Week 9 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Fantasy Wide Receivers

Welcome back, readers! I am happy to return for a second year as The Sporting Tribune's fantasy football analyst. If you are new here, my mission is to help fantasy managers with any dilemmas or questions they may have through the course of the season to ultimately win their leagues. For the next 17 weeks, I will produce weekly fantasy content that will go over the waiver wire, rankings, and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em columns.

Being a fantasy manager often means having to make difficult roster decisions, but I aim to take some of the guesswork out of it with my Start 'Em and Sit 'Em column for every position. It goes without saying that I won't include obvious calls like "start Trey McBride" or "sit Tommy DeVito." Instead, I search for players that could be perceived as fringe that could propel your lineups for weekly wins.

As always, if you have any questions or don't see your players here, feel free to follow me on Twitter (X) – @JamesNewell96 and send me a message, where I typically respond in a timely manner.

Start ’Em

Mike Evans vs. LV (Projected FPTS – 13.2): If Evans, who is dealing with an Achilles injury and sat out a game before the Niners’ Week Eight bye, returns to the field, he needs to be back in starting lineups. Evans will face the Raiders, who’ve allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to outside receivers and surrendered 4.2 offensive touchdowns per-game over the last month. Las Vegas has given up over 1,000 receiving yards on deep throws, which is where Evans has seen 69.2 percent of his targets. Over the six games he’s played this season, Evans has scored double-digit fantasy points in five of them. Make sure to keep an eye on San Francisco’s practice report over the next few days to see Evans’ status for Sunday.

Parker Washington @ BAL (Projected FPTS – 14.4): Washington has failed to go over 10.4 fantasy points in three of his last four games, including last week against the Colts, when he had just two targets and 3.6 fantasy points. To be fair, Trevor Lawrence threw the ball only 14 times and completed just 10 passes. I am confident Washington will bounce back on Thursday night against the Ravens, who have allowed the third-most yards, fourth-most receptions and eighth-most fantasy points per game to receivers this season. As someone who owns Washington in multiple leagues, I am starting him in every single one of them this week.

Keenan Allen vs. DAL (Projected FPTS – 10.4): Allen has been a PPR machine this season. Last Sunday, he caught all seven of his targets against the Jaguars, making it the fourth time in his last five games that he’s had seven targets. The only game in which he didn’t hit that mark was against the Vikings’ ferocious defense. Over that five-game span, Allen has averaged 12.8 fantasy points per game and has become the go-to option for the Colts. This week he takes on the Cowboys, who’ve allowed the third-most fantasy points and the fourth-most touchdowns to wideouts. Dallas has also yielded 17-plus fantasy points to six receivers this season.

Honorable Mentions: Malik Washington vs. DET; Makai Lemon vs. NYG; Rashee Rice vs. NYJ; Jordan Addison @ BUF; Matthew Golden @ NE; Antonio Williams vs. LAR; Luther Burden III vs. TB; Denzel Boston @ NO; Devaughn Vele vs. CLE.

Sit ’Em

Zay Flowers vs. JAX (Projected FPTS – 12.5): Flowers has been a beast this season, but after his goose-egg performance in Week Eight, his fantasy value and on-field production took a massive blow when Lamar Jackson suffered a season-ending injury and Tyler Huntley was expected to be out this week. Under center for the Ravens will be third-stringer Joe Fagnano, who will make his first career start against the Jaguars. Fagnano played some of the snaps last week, and he did not target Flowers once. I don’t expect Flowers to be shut out again, but I don’t picture a big performance from a wideout who has had less than a week to get familiar with his new quarterback.

Jalen Coker vs. DEN (Projected FPTS – 12.1): At the beginning of the season, Coker was a rising star in the Panthers’ offense and showcased true potential to be a WR2 in fantasy. His production has dropped off over the last few games after he missed time with a quad injury, and with the downfall of the Panthers’ offensive line, which has given Bryce Young no time to do anything with his arm. Young being heavily pressured has impacted Coker this season, as he has caught just three of 10 targets for 47 yards. Over his last four games, he has failed to reach 9.6 fantasy points three times and averages 7.8 points per game. This week he has a rough matchup against a dominant Broncos defense, which has surrendered the seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to receivers.

Jaylen Waddle @ CAR (Projected FPTS – 11.5): Fantasy managers need to temper expectations with Waddle. He reached the end zone on a one-yard completion for his second touchdown of the season, and his first since Week Three. Over his last six games, he’s averaging a mere 29.2 yards per game and has gone over 50 yards just once. While his name generates a lot of attention, I find it very hard to trust a player with those kinds of numbers. I see Waddle as a low-end WR2 or a flex play. If you have another player who has healthy usage and a better matchup, I would lean toward that player this week.

Lowlights: Michael Wilson @ SEA; Ladd McConkey vs. HOU; Xavier Worthy vs. NYJ; Rome Odunze vs. TB; Adonai Mitchell @ KC; DJ Moore vs. MIN; KC Concepcion @ NO; Ryan Flournoy @ IND.