Week 9 Fantasy Football Sneaky Starts & Sleepers

Nov 04, 2026

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough—a waiver wire or bench player capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It’s not pretty, but it’s part of the game.

Since Week 4, we’ve been using 2026 data only for our signature strength-of-schedule metric, adjusted fantasy points allowed (aFPA). The higher, the better the matchup.

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold, Seahawks (vs. ARI, 31)

Sam Darnold hasn’t been good since returning from injury, throwing seven touchdowns and six interceptions in three games, but he gets a great matchup at home against the Cardinals. On Monday night, he completed just 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and a pick against the Bears while under pressure all night. Arizona has allowed an average of 228 passing yards and 1.8 passing touchdowns per game over the last four weeks, plus 0.8 rushing touchdowns, which works out to about 23.0 fantasy points per game. Dak Prescott scored 19.8 against the Cardinals last week, and Bo Nix posted 26.2 the week before.

Malik Willis, Dolphins (vs. DET, 32)

Malik Willis threw two touchdowns with four interceptions in his first five games, but he has two touchdown passes in each of his last two outings as his receiver room has gotten healthy. Against the Jets, he threw for 208 yards and two scores while adding 37 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. The rushing disappeared in the rain against the Patriots, but he still threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions have allowed an average of 259 passing yards and 2.3 passing touchdowns per game over the last four weeks, including 210 yards and two touchdowns to Kyler Murray last week. Willis has QB1 upside in this matchup.