Fantasy football Week 9 start/sit - Crucial game for Packers starters - ESPN

Fantasy managers were certainly well aware that the Green Bay Packers made a major quarterback change this offseason, but they remained confident in veteran RB Aaron Jones and sophomore WR Christian Watson, choosing them as high as the third round in many ESPN average live drafts. After all, Jones finished last season ninth among running backs in PPR points, and he has been a reliable top-15 running back four years running. Watson scored nine touchdowns during his 2022 rookie season over 14 games, and he sure looked like a future star.

The Packers enter their Week 9 home matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on a four-game losing streak and with fantasy managers quite discouraged with several — well, most — of their players. One might say these players are on the proverbial Hot Seat for future trust. Jones scored 26.7 PPR points in this season's opener but hurt his hamstring scoring one of the touchdowns, and he hasn't reached double-digit scoring since. Watson hasn't caught more than three passes in any game, and he has only one touchdown. Five Packers began this week rostered in 50% of ESPN standard leagues, each rostered in fewer leagues than they were last week.

Packers fans might want to blame all of this on new quarterback Jordan Love, the 2020 first-round NFL draft pick who finally got his chance this season when the Aaron Rodgers arrangement mercifully ended in a trade to the New York Jets, but he's not the only problem. Love started this season well, eclipsing 20 fantasy points in the first three games and leading his team to a pair of wins, enjoying the love from fantasy managers. The transition looked wonderful, especially in light of Rodgers failing to finish his only Jets game.

Things look different now. Love