3 Daily Fantasy Football Players to Avoid in Week 9

We have a lot of pieces on numberFire geared toward helping you figure out which players you should roster in your DFS contests on FanDuel, but an important aspect of the DFS process is figuring out who you shouldn't play.

Narrowing down your list of potential plays by avoiding those who are destined to underwhelm can go a long way toward helping you create winning lineups.

Inevitably, some of the players I feature in this article will blow up and pop for a big game, but that comes with the territory of doing a piece like this one -- unless I'm going to tell you to avoid playing dudes who aren't on anyone's radar. I'm trying to avoid that. I want this piece to be useful.

Here are some players I'm fading this week.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers ($7,000)

I'll tell you what -- it's not easy to recommend fading Aaron Rodgers at a $7,000 salary against the Detroit Lions' pitiful defense. I worry this could backfire in a big way.

If there was ever a spot for Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers' offense to get going, this is it. And I think they will figure it out versus the Lions. The Packers have the slate's second-best implied total (26.5), and our schedule-adjusted metrics rate the Lions as -- by far -- the worst defense in the league.

But Green Bay's offense can have a good day and Rodgers can still underwhelm in DFS. Rodgers just hasn't shown any upside this year. He's topped out at 17.14 FanDuel points, and he hasn't thrown for more than 255 yards in a game. He doesn't offer much as a runner, either, rushing for only 20 yards this campaign.

Plus, early draft percentage projections have Rodgers as one of the slate's most popular quarterbacks. If Rodgers was flying under the radar in this spot, I'd be much more interested, but that's not the case.

I want exposure to the Pack this week; I just won't get it via Rodgers. Instead of stacking Green Bay, I'll be plugging in a bunch of Aaron Jones while also taking some stabs at Allen Lazard and Romeo Doubs.

Deon Jackson, RB, Colts ($5,000)

This is relevant only if Jonathan Taylor sits. With Taylor getting dinged up last week and missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday, he seems to be on the wrong side of questionable (as of early Friday).

If Taylor is out, Deon Jackson would likely step into a lead-back role for the Indianapolis Colts, and with his salary at $5,000, Jackson has obvious appeal as a value target. The volume should be there, and while volume can trump matchup for running backs, I fear the Colts' offense might totally faceplant.

The Colts have a tough matchup this week at the New England Patriots. Making his first career road start, Sam Ehlinger should be in for a long day against Bill Belichick's defense, and I'm guessing Belichick will do everything he can to take away Indy's run game and force Ehlinger to beat him.

On top of that, this is a really good slate for running backs as guys like the aforementioned Aaron Jones, Austin Ekeler, Joe Mixon, Travis Etienne, Josh Jacobs, Rhamondre Stevenson and Kenneth Walker III are all in good spots.

Jackson won't need to do much to be worth using at this salary. But I don't see him having any upside, and on a slate with so many top-tier running backs who could crush, that scares me.

Drake London, WR, Falcons ($5,600)

The Atlanta Falcons-Los Angeles Chargers projects as one of the better fantasy matchups on the slate, and Drake London is a low-salary way to get in on the action. This clash boasts a 49.5-point total and 3.0-point spread.

But I think there's a chance this game underwhelms, and I have a hard time getting too excited about any pass-game piece from an offense that is passing the ball just 42.4% of the time, the second-lowest mark.

It's looking like the Bolts will be without both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, and Austin Ekeler might not be 100%, either. If the Chargers' offense struggles Sunday, that'll be a big blow for London (and Kyle Pitts), because a lot of their upside is tied to Atlanta playing from behind and needing to pass.

Heck, even if the Falcons do see a negative game script, that doesn't mean they'll definitely start throwing it a bunch, which we saw when they played at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

London hasn't totaled more than 5.5 FanDuel points in an outing since Week 3, and he has seen just 10 total targets over the past three games. I love the talent, but in this Atlanta offense, London is a tough sell for me -- even at this easy-to-like salary.