Should You Start Devin Singletary, Mike Boone, or Dare Ogunbowale in Fantasy Football in Week 9?

Houston Texans starting RB Dameon Pierce has had a rough year. Fantasy football managers drafted Pierce based on his solid rookie outing, in addition to the fact that he was likely to get all of the volume on what was anticipated to be a subpar Houston offense. But things have not gone to plan. The Houston offense has been better than expected, and Pierce has not been as much of a bell-cow back as advertised.

To add injury to insult, Pierce did not practice Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday of this week due to an ankle injury and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. It becomes the next man up in Houston to fill in for Pierce, who is currently RB34 on the season.

Should You Start Devin Singletary, Mike Boone, or Dare Ogunbowale for Fantasy Football in Week 9?

In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, PFN’s Consensus Rankings say managers should start Devin Singletary. He is projected to have 9.1 fantasy points on 35.4 rushing yards and 2.3 receptions.

Mike Boone is projected to have 2.8 fantasy points on 8.4 rushing yards and one reception. Finally, Dare Ogunbowale is projected to have 2.8 fantasy points on 2.8 rushing yards and 0.7 receptions.

I agree with the Optimizer — of the three healthy Houston RBs, Singletary is the start this week.

Devin Singletary’s Fantasy Outlook

It is hard to think of Singletary as the backup to Pierce, at least over the last two weeks. Pierce was RB46 in Week 6 and Week 8 — the Texans were on bye in Week 7 — and Singletary had a higher finish in both weeks. Singletary was RB33 in Week 6 and RB41 in Week 8. It is unclear why, but the Texans have been moving more toward a split backfield between the two.

MORE: Fantasy Week 9 RB Start/Sit

Last week, the two backs were almost 50/50 regarding snap share, so it should be a smooth transition for Singletary to become the RB1 for a week, or maybe more, depending on his production. Tampa Bay is relatively strong at defending the run (the 10th fewest rushing yards allowed), but I feel like Singletary will be the main guy and get the lion’s share of volume. He is RB30 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings.

Mike Boone’s Fantasy Outlook

Last week, Boone participated in kick returns, but expect that to decrease this week with Pierce out. Boone is currently RB92 on the year and has done very little to earn himself playing time on a fantasy roster. His best finish was in Week 1 when he was the RB51 based on receiving work alone. He didn’t earn any yards rushing, but he caught three of his four targets for 18 yards.

I expect a little more work for Boone this week with Pierce out, but he is a fringe RB3 and really can only be started in deep leagues. He has only had three rushing attempts this year.

Dare Ogunbowale’s Fantasy Outlook

Ogunbowale has been nothing more than a depth piece for Houston so far this season. He is RB131 and has only played in two games, Week 2 and Week 8. His playing time will obviously increase with Pierce out, but he should not find himself in any fantasy starting lineups.

Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!