The Arizona Cardinals will face the Chicago Bears in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Michael Wilson.
Is Michael Wilson Playing in Week 9?
Wilson is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Cardinals’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Michael Wilson in Week 9?
I get excited about this kid once a month. The tools are in place, and I like his Robin role to Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Batman, but I think the days of this offense providing us with two usable receivers is probably more of a 2025 thing.
Wilson’s size has allowed him to score three times this season, but he’s totaled just 57 receiving yards across those three games, meaning we aren’t even being rewarded in a big way when he does find paydirt.
Wilson has produced at least 26% over target expectations in three of his past four games and has seen three end-zone targets over the past three weeks. However, I can’t rank him as a top-40 receiver until we see his number called more regularly. His aDOT has been stuck in reverse lately, and that’s simply not the way to attack Chicago (top five against short passes in yards per pass, passer rating, and touchdown rate).
I’m telling you now — I’ll be leading the Wilson hype train this summer. Tickets are available at @KyleSoppePFN with early-bird pricing now available.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Michael Wilson’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Wilson is projected to score 10.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.8 receptions for 48.7 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Chicago Bears Defense
The Chicago Bears’ defense is quietly putting together a superb season. They have been overshadowed by the high-profile nature of their offense, but it has been the defense that has been instrumental in their start to the season. They have ranked inside the top 10 in five of their first seven games and inside the top 15 in all six of them.
Understandably, the defense will receive criticism for the way their Week 8 game with the Washington Commanders ended, but the only reason the Bears were even in that game is that their defense held firm for the duration. Even when accounting for that play, the Bears’ defense was still the seventh-ranked unit in Week 8.
The Bears’ defensive strengths this year have been centered around their red-zone performance, ranking first with a 36.8% conversion rate, which has led to a No. 4 ranking in terms of points per drive (1.45). They have been better against the pass than the run, but that has not hurt their overall numbers too much — they rank second in defensive EPA per game.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Michael Wilson’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals Insights
Chicago Bears
Team: For the first time in the 2000s, the Bears have allowed 21 or fewer points in each of their first seven games of a season.
QB: It’s been a simple story with Caleb Williams – his passer rating is 42.8 points higher when not pressured than when he is this season.
Offense: The Bears didn’t run for even 85 yards in any of their first three games – they’ve cleared 125 rushing yards in all four games since (Week 8 at Washington: season-high 196 rushing yards).
Defense: Bend but don’t break – the Bears haven’t allowed a red zone touchdown in two of the past three weeks (that, of course, isn’t going to help when defending Jayden Daniels Hail Marys).
Fantasy: Is there a running back playing better than D’Andre Swift? Over his past four games, he’s produced 33.4% over expectation, averaging 22.6 PPR points per game in the process.
Betting: Six straight Bear road games have come in under the closing total.
Arizona Cardinals
Team: The Cardinals are seeking their first three-game win streak since starting the 2021 season 7-0.
QB: Kyler Murray posted a 127.2 in-pocket passer rating against the Dolphins last week, his highest since Week 13, 2021.
Offense: The Cardinals beat the Dolphins last week without leading for a single offensive snap. It’s their second game this season in which every offensive snap came from behind and their second win when they were trailing for over 87% of their offensive snaps (Also: Week 5 at the 49ers).
Defense: Arizona has allowed their opponent to pick up at least half of their third downs in five of the past six games (Dolphins in Week 8: 11-of-15, 73.3%).
Fantasy: Marvin Harrison Jr.’s sliding touchdown catch was a work of art and paid the fantasy bills, but be careful – his 19.4% on-field target share was his lowest since his NFL debut. That said, he was in the slot for a season-high 32.1% of his routes, an encouraging sign of this team’s willingness to move him around.
Betting: Overs are 9-4 in Kyler Murray’s career when he starts in a game with a spread of less than three points.
