The Week 9 waiver wire isn’t overly exciting at the wide receiver position. It mostly consists of guys who had been underperforming but showed signs of life last week. There is one rookie fantasy football managers might want to add, though. Here are a couple of WR targets on the wire this week.
Top WR Waiver Wire Targets in Week 9
More Waiver Wire Targets: QBs | RBs | TEs
Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (50% Rostered)
After writing Dotson off, he bounced back in a big way against the Eagles. The sophomore receiver caught eight of his 10 targets for 108 yards and a touchdown. It was easily the best performance of his young career.
At this point, it’s too early to say if this is a sign of things to come or just a fluke. Regardless, given the hype on Dotson before the season, it’s absolutely worth it to spend some FAAB to bank on the former.
FAAB Recommendation: 15-25%
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings (50% Rostered)
Take this one with a grain of salt now that Kirk Cousins is done for the season. Osborn caught eight of 10 targets for 99 yards.
With Jaren Hall starting, it’s unlikely anyone other than Jordan Addison and, eventually, Justin Jefferson will be viable. Nevertheless, Osborn has proven capable of posting big games on occasion. He’s at least worth adding to see what happens.
FAAB Recommendation: 5-10%
Demario Douglas, New England Patriots (3% Rostered)
The Demario Douglas takeover is almost complete. Even with JuJu Smith-Schuster active, Douglas operated as the Patriots WR1. He led the team in snaps and routes run. With Kendrick Bourne potentially missing time, Douglas is poised to be Mac Jones’ WR1.
While being the WR1 in a Jones-led offense isn’t the most exciting thing, he’s now seen 13 targets over his last two games. It’s rough out there on the waiver wire, making Douglas worth grabbing to see how things play out.
FAAB Recommendation: 2-10%
Which WRs Should You Roster in Fantasy Football?
Should You Roster Jahan Dotson or Michael Thomas?
This is a really interesting one. On the one hand, you have Michael Thomas — the ultimate floor play. You know exactly what you’re going to get with Thomas. About 10 points. No more, no less. Thomas has scored between 9.3 and 13.2 fantasy points in every game this season.
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At the same time, what Thomas provides has been better than Jahan Dotson pretty much every week of the season until now. The question, of course, is whether this was Dotson’s coming-out party or just a random fluke event.
The answer to this one depends on your team. Do you need the reliable weekly floor that Thomas provides? Or do you want to chase the objectively higher upside that Dotson provides while acknowledging there’s a chance Dotson goes back to weeks where he gives you 5-7 points? Neither is wrong.
Should You Roster K.J. Osborn or Elijah Moore?
For this one, my choices in which names to include in which articles answer this for me. Osborn appears in the waiver wire column. Elijah Moore is going to appear — spoiler alert — on the cut list. I think you can see where this is headed.
Moore has just one game with more than four receptions this season. He plays with quarterbacks who are not really capable of supporting more than one wide receiver, which is going to be Amari Cooper.
Even with Kirk Cousins done for the year, I would still prefer Osborn in the short term. Once Justin Jefferson returns, Osborn will likely become droppable. But Moore already is. For those reasons, give me Osborn.
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