Week 9 NFL Player Props of the Week

We’re back again with our favorite player props of the week. As we gear up for the Sunday action of Week 9, I’ve got some bets I’m eying.

Here are some of my favorite individual player props for Week 9.

Minnesota Vikings at Washington Commanders

Kirk Cousins is returning to the DMV to take on his former team, the Washington Commanders. While they lost Carson Wentz, they have suddenly won three straight games, taking care of the Bears, Packers and Colts. The Vikings will be their toughest test. A lot of people have commented on this line being generous toward the Commanders, and with some reverse line movement, I would be a little worried holding a Vikings ticket. 

Here’s the thing about Washington – they are one of the best run-stopping frontlines in football but struggle in the secondary. Their defensive line, held down by a group of former first-round picks, is having a lot of success getting to the quarterback, ranking third in pressure rate. Cousins has historically struggled against teams that are able to get a lot of pressure, so my handicap is based on who he targets when he’s put in that tough situation. 

Thinking through the Washington defense, the linebackers are the clear target. Without leading tackler Cole Holcomb, they are working with just Jamin Davis and some practice-squad level players. Kamren Curl and Darrick Forrest are two of PFF’s highest rated safeties in the league, so new addition T.J. Hockenson doesn’t seem like the path of least resistance. Finally you have the secondary, who just traded William Jackson and is working with a group of subpar players. Justin Jefferson will clearly be a part of the Vikings’ plan early and often, but there shouldn’t be a lot of time for Cousins to throw.

Now that we understand the strengths and weakness of the Washington secondary, how to we approach this? My two first thoughts were Cousins to throw an interception and Dalvin Cook‘s receiving yards. If Cousins is going to be pressured constantly, playing against a run defense that’s really strong, we can trust that there’s going to be an uptick in pass attempts. 

Cousins has been good recently, but he’s faced five straight teams that rank bottom 10 in pressure rate. We’ve seen Washington linebackers struggle to cover all season long, and I expect Cook to be used in more creative ways. We’ve recently seen against WSH: 

• Nyheim Hines 29 rec yards
• Aaron Jones 53 rec yards
• David Montgomery 13 rec yards
• Derrick Henry 30 + Dontrell Hilliard 23  yards
• Ezekiel Elliott 32  yards

The only miss was when David Montgomery was stuck at 13, but Justin Fields is going to take it himself and run 10/10 times, something Cousins can’t do. The FTN Prop Shop currently has PointsBet with 10.5 receiving yards at -135, Barstool is at 12.5 and FanDuel is at 13.5. I would play it until 15 personally. 

Bet: Dalvin Cook over 10.5 receiving yards (PointsBet)