“Buy or Bye”™ – Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Week 9 2026 Cash Games

November 7, 2026 Leave a comment

By Ha Kung Wong

In 2025, we were over 70% for cash lineups again and we’re back with more Daily Fantasy Football advice for Cash Games for Week 9 of the 2026 season!

You’re welcome.

As usual, before we get to winning you more bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one or two lineups for each site, it’s to give you examples of a few POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

Let’s get to winning you some CASH in Week 9 of the 2026 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

As per usual, I’m going to provide you with a few sample lineups on each site and give you a few notes to consider. You’re welcome.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games and player props for Week 9 contests.

FanDuel

Draft Kings

Yahoo! DFS

Game Notes:

For those new to this column, note that I never advocate against you paying up at any particular position for DFS. We all know that the likes of Josh Allen and Christian McCaffrey are probably going to have the most consistent upside in terms of potential fantasy points from week to week. But remember that DFS is a salary cap game. You can feel free to sprinkle high priced players into your lineups, but you can’t pay up at every position because there’s simply not enough salary to go around. I try my best each week to provide my thoughts on how you might want to balance your cash lineups in terms of points potential and salary.
My general Week 9 cash strategy is to get value at QB and RB from the injuries and opportunities around the league so I can anchor at least one stud RB and/or WR, pay up for TE and look for value to fill the remaining WR and defense.
The “Free Square of the Week”™ is Jonah Coleman. Coleman returned from injured reserve and took over Denver’s backfield in the second half of Week 8, playing 90% of the snaps and functioning as the only Broncos running back to touch the ball after halftime. He finished with 104 scrimmage yards, four receptions and the game-winning touchdown against Kansas City. Now he faces a Carolina defense that has allowed the second-most DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Better yet, his salary still reflects a committee role that no longer appears to exist while RJ Harvey is unavailable (and JK Dobbins mostly irrelevant).
The Las Vegas Raiders at San Francisco 49ers game has the highest over/under of the slate at 51.5, so I’m in on players on both side of the ball. In particular, for the 49ers, I like Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Christian McCafrey (if he’s 100% and not limited) and for the Raiders I like Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Tre Tucker.
- Tre Tucker is one of the more aggressive cash-game selections in these lineups, but there is a case for him at his salary. Tucker has averaged 59.3 receiving yards, owns four touchdowns and has received six red-zone targets and four end-zone targets. The Raiders are 10-point underdogs in the game with the highest total on the slate, creating the likelihood of elevated passing volume. Tucker is a great salary-relief option with legitimate target and touchdown usage.
- George Kittle is my favorite tight end play and one of the central pieces of every lineup. Kittle has a 21.8% target share, averages 4.9 receptions and 60.7 receiving yards per game, and leads the 49ers with five receiving touchdowns. More importantly, 49ers general manager John Lynch said that Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are both unlikely to play against Las Vegas. Their expected absences remove two of San Francisco’s most established pass-catching options and should create additional target and red-zone opportunities for Kittle. The 49ers also have the highest implied total on the slate. That combination makes Kittle worth paying for across all three sites.
- Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Brock Bowers are luxury options if you have salary available, but I’m not necessarily building on them because of other available value options. McCaffrey in particular has a great matchup but doesn’t appear to be 100% healthy coming off a bye, which does worry me a bit.
The Detroit Lions at Miami Dolphins game has the third highest over/under of the slate at 49.5, so I’m in on players on both side of the ball here as well. In particular, for the Lions, I like Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta and for the Dolphins, I like Malik Willis and Caleb Douglas.
- Detroit has an implied total of approximately 29 points against a Miami defense that has allowed the sixth-most DraftKings and FanDuel passing points per game to quarterbacks. That is a particularly appealing matchup for Jared Goff, whose fantasy production is usually tied closely to Detroit’s team scoring.
- Jahmyr Gibbs is expensive because Jahmyr Gibbs does expensive things. Through seven games, Gibbs has averaged 28.7 opportunities, 110.4 rushing yards and 40.7 receiving yards while scoring 10 touchdowns. He is averaging nearly 30 DraftKings points per game and projects as the RB1 on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Paying more than $10,000 for a running back is never easy, but Gibbs’ rushing volume, receiving involvement and touchdown equity give him one of the safest ceilings on the slate.
- Jameson Williams gives us affordable exposure to Detroit’s 29-point implied total. Williams has scored in each of his last three games, including a four-catch, 70-yard, one-touchdown performance in Week 8. Over those three contests, he has averaged 69.3 receiving yards and 1.7 touchdowns. Touchdowns will obviously regress, but his big-play role is particularly attractive against a Miami defense that has struggled to contain passing attacks. FantasyPros also notes that Williams’ expected fantasy production has exceeded his actual scoring this season, suggesting that his role has been stronger than his weekly results indicate.
- Malik Willis provides the rushing floor that we love from a low-priced DFS quarterback. In Miami’s two games since its Week 6 bye, Willis has averaged 209.5 passing yards and 20.5 rushing yards while accounting for five total touchdowns. He averaged 20.83 fantasy points over those two games. The ultra-low price for Willis also allows us to fit Jahmyr Gibbs, CeeDee Lamb and George Kittle without completely abandoning the rest of the roster.
- Caleb Douglas is the inexpensive Miami bring-back with Willis; he has 13 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns in four games and has led Miami in route participation since its bye.
Even in a disappointing Week 8 performance, Javonte Williams played 74% of Dallas’ offensive snaps and handled 26 of the Cowboys’ 35 running-back opportunities. Dallas is favored by approximately six points against Indianapolis with an implied total close to 29, creating the type of positive game script that should keep Williams involved throughout the afternoon.
Jeremiyah Love has been placed on injured reserve, and Bam Knight entered the week in concussion protocol. That leaves Tyler Allgeier as Arizona’s top healthy running back after he produced 147 rushing yards, five receptions, 44 receiving yards and two total touchdowns against Dallas. No, I don’t expect another 191-yard performance. I do expect the Cardinals to give him significant work at a modest salary. Seattle is a difficult rushing matchup, so Allgeier is one of the more matchup-sensitive pieces in these lineups, but injury-created volume is difficult to ignore in cash games. Keep an eye on Knight’s final status before lock.
Woody Marks gives the Yahoo lineup another reasonably priced source of touches. Since taking over as Houston’s starting back in Week 6, Marks has averaged 18.5 touches and 74.3 total yards while playing more than 83% of the offensive snaps. The lack of touchdowns has kept his salary manageable, but that workload gives him a viable cash-game floor. The Chargers have recently allowed elevated explosive-run and yards-after-contact rates, so Marks should be among the stronger Week 9 running-back starts.
CeeDee Lamb is the premium wide receiver I want most this week. Lamb has received 92 targets through eight games, including 18, 12 and 11 over his last three contests. He has six touchdowns and remains the centerpiece of an offense carrying one of the slate’s highest implied totals. The volume is already elite, and the matchup with Indianapolis gives him another realistic path to double-digit targets and multiple scoring opportunities.
George Pickens is a conditional DraftKings play. Pickens is part of the same attractive Dallas passing environment and entered Week 9 with a 21% share of the Cowboys’ targets, but he was limited in practice with a hamstring injury after playing a reduced role in Week 8. Just note that he should only remain in the lineup if the final injury report indicates that he will play his normal complement of snaps.
Matthew Golden has developed into a reliable part of Green Bay’s offense. Golden has 43 receptions for 619 yards and four touchdowns through eight games. Over his last four outings, he has posted receiving lines of 6-123, 6-104, 6-39 and 7-79 with two touchdowns. Sporting News makes Golden one of its featured Week 9 DFS receiver picks, reasoning that Christian Watson’s presence should help Golden draw more favorable downfield coverage. At $6,800 on FanDuel, he offers a useful combination of target floor and big-play upside.
DeMario Douglas has produced at least 65 receiving yards and a touchdown in three of his last four games, including 76 yards and a score in Week 8. He looks to be emerging as one of New England’s potential No. 1 options amid injuries elsewhere in the receiving corps.
Stefon Diggs is Washington’s default No. 1 receiver and should benefit from a game script that requires the Commanders to throw against the Rams.
The New Orleans Saints Defense is my favorite cheap defense of the week, while the Washington Commanders Defense and Dallas Cowboys Defense are more salary-cap punts. The Saints are at home and coming off their bye, which gives them a reasonable chance to generate sacks and turnovers without requiring a large investment. The Commanders and Cowboys defenses are not the primary reason to play these lineups. They are inexpensive ways to preserve enough salary for Gibbs, Lamb and Kittle. Washington faces a capable Rams offense but did well in Week 8, while Dallas has been one of the league’s weaker defenses but draws a nice matchup against a rapidly disintegrating Indianapolis offense that’s tied for the third-most giveaways through Week 8.