Draftster Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 9

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Not sure who to select in your lineup? Don't worry - we've got you covered.

Draftster Optimal Lineup for Week 9

After struggling against the once vaunted Seahawks defense last week, Cam Newton's price tag has fallen all the way to $7,300, making him just the 10th-most expensive quarterback on the board. Newton looked uncomfortable in the passing game, throwing for only 171 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception against Seattle. He also struggled to find running lanes, averaging just two yards per carry on 12 totes.

The good news for Newton, however, is that this week he gets a much more favorable matchup at home against the porous Saints' defense. New Orleans ranks 31st in the league in overall Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points (NEP) and has allowed the 7th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

The other good news for the Panthers' quarterback is, although he wasn't particularly effective in the run game last week, Carolina is starting to rely on him more heavily in the run game than they did early in the season when he was recovering from a rib injury. Over the past three games, Cam has averaged 12 carries for 57 yards a game. That is a vast improvement over his average 3.5 carries for 10.5 yards per game through his first four games of the season. Newton's ability to produce in the run game not only gives his fantasy value a huge boost but it helps open up the field for the pass. Now that the Panthers' star is once again involved in the run game, and given the favorable matchup with the Saints, Newton makes an excellent play this week at an extremely reasonable price.

With our algorithms suggesting you go with a relatively inexpensive option at quarterback, that opens up your roster to spend big on other positions. This week we recommend you spend that money on two elite running backs - DeMarco Murray and Le'Veon Bell - who find themselves ranked sixth and fifth in Rushing NEP on the year respectively.

Murray has been absolutely unstoppable so far this season. He has rushed for at least 100 yards and has eclipsed 130 yards from scrimmage in every single game this season. He has scored seven touchdowns in eight games, leads the league in rushing by a whopping 388 yards and is on pace to break the single season rushing record.

While he does draw a very difficult matchup with the Cardinals elite run defense this week, we have seen Murray produce through tough matchups time and time again this season. The Cowboys' running has already faced three teams who rank inside the top 12 with regards to fantasy points allowed per game to opposing running backs - the 49ers, Rams and Redskins - and scored 20-plus fantasy points against each of them. Do not hesitate to plug Murray into your lineup, despite the tough matchup.

Although he has not been quite as dominant as Murray, Bell has put together an extremely impressive season so far. The Steelers' running back has amassed at least 100 yards from scrimmage in every game this season and has caught at least four passes in all but one game this season - a game in which he rushed for 147 yards. In fact, on top of ranking fifth in Rushing NEP so far this season, Bell actually ranks number one overall in Total NEP among all running backs.

Similarly to Murray, Bell draws a tough matchup this week against a Ravens team who is allowing the second fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. But also similarly to Murray, Bell has proven that he still provides strong fantasy value in tough matchups, including a game against Baltimore in Week 2 in which he racked up 107 yards while adding 5 receptions. Bell is the focal point of the Steelers offense and should continue to be a high-volume, high-floor play every week.

As I already mentioned, the Panthers get a dream matchup against New Orleans this week and Cam makes a great play. If Newton makes a strong start, much of the time that also means that his favorite target - Kelvin Benjamin - is also worth plugging into your lineups. This week is no different.

Benjamin comes into this game red hot, after burning Richard Sherman for four catches and 94 yards last week. The Panthers' rookie has scored at least ten fantasy points in all but two games this season and gets to face off with a Saints' secondary which has allowed the third most points to opposing wide receivers on the season. In a game that should be pretty high scoring with an over/under of 48, Benjamin should have no problem taking advantage of this juicy matchup. Stacking Newton and Benjamin is an excellent strategy against a Saints defense who has not been able to stop anyone.

Speaking of coming into this week hot, Cowboys' tight end Jason Witten is coming off of his best game of the season, posting a 5-catch, 70-yard, 1-touchdown line against Washington last week. Witten has now caught a touchdown in two of his past three games and has scored at least eight fantasy points in five of his last six games.

This week, Witten is fortunate enough to get a matchup with a Cardinals' squad that has struggled to defend against the tight end throughout the Bruce Arians era. Last season, the Cardinals gave up the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends in the league, and they have not improved much from a year ago. This season, Arizona is giving up the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. With Witten once again emerging as Tony Romo's favorite target behind Dez Bryant and a plus-matchup against the Cardinals, the Cowboys' tight end makes a strong play this week, especially considering his $3,900 price tag.