Week 9 Fantasy Football Smash Starts: It's TreVeyon Henderson Breakout Time
John Laghezza zeroes in on the Week 9 smash starts for fantasy football, highlighting TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Monangai and more.
Waves of news keep crashing the fantasy shores almost faster than I can process it all, creating a handful of freaky Friday RB smash spots for the upcoming Week 9 slate.
Week 9 Fantasy Football Smash Starts
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
Chicago’s seventh-round rookie RB out of Rutgers had already started nipping at D’Andre Swift’s heels in the utilization reports after posting a top-12 RB finish as a backup against the Saints. Relegated strictly to understudy duties behind the hyper-efficient Swift, one quote just blew a huge hole in the fantasy smash dam.
HC Ben Johnson described Swift’s groin issue as “chronic” during a presser today, putting fantasy football’s current RB11’s status in real doubt. The kicker? Chicago’s prepping to take on a Bengals’ defense that’s so bad …
(crowd, loudly) HOW BAD ARE THEY?!?!?
Zac Taylor’s D is so bad, it’s a veritable laundry list of bottom-tier metrics—responsible for surrendering more than 10% more fantasy points to opposing RBs than the field.
Bengals Rushing Defense, 2025
- 31.6 Points Allowed Per Game: Last
- -0.14 EPA Per Play: Last
- 6.2 Yards Allowed Per Play: Last
- 46.9% Defensive Success Rate: Last
- -0.07 EPA Per Rush: T-31st
- 151.9 Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: Last
- 1.95 Yards Before Contact Per Carry: 30th
Kimani Vidal, RB, LA Chargers
Mum’s still the word on Chargers’ rookie RB Omarion Hampton, last seen wearing a boot this past weekend in what we can only assume will be a few more weeks until he’s ready for action. Enter Kimani Vidal, LAC’s sixth-round sophomore RB out of Troy, fantasy’s RB8 since taking over the starting job Week 6—and that includes a 7.5-point stinker against Indianapolis.
Aside from the strong +71% backfield touch share since Week 6, everything else is in place to keep the smash train rolling. Vidal’s underpinning rushing metrics rank among above-average starters (5.2 yards/attempt, 3.0 yards after contact/carry, 13.0% explosive rush rate), including commanding the majority of backfield targets, topped off with an insane 94% red zone touch share in that timeframe.
The Bolts charge up the LA atmosphere to blast the Titans as double-digit favorites in Music City. Frankly, given their point differential is 50% worse than the field (!) a 10-point spread may be on the generous side. Tennessee’s been an abject disaster, dead last in a dozen stats on both sides of the ball.
Tennessee is outgunned and outclassed, leaving Vidal on a short list of players who could score 3 TDs without a shrug.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England
Be forewarned … one more wrong take on TreVeyon Henderson and The Talented Mr. Roto may be getting on the horn with Guinness World Records. Can’t honestly remember ever getting whipsawed so hard over and over on the same player in a single season without learning my lesson. Yet here we are—no retreat and no surrender …
The second I swallowed my pride to capitulate publicly in favor of Terrell Jennings, Henderson goes 10-for-75 against the Browns, showing the same combo of wiggle and burst that got him drafted 38th overall in the first place.
And here I am, back at square one, ready to be hurt once more. Veteran starter Rhamondre Stevenson is out with a toe injury, and it’s really starting to feel like now or never for this fantasy season for Henderson. The matchup versus Atlanta’s front seven won't be easy, but if we’re projecting +60% of carries along with +10% of targets we can get this home through volume.
NOTE: New England elevated D’Ernest Johnson to join Jennings to presumably back up Henderson. Wild predictions aside, keep a close eye on Henderson’s usage in this game—Mike Vrabel’s situational deployment will weigh heavily in my rest-of-season accounting.
For example, if Johnson’s more trusted off the street than Henderson in even a handful of critical pass-protection spots, it’s a wrap. Conversely, if +20 TreVeyon touches turn into +125 scrimmage yards and a top-5 RB finish, there could be no turning back on the latest league-winning breakout.
BEST OF THE REST SMASH SPOTS
Caleb Williams, QB, CHI at CIN
Jaxson Dart, QB, NYG vs SF
Puka Nacua, WR, LAR vs NO
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, JAX at LV
Khalil Shakir, WR, BUF vs KC
Jake Ferguson, TE, DAL vs ARI
AJ Barner, TE, SEA at WAS
Join Our Newsletter
Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.
By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
