There is nothing easy about making lineup decisions in fantasy football. It is a necessary part of the game. Getting these decisions correct is key to your success as a fantasy manager. Here to help you make those decisions are our positional start ’em and sit ’em picks.
Fantasy decisions will only get more difficult from here on out, so let’s take a look at our Week 9 start/sit plays for the WR position.
Which WRs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Nico Collins, Houston Texans (vs. TB)
Continuing with the theme of not starting running backs against the Bucs but attacking them through the air, Nico Collins should be in line for a nice bounce-back week.
Collins had a rough outing against Carolina, catching just four passes for 30 yards. But he remains the Texans’ WR1.
MORE: Week 9 Start/Sit Options — QB | TE | RB
This week should be much better, as Houston should somehow struggle to run the ball even more. That should result in more volume for Collins against a Buccaneers pass defense allowing the ninth-most PPG to wide receivers.
Consider Collins a locked-in WR2 this week.
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (vs. CHI)
I wasn’t sure exactly how to attack this Bears defense, but I knew I wanted to. In the interest of full disclosure, I was deciding between whether to recommend Michael Thomas or Rashid Shaheed. I went with Thomas because of what we saw last week with the Chargers.
Los Angeles attacked Chicago’s defense by using a lot of underneath stuff. They didn’t really push the ball downfield, instead opting to dink and dunk the Bears to death. Well, that is where Thomas thrives.
Thomas’ average depth of target is well outside the top 50. He was never one for efficiency. But if there ever was a week where he could volume his way to actually scoring more than 13 fantasy points, this is the one.
Which WRs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings (at ATL)
Unsurprisingly, there’s no way Dobbs would have been able to digest enough of the Vikings’ playbook to be able to start on five days’ notice. That means it will be rookie Jaren Hall under center, at least for this week.
We’re probably looking at a very watered-down, run-heavy approach for Minnesota this week. That means Jordan Addison is unlikely to produce at the level he has been with Kirk Cousins since Justin Jefferson went down.
You probably can’t afford to bench Addison, given the teams on bye this week. But if you can, I’m very concerned about his ability to produce.
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (at NE)
I legitimately hope I get this call wrong and Jahan Dotson is here to stay. Unfortunately, I just don’t think he is.
Last week, Dotson had the best game of his career, catching eight of 10 targets for 108 yards and a touchdown. It was also against the most generous pass defense to wide receivers.
The Patriots are an above-average matchup for wide receivers, but still much tougher than the Eagles.
Prior to last week, Dotson hadn’t topped 43 receiving yards in a game. He was consistently being treated as nothing more than a desperation WR4 play. After one week, I’m cautioning fantasy managers against declaring his breakout back on.
I would sit Dotson this week as we find out how real last week’s performance was.
Trending Searches for WR Start/Sit
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, allowing you to enter in up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, which we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity on!
Should You Start Nico Collins or Tee Higgins?
The Start/Sit Optimizer has Collins projected for 13.3 fantasy points, 0.8 more than Tee Higgins. That’s not a large gap, but it’s definitely larger than how I see it. I have these two back-to-back in my Week 9 rankings. This is as close as it gets.
Collins is an excellent spot against the aforementioned Bucs pass-funnel defense. He’s also been the more reliable fantasy asset all season.
But let’s not forget how talented Tee Higgins is. He has a much more proven track record, and we really can explain away a lot of his struggles over the first half of the season.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
First, Joe Burrow wasn’t healthy. Then, Higgins wasn’t healthy. Last week, we finally saw them both near 100 percent, and Higgins posted a very solid 5-69 line.
I’m expecting Higgins to build upon that more this week and return to being the guy who was drafted at the 2/3 turn this season.
Fantasy managers should feel confident starting both of these guys this week. But if forced to choose one, I would give the narrowest of edges to Collins.
Should You Start Josh Downs or Jordan Addison?
If Kirk Cousins hadn’t gone down, this would easily be Addison. The question fantasy managers are trying to figure out is not whether Jaren Hall will result in a downgrade in production for Addison but rather how much.
Gardner Minshew certainly hasn’t been a problem for Josh Downs. If anything, he’s been a boon. While the Colts are certainly better off with Anthony Richardson, Minshew isn’t taking away 8-10 targets a week with scrambles and designed runs. As a result, Downs has been able to feast even with Michael Pittman Jr. operating as the clear WR1.
The Start/Sit Optimizer has Downs projected for 11.3 fantasy points against 10.6 for Addison. That’s reasonably close. I don’t have it nearly as close.
I am very concerned about Hall’s ability to complete passes … like at all. I bumped Addison way down, eight spots below Downs in my Week 9 rankings. Therefore, I would start Downs over Addison.
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