8 Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 9

Hayden Hurst, TE, Baltimore Ravens

In a year of tight end being terrible, Week 9 still manages to stand out as especially egregious if you're streaming the position.

Looking at ownership in Yahoo leagues and focusing only on tight ends available in at least 50% of leagues, three of the only four players owned in 15-plus percent of leagues are on bye this week. Fantasy players seem to be hoarding just about any tight end with value, which leaves us really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

What that means is we're looking to find a touchdown as that's going to make or break the fantasy value of any tight end down in this range.

One of the first steps to finding touchdowns is finding an offense that is going to have a few to go around. The Baltimore Ravens check that box this week, with a solid 25.25-point implied total.

The next step is being on the field. That hasn't been a strength for Hayden Hurst so far, but Week 8 did see him play a season-high 44% of the team's offensive snaps, while Nick Boyle's 46% clip was his second-lowest of the season. Hurst's role seems to be expanding quickly.

Third is actually getting the ball thrown your way. Again, not exactly a strength for Hurst, but he has been targeted in each of his four games this season, despite exceeding 26% of snaps only once. That expanded playing time in Week 8 came with a season-high three targets, one of which he converted into a touchdown.

A goose egg is absolutely within the range of outcomes for Hurst here, but with the difference between a zero from Hurst and a two from someone like Charles Clay being so insignificant, there is value in chasing the touchdown upside with Hurst.