The Seattle Seahawks will face the Los Angeles Rams 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 TE Noah Fant.
Is Noah Fant Playing in Week 9?
Noah Fant (groin) didn’t practice Thursday. Considering Fant was listed as limited on Wednesday’s practice report, he may have suffered the groin injury in the session that preceded its posting.
Fant remained sidelined for Friday’s practice and was officially declared out for Week 9 vs. the Rams. Fellow tight ends AJ Barner, Pharaoh Brown, and Brady Russell will fill in but will be nearly impossible to trust for fantasy football purposes.
We’ll continue to monitor the Seahawks’ 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 Noah Fant in Week 9?
How many tight ends do you think have at least three catches from the QB their team entered this season labeled as the starter in each of the past four weeks?
Six.
There are only six of them, and the other five are rostered in a far higher percentage of leagues (George Kittle, Kyle Pitts, Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and Mark Andrews). Fant, of course, is the sixth, and with a role that sees him running a route on 93.5% of his snaps, there’s a reasonable floor to target here.
The development of Kenneth Walker III as a pass catcher scares me, and a healthy DK Metcalf would naturally limit the target opportunities. That said, streaming the tight end position is a game of extreme turnover, and I’m OK with going this route if your team is otherwise loaded.
The Rams allow the seventh-most yards per play this season (5.8), giving Seattle the opportunity to put their tight end in position to box out a linebacker and score.
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.
Noah Fant’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Fant is projected to score 0 points in Week 9.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Los Angeles Rams Defense
After really struggling in the first three weeks, the Los Angeles Rams have made considerable improvements in the last month. The last three weeks have been particularly promising, as they finished in the top 15 against both the Packers and Vikings while dominating the Raiders’ offense. That is not an easy run, and they did well to have solid performances at a minimum in all three.
There is still a lot to work on for the Rams, but no longer are their metrics the sea of red that they once were. Most intriguingly, they are inside the top 10 when it comes to pressure rate without blitzing, which is an area that should help them improve in other aspects that they have struggled with to this point.
Getting more from their offense should also help take the spotlight off this defense, although it could be the opposite if they end up in 60-point shootouts every week.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Noah Fant’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 AM ET on Wednesday, December 25. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (at NO)
2) Trey McBride | ARI (at LAR)
3) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at CLE)
4) George Kittle | SF (vs. DET)
5) Sam LaPorta | DET (at SF)
6) David Njoku | CLE (vs. MIA)
7) Mark Andrews | BAL (at HOU)
8) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (vs. GB)
9) Travis Kelce | KC (at PIT)
10) Dalton Schultz | HOU (vs. BAL)
11) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. KC)
12) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (at JAX)
14) Tucker Kraft | GB (at MIN)
15) Brenton Strange | JAX (vs. TEN)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (at PHI)
17) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. LAC)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (vs. LV)
19) Stone Smartt | LAC (at NE)
20) Zach Ertz | WAS (vs. ATL)
21) Kyle Pitts | ATL (at WAS)
22) Mike Gesicki | CIN (vs. DEN)
23) Cade Otton | TB (vs. CAR)
24) Noah Gray | KC (at PIT)
25) Isaiah Likely | BAL (at HOU)
26) Cole Kmet | CHI (vs. SEA)
27) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. LAC)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. DAL)
29) Noah Fant | SEA (at CHI)
30) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at TB)
31) Foster Moreau | NO (vs. LV)
32) Tyler Higbee | LAR (vs. ARI)
33) Michael Mayer | LV (at NO)
34) Tommy Tremble | CAR (at TB)
35) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (vs. IND)
36) Dawson Knox | BUF (vs. NYJ)
37) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (at BUF)
38) Payne Durham | TB (vs. CAR)
39) Jordan Akins | CLE (vs. MIA)
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).