Biggest Week 9 Busts: Fantasy Football Reactions for Justin Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, D.J. Moore, Tyler Higbee, Raheem Mostert

The ninth NFL Sunday of the 2022 season has come and gone. Hopefully, you woke up on Monday morning feeling very good about how your week went. However, this week's slate of games was certainly stress-inducing for many fantasy football managers.

Part of that stress was caused by a group of players who drastically underachieved in Week 9. These players simply did not meet fantasy expectations, and it cost their managers in a big way. Let's take a look at the biggest busts from Week 9, as well as whether or not we can still have some trust in these players moving forward.

All point totals are based on the PPR scoring system.

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Fantasy Football Quarterback Busts

Justin Herbert, 15.1 FPTS

Herbert led the Chargers to victory in Week 9, but he wasn’t exactly incredible. The 24-year-old racked up 245 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was a fine outing from someone who didn’t have Mike Williams (ankle) and Keenan Allen (hamstring) at his disposal, but it was still a performance that underwhelmed fantasy managers everywhere. 

Marcus Mariota, 5.56 FPTS

On the side of the field opposite Herbert was Mariota, who completed just 12 passes for 129 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also added 24 rushing yards. Mariota wasn’t awful by any means, but his fantasy value suffered as he failed to find the end zone. 

Fantasy Football Running Back Busts

D'Onta Foreman, 4.1 FPTS

After two strong weeks in the wake of the Christian McCaffrey trade, Foreman came back to earth as the Panthers’ offense looked miserable in Cincinnati. The 26-year-old rushed for 23 yards and caught two passes for negative two yards through the air. His fantasy value against the Falcons in Week 10 is largely dependent on whether the Panthers can avoid falling behind early. 

David Montgomery, 5.4 FPTS

Justin Fields handled the bulk of the Bears’ rushing attempts in Week 9. As a result, Montgomery underwhelmed, amassing just 36 rushing yards and eight receiving yards. He falls into the RB3 tier against Detroit in Week 10. 

Raheem Mostert, 8.6 FPTS

Antonio Gibson, 6.7 FPTS

With J.D. McKissic (neck) out, it looked like Gibson was a smash start thanks to his impressive receiving ability. In the end, he rushed 11 times for 36 yards while adding just two catches and 11 yards through the air. The 24-year-old drops back into the RB3 tier against the Eagles next week.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts

D.J. Moore, 4.4 FPTS

After posting 48.1 fantasy points over his last two games, Moore underwhelmed on Sunday. As a result of the Panthers' overall struggles, the 25-year-old caught just two passes for 24 yards. The Panthers pivoted from P.J. Walker to Baker Mayfield at halftime, and it seems like neither quarterback can have a positive impact on Moore's fantasy value. With that said, he should be viewed as a borderline WR2 against a porous Falcons secondary on Thursday.

DeVonta Smith, 4.2 FPTS

Smith played 89 percent of snaps on Thursday night, catching just two passes for 22 yards. Once again, he fell into a clear backup role behind A.J. Brown and was not worth starting in fantasy football. Still, given the hot state of the Eagles' offense, the second-year wideout should be viewed as a WR3.

Michael Pittman Jr., 5.2 FPTS

Pittman posted his worst outing of an inconsistent 2022 season on Sunday afternoon. The 25-year-old caught just three passes from Sam Ehlinger in a despicable outing against the Patriots. He goes up against a porous Raiders secondary next week but still slides down to the WR3 tier.

Gabe Davis, 5.3 FPTS

The Bills couldn't get a whole lot done during Sunday's loss to the Jets, and Davis was no exception. The 23-year-old caught two passes for 33 yards, finishing with fewer than seven fantasy points for the fourth time this season. His role in an elite offense makes him an intriguing fantasy play, but his low floor drops him to the WR3 range against the Vikings in Week 10.

Fantasy Football Tight End Busts

Tyler Higbee, 0.0 FPTS

Higbee looked great at the start of the year. Then, over the last two games, he caught just three passes for 22 yards. The 29-year-old's woeful stat line reached a new low in Week 9 as he failed to haul in his lone target. Not only has Higbee lost his allure as one of the top fantasy tight ends, but it's fair to wonder whether he should even be started against the Cardinals next week. If you can find better options, feel free to pivot away from Higbee.

Kyle Pitts, 4.7 FPTS

Pitts teased fantasy managers with 80 yards and one touchdown last week. This week, despite being targeted seven times, he finished with just two catches and 27 yards. The 22-year-old has tremendous upside, but he also has a low floor given Marcus Mariota's struggles under center. Consider Pitts a fringe TE1 ahead of a tough stretch of matchups versus Carolina, Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans.

Evan Engram, 1.8 FPTS

Engram's exciting run of fantasy excellence came to an end Sunday. The 28-year-old caught just one pass for eight yards against the Raiders, turning in his worst outing of 2022. On a positive note, Engram could benefit from the Jaguars being forced to pass quite often against the Chiefs in Week 10.

Tyler Conklin, 1.7 FPTS

Last week, Conklin came out of nowhere, catching six passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns while finishing as the overall TE1. This week, though, he caught just one pass for seven yards, his second-worst outing of the 2022 season. Even though the Jets won, their tight end saw minimal involvement. As long as New York remains a run-heavy team, Conklin and other pass-catchers not named Garrett Wilson should be benched in fantasy football.

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