Fantasy Football Week 9 Start or Sit: Julian Edelman

By Nick Ziegler @ziggy26x on October 31, 2014

Week 9 in the NFL season will be showcasing one of the better matchups of the season, as Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos head to New England to face off against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for what seems like their annual regular season showdown.

The Patriots’ offense was very sluggish to start the season with Rob Gronkowski not being at a 100 percent, and with new acquisitions in Tim Wright and Brandon LaFell getting used to the complicated Patriots’ offense. Those factors led to Brady relying on Julian Edelman to be his main target, and coming off a great 2013 season, Edelman was a great option in fantasy football, especially in PPR leagues with his ability to catch the ball underneath.

After three straight 80-plus-yard games to start the season, Edelman has struggled to be much of a factor in the Patriots’ offense lately. In the last five games, he has only been over that 80-yard mark once against the Buffalo Bills.

A major concern for Edelman’s owners is that he is starting to drop the ball a lot now. With LaFell, Gronkowski and Wright all coming on strong in the offense, that is going to hurt Edelman’s production for fantasy owners moving forward.

Besides the fact Edelman has just five catches for 58 yards in his last two games against poor pass defenses in the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, Week 9 he will be facing one of the top defenses in the Broncos.

Edelman’s fantasy stock is trending downwards, as his teammate’s start to rise, and that makes him a good candidate to sit in Week 9.

Nick Ziegler is a New York Jets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ziggy26x and add him to your network on Google.