Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings: Ollie Gordon Rises Ahead Of Week 9

The halfway point of the regular season is here, as we enter Week 9 of 18 with your fantasy football playoff picture starting to really take shape.

Whether you're looking to solidify your position atop the standings or looking to claw your way into a playoff spot, identifying risers and fallers in the rest-of-season fantasy football rankings is the best way to position yourself for success.

Let's dive in ahead of Week 9.

Risers In Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings

Ollie Gordon | Dolphins | RB16

I was skeptical about how valuable Ollie Gordon would prove to be for fantasy managers after De'Von Achane went down. The offense is bad—horrible, even (16.7 ppg, 31st)—and they don't run many plays (56.7 per game, 30th). Overcoming this as a backup RB isn't easy. Somehow, Gordon has done it (so far). In his five games as the interim RB1, Gordon has finished as a top-14 running back four times, has logged at least 20 carries three times, and his share of the rushing attempts has gone up in three consecutive weeks (60% -> 69% -> 79%).

With that kind of volume plus his role inside the five-yard line (77% rush share), he has a reliable enough floor to warrant mid-range RB2 value.

Terrance Ferguson | Rams | TE12

The tight end position thins out quickly, but we have some reinforcements returning and immediately entering the back-end TE1 conversation. Per HC Sean McVay, Rams TE Terrance Ferguson "is more likely than not" to practice this week. While it remains unlikely that he returns in Week 9 (but not impossible), we could expect him back by Week 10.

With Davante Adams sidelined, Ferguson should jump into the No. 2 pass catcher role for Matthew Stafford. A lot of the trust in Ferguson has been based on projection rather than proven production, but he's an athletic freak that McVay has spoken highly of and has flashed whenever he runs routes. In his game before getting hurt, he ran 70% of the routes and commanded a 29% target share on 0.35 targets per route run for a Utilization Score of 92. He gets a pair of soft matchups before the Week 11 bye, including the Commanders (+8.0 fantasy boost to TEs) and Cardinals (+1.8), and overall, the Rams schedule ranks as the 7th-easiest for TEs (+0.9) for the rest of the season.

Fallers In Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Football Rankings

Derrick Henry | Ravens | RB18

Are we officially seeing the downturn of Derrick Henry's career? While a lot of his struggles can be attributed to things outside of his control (QB injuries stalling the offense), his role (no pass-game involvement) and inefficiency relative to expectations (4.0 ypc, lowest mark of his career) don't help.

His numbers are particularly worse when Jackson is sidelined, too, as Dwain highlighted in his Utilization Report:

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If you have Henry, you're starting him, and it's hard to sell low on him knowing what the ceiling still is. That said, he is someone I would immediately be shopping if/when he has his next ceiling game.

Jaylen Waddle | Broncos | WR45

This one stings. Jaylen Waddle was one of my most-drafted WRs this summer, but has been borderline unstartable this season. He has two finishes inside the positional top 15 in 8 games (Week 2 - WR12, Week 8 - WR14) and has finished outside the top 50 wide receivers in twice as many games. His 23% target share is fine, but not the alpha target share we expected, and Denver's play calling and QB play have been abysmal.

With the Broncos leaning into the ground game more and the volume on Waddle (6.0 targets per game) seemingly limited, it's hard to trust him as anything more than a low-end WR3 (at best) in such a dysfunctional passing offense. He's a stash with upside, but it's looking more and more like he might merely end up a depth piece this season.