Best NFL Survivor Pool Strategy & Picks For Week 9: Saints, Bengals, More

If you find yourself reading this article, I can only assume you had success last week and are ready to make your survivor pool picks for NFL Week 9. Either that or you’re just super-dedicated to all the content here on Fantasy Alarm and read every word.
If it’s the latter, then a hearty thank you is in order. If it’s the former, then congratulations and let’s start talking survivor pool picks and the best survivor pool strategy for you moving forward.
Last week, I provided you with five different options in which four of them hit. As I mentioned in the article, in my survivor pool, I took the Denver Broncos who were actually the team most picked by the field. It was a mild surprise, but anytime you get the chance to grab a lesser team in a smash spot, you want to try and take it if you can.
I also gave out the Detroit Lions as my top survivor pool pick of the week and they, obviously, cruised. The Green Bay Packers made you sweat it out a little with the Jordan Love injury and the Kansas City Chiefs game was a little closer than I thought it would be, but both prevailed.
The one that crushed people’s souls was the Baltimore Ravens who were upset by the Cleveland Browns and, for the second time this season, cost people their survivor pool lives. A Week 2 loss to the Raiders crushed me, and a ton of others, in Circa Survivor and now this loss did almost as much damage.
They were the second-most selected team in my pool, so while I can give those who lost a sympathetic apology, it did put me in a much better spot for this week and beyond. So where do we go with our survivor pool picks for Week 9? What’s the best survivor pool strategy? Let’s dive into the matchups and the latest Vegas odds & lines.
Best NFL Survivor Pool Strategy For 2024 NFL Week 9
As we get ready to make our survivor pool picks for NFL Week 9, we need to make sure we are aligned with the best survivor pool strategy first and then see, like the past two weeks, if there are spots where we can deviate from what we expect to be the top picks taken by the group.
We typically start with checking out which home teams have the softest matchups, which of those teams have the biggest and most favorable point spreads and, from there, check in with the money lines. The juicier the better. But before we even do that, we need to check and see who is playing the Carolina Panthers and see if they are available to us.
Targeting against the really bad teams is always a best survivor pool strategy practice. The Panthers are definitely No. 1 on the list, but we should also be checking out the New England Patriots, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. If we can target against one of those teams each week, then making our weekly survivor pool picks is going to be a lot easier. No guarantees obviously – any given Sunday and all that – but if the matchups look good, we’re going to push the chips all-in.
NFL Survivor Pool Picks For Week 9
New Orleans Saints (-7 Road Favorite; -350 Money Line)
Despite this not being a home game, I expect the majority of people to latch onto the Saints with their survivor pool picks this week. Derek Carr is expected to return which puts the Saints offense on a much different level and the Panthers are already packing it in, having traded Diontae Johnson while exploring other options to move other players.
There doesn’t appear to be another opportunity to take them as we see this week, so while yes, there is risk involved, given their recent struggles, this looks like the third-straight week we can take a not-so-great team and save some big guns for later. I’m going to lock them in as my survivor pool pick for this week but will shout it out in Discord if I change gears.
Cincinnati Bengals (-7 Home Favorite; -350 Money Line)
After another slow start to the season, the Bengals turned things around, winning three of four before falling to the Eagles last week. But that loss could actually help us this week as Cincinnati is now a desperate team in dire need of a big win this week.
The Raiders are another team that appears to be set on auditioning younger players and after four-straight losses and a trade away of Davante Adams, this looks like a good spot for survivor pool picks. They do have a couple of games ahead on the schedule we may think about holding them for, but if the other options listed here are off the board, they might be your best bet.
Baltimore Ravens (-9 Home Favorite; -450 Money Line)
Dare we go back to the well again? And against the upstart Broncos who gave us the win last week? Absolutely. I wish I could take them this week as I do believe Denver is a fraudulent team, but I’ve already used them in my pool.
Derrick Henry is likely to go off on this one as offensive coordinator Todd Monken probably doesn’t want to challenge the Broncos secondary, but when was banking on Henry, or Lamar Jackson’s legs for that matter, a bad thing?
Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5 Home Favorite; -350 Money Line)
Yes, there are flaws within the Eagles defense and yes, this sets up a revenge-game narrative for Doug Pederson but come on – the Jags are awful. Travis Etienne might return but he’s been ineffective even when he’s on the field, Christian Kirk is out for the season, Brian Thomas is questionable with a chest injury and Gabe Davis is nursing a sore shoulder.
The Eagles do have an early-December home game against the Panthers, so you may want to save them for a future survivor pool pick, but if you need to take them here, it should be a win.
Kansas City Chiefs (-9 Home Favorite; -450 Money Line)
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t exactly pushovers, their lack of true receiving talent is going to be very evident in this match-up against a very tough Chiefs defense.
They can also stop the run as well as the pass so it’s going to be tough sledding for the Bucs in this one. And then, obviously, you have Patrick Mahomes against a highly-suspect Bucs secondary. Say what you want about Patrick Mahomes, but I will always be happy to lean on him when I need it most.
Best of luck in Week 9 and I’ll see you for more survivor pool picks and the best survivor pool strategy in Week 10!
Player News
Free agent Gabe Davis will visit the New York Giants.
Cut by the Jaguars after one season last week, Davis visited the 49ers on Monday. New York would be a reunion of sorts, as he played for Giants coach Brian Daboll in Buffalo. The G-Men already have several wideouts capable of stretching the field, but 26-year-old Davis could still be a decent role player in a strong offense. The problem, of course, is that the Giants profile as anything but, but rookie QB Jaxson Dart is comfortable throwing down the field.
Ravens S Ar’Darius Washington has been diagnosed with a torn achilles suffered during offseason training.
The fifth-year pro became a weekly starter for the first time last season, earning elite PFF marks in the process. He was a restricted free agent this spring but had yet to sign his $3.26 million tender. That’s a tough break, to put it mildly. Achilles timelines have shortened significantly in recent years, but Washington will probably still miss the entire 2025 campaign. The Ravens are protected in part by their first-round selection of fellow S Malaki Starks, but May is not the month you already want to be dipping into your depth. Going on 26, Washington’s career future is murky after he worked so hard to finally become a regular contributor last season.
Chiefs signed fourth-round WR Jalen Royals to a four-year contract.
Royals doesn’t have an obvious and open spot in the receiving corps to build short-term fantasy value with Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and Rashee Rice operating in the opening 11-personnel package. He may or may not play his way into WR4 duties depending on how the team feels about JuJu Smith-Schuster. Royals has plenty of talent and Brown is on a one-year deal, so there is a future where Royals is more than a bit player for the Chiefs. It likely won’t happen in his first season without injuries in front of him.
Matthew Judon said he “probably” won’t return to the Falcons in 2025.
The Falcons, of course, drafted both Jalon Walker and James Pearce in the first round. In an exclusive interview with CardPlayer.com — not to be confused with our PokerNews.com James Cook scoop a few days ago — Judon said that his sack total was down because “I dropped (into coverage) on 60 percent of the plays. It’s hard to get a pick and a sack on the same play.” Judon also told Kyle Odegard that “a couple” teams had expressed interest in him but he was in no rush to sign.
Jets released P Thomas Morstead.
Austin McNamara and Kai Kroeger will compete for the Jets punter job this year. The 39-year-old former Saint was the league’s oldest punter last season. If he wants to keep punting, he can absolutely join the tryout circuit or a competition elsewhere. But this is probably a sign that the Morstead’s 16-year career is close to an end at this point.
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said it’s “going to be a breakout year” for Jameson Williams.
Morton said he’d never “been around someone that fast,” then quickly corrected himself to note that Jhamyr Gibbs is also that fast. Williams came on strong last year with a 58/1001/7 receiving line, but offensive coordinator praise could mean even more targets are coming. It would likely come at the expense of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s production if Williams were to truly break out, though there’s plenty for St. Brown to give and still be a top-flight fantasy wideout. It’s risky to read too much into statements like this in the offseason, but the new offensive coordinator telling you he thinks it’ll be a breakout year for Williams is certainly noteworthy.