Fantasy WR Rankings Week 9: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

It’s never easy to identify the borderline wide receivers who will produce in a given week, no matter how hard you study the stats and matchups. Of course, that’s not going to stop us from putting together Week 9 fantasy WR rankings and trying to predict at least a few sleepers and streamers.

The fantastic trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown are out of commission this week because the Bucs are on bye. Terry McLaurin, DK Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett are also off the board (and Detroit’s WRs, if you care). Last week was pretty tame when it comes to idle WRs, as Marquise Brown was by far the most important receiver out of action. All things considered, finding under-the-radar value will be more important this week.

WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

CeeDee Lamb (vs. Broncos), Amari Cooper (vs. Broncos), A.J. Brown (@ Rams), and D.J. Moore (vs. Patriots) look to be the studs with the scariest matchups — especially if Dak Prescott is still out — but they are universally considered must-starts. Michael Gallup (vs. Broncos) and Julio Jones (if active, @ Rams) will be tougher calls.

WEEK 9 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Rather than discussing those guys, we’ll dive into some middle-of-the-pack WRs with favorable matchups. Tre’Quan Smith and Marquez Callaway (vs. Falcons), Allen Lazard (@ Chiefs), DeVante Parker (vs. Texans), Cole Beasley (@ Jaguars), Chase Claypool (vs. Bears), and Tim Patrick (@ Dallas), all square off with defenses that generally struggle against WRs. Christian Kirk and A.J. Green (@ 49ers) are also high-upside plays, as San Francisco’s secondary looks to be unraveling. With DeAndre Hopkins banged up, there should be more targets for the other Arizona WRs.

Each of the guys mentioned is more valuable in standard leagues, with the possible exception of Parker. None are guaranteed to get a ton of volume but are they big-play threats based on what we’ve seen so far this season. For instance, Callaway has been boom-or-bust in every sense of the phrase, but it’s tough to find many better options at this point in the rankings — even with Taysom Hill under center for the Saints. Going a bit deeper, Tajae Sharpe and Russell Gage (@ Saints), Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Randall Cobb (@ Chiefs), and Van Jefferson (vs. Titans) are also in good spots and present some boom-or-bust upside.

DeVonta Smith (vs. Chargers), Laviska Shenault and Marvin Jones (vs. Bills), and Michael Pittman and T.Y. Hilton (vs. Jets) are concerning this week (assuming Hilton is active). We know the Jets generally struggle, but not necessarily against WRs. They were actually allowing the third-fewest fantasy points per game to WRs heading into Week 8. If Pittman or Hilton don’t find the end zone early, they could certainly bust.

The Chargers have been suspect on defense against TEs and RBs, but they’ve held their own against WRs, and Smith, despite all of his upside, struggles more often than not. The Jags’ duo has been disappointing thus far, and it’s tough to think Trevor Lawrence will thrive against an elite Bills’ defense. It’s also worth noting this likely won’t be Allen Robinson’s breakout week either, as the Steelers defense should give Justin Fields fits. We actually like the more highly targeted Darnell Mooney a little more. 

Those are just some of the guys on the start ’em, sit ’em bubble we’re sorting through, but we’ll have analysis on some of the other guys to consider (or eliminate from consideration) early in the week.

Note: We’ll be updating these WR rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest changes and analysis.

​Fantasy WR Rankings Week 9: Who to start at wide receiver

Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring