The Washington Commanders will face the New York Giants in Week 9. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Commanders skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jayden Daniels, QB
The Hail Mary bailed you out from a very disappointing effort, but I wasn’t all that discouraged from the outing against a stingy Bears defense. The fantasy numbers weren’t as gaudy as we’ve become accustomed to, and that’s going to happen from time to time. That said, he was still delivering the ball on time, he was still picking up chunks of yardage on the ground (52 yards), and he played clean football.
That’s much more of a football take than a fantasy one, but his continued maturation in a traditional football sense will open doors for sustained fantasy greatness beyond what his physical tools have already showcased.
These Giants held Daniels in check back in Week 2 (13.4 fantasy points) — he’s a different quarterback now with two months under his belt. The top three QB performances against New York this season have all seen the signal-caller pick up over seven fantasy points with his legs, a box I plan on Daniels checking this week on his path to his fourth top-five finish of the season.
Austin Ekeler, RB
Ekeler has run about as hot as you could possibly hope this season. Brian Robinson Jr. got dinged up, and the veteran has multiple catches in every game this season, not to mention a 20+ yard gain in six of seven games.
He’s shown juice that we weren’t sure we’d ever see again. This offense as a whole is performing at levels that we thought we might see a few years into the Jayden Daniels experience, not a few weeks.
All of that has transpired, and Ekeler has one top-24 finish this season. You know what you’re getting from Ekeler (6-8 carries and 3-4 targets). That might be appealing in a deeper league, but with this game projected to be played in the low 40s, this isn’t a profile I’m targeting with only two teams on a bye if I can avoid it.
Brian Robinson Jr., RB
For the first time this season, Brian Robinson Jr. failed to score and didn’t reach 100 yards on the ground. He’s the lead man in this backfield, but without a 20-yard run in five straight and just a single catch over his past three games, this fantasy profile is a little thinner than you might assume.
That’s more of a friendly warning than actionable advice. The Giants rank 28th in rush defense EPA and figure to allow the Commanders to be playing with a lead. This is a great bounce-back spot, and you should feel great about getting a piece of Washington’s offense.
Terry McLaurin, WR
Terry McLaurin’s third 100-yard game of the season resulted in his sixth straight top-30 finish, making him the cream of the crop when it comes to reliable options in the WR2-3 range.
We haven’t seen the eye-popping numbers that we envisioned once he was finally playing alongside an NFL-level quarterback, but McLaurin is a lineup lock week in and week out, without much question as long as Jayden Daniels is under center.
The Giants have been reasonably stingy against receivers this season, but that’s more the result of them being more inept at other spots on the field. Four of the five highest WR games against New York have come from the alpha target earner in the offense (it would be 4 of 4 if not for Calvin Austin’s punt return touchdown last week vaulting him into this conversation).
There’s no denying that is what McLaurin is in Washington (145 more receiving yards than the next two most productive Commanders receivers combined).
Zach Ertz, TE
As Ertz approaches his 34th birthday (one week from Sunday, mark your calendars), he refuses to show signs of decline. His on-field target share over the past four weeks is 24.4%, well ahead of his 13.7% rate through the first four weeks. Ertz continues to earn opportunities to produce for loyal PPR managers.
Ertz has scored just twice across his past 16 games, but if there’s a position where I’m most willing to overlook any path to an upside in favor of a floor, it’s this one. Ertz is seeing consistent usage in one of the game’s most explosive offenses.
He is even averaging one deep target per game this season. Until this offense sees a WR2 emerge, Ertz is a top-15 tight end weekly and a top-12 option when the matchup is right (he’s my TE12 this week).
Washington Commanders at New York Giants Insights
Washington Commanders
Team: Washington begins a stretch this week where they play an NFC East team three times in four weeks (Eagles in Week 11 and Cowboys in Week 12.
QB: Against the Bears, Jayden Daniels threw 12 deep passes, five more than he had attempted in any other game.
Offense: Tress Way had five punts on Sunday against the Bears – he had four in September.
Defense: Washington has held its opponents to five first downs on 22 third-down conversion attempts over the past two weeks (22.7%). Through six weeks, that rate stood at 46.2%.
Fantasy: For the first time this season, Brian Robinson failed to score and didn’t reach 100 yards on the ground. He’s the lead man in this backfield, but without a 20-yard run in five straight and just a single catch over his past three games, this fantasy profile is a little thinner than you might assume.
Betting: The Commanders have seen their past five road games (and seven of their past eight).
New York Giants
Team: The last time Daniel Jones threw a touchdown pass at home was January 1, 2023 – one day before the Damar Hamlin injury.
QB: Monday was Daniel Jones’ fourth game this season with 20-plus completions and zero touchdown passes. Since 2020, this is the third instance in which a QB has “accomplished” that: Jared Goff did it in 2021, and … well, Daniel Jones did it in 2020.
Offense: Since 2022, only twice has an NFC team failed to score more than 18 points in at least six games through Week 8—the 2023 Giants (seven) and the 2024 Giants (six).
Defense: The Giants didn’t allow a red zone touchdown on Monday, but it didn’t matter … again. The Giants are 0-3 this season when not allowing a red zone touchdown (all other NFL teams are 20-7 this year in such spots).
Fantasy: Tyrone Tracy had 145 rushing yards, the most by a rookie drafted in the fifth round or later since Phillip Lindsay (Week 13, 2018 at Bengals: 157 rush yards).
Betting: The Giants have covered 12 of their past 15 games when playing on short rest (six straight when that game is played in front of their home crowd, including a Week 4 cover against the Cowboys).