-8, Los Angeles has allowed opponents to convert just 20% of third downs (Weeks 1-4: 50%).
Fantasy: Puka Nacua dropped the first target on Thursday night, but in his return to action, three of Stafford’s first four passes were directed toward the second-year weapon.
Betting: The Rams kicked off Week 8 on Thursday night – they are 6-15-1 ATS (28.6%) since the beginning of 2019 when playing on extended rest (only the Jets and Texans have been worse in such spots over that stretch). They’ve failed to cover each of their past eight games (average cover margin: -6.1 points)
Seattle Seahawks
Team: This is Seattle’s fourth home game in a five-game stretch—they’ve lost the first three and been outscored 96-54 in those contests (Giants, 49ers, and Bills).
QB: In the first four weeks this season, Geno Smith completed 81% of his out-of-pocket throws. Over the past four weeks, that rate has regressed in a major way: 35.7%.
Offense: Seattle went three-and-out on 55.6% of their drives against the Bills, their second-highest rate since November 1, 2021 (Week 9, 2023, at Ravens).
Defense: In Weeks 1-3, the Seahawks took advantage of their schedule (DEN, NE, and MIA) and allowed just 1.03 points per drive. In their five games since (DET, NYG, SF, ATL, and BUF), they are allowing 2.61 points per drive (up 153.4%)
Fantasy: Kenneth Walker III is already three receptions away from setting a career-high for a season – he has over seven PPR points as a pass catcher in all five of his games back from injury.
Betting: The Seahawks are a league-worst 14-25-1 ATS (35.9%) after Halloween since 2020 (the Rams are 23-19-1 ATS over that stretch, eighth-best).
Betting: Since 2021, the Seahawks are just 3-7 ATS in home divisional games (unders are 7-3 in those games).
