Week 9 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Candidates: Wide Receivers
Wondering whom to start and sit at wide receiver this week? Below are two top-notch start and two sit options at the wide receiver position for Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season.
Week 8 Review – half-PPR scoring
Starts
- WR Wan'Dale Robinson (New York Giants) @ Seattle Seahawks – 6.8 fantasy points (WR49)
- WR Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco 49ers) @ Los Angeles Rams – 15.3 fantasy points (WR10)
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions) vs. Miami Dolphins – fantasy points (WR)
Sits
- WR Diontae Johnson (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ Philadelphia Eagles – 12.6 (WR20)
Wide Receiver – Starts
Rondale Moore (Arizona Cardinals) vs. Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals slot receiver Rondale Moore gets a crack at the soft slot coverage of the Seattle Seahawks this week. Though it is fair to note that No. 1 wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has not been active for either of Moore’s two career games against Seattle, the role of the short-area receiver was not meaningfully altered with Hopkins out.
| Rondale Moore vs. the Seattle Seahawks | Rec./Tgt .- Rec. Yards - TD | Per Route Run: Target % - Yards | Yards After Catch per Rec. | Average Depth of Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 11, 2021 | 11/11 - 51 - 0 | 48.0% - 2.22 | 5.5 | -0.8 |
| Week 6, 2022 | 6/10 - 49 - 0 | 22.0% - 1.09 | 7.8 | 4.4 |
Moore has done a great job of commanding targets against Seattle in the past and the diminutive run-after-catch monster should gobble up yards against the defense currently allowing explosive pass plays at the league’s ninth-highest frequency, 9.0%.
Arizona vs. Seattle is expected to produce Week 9’s highest game total, with a 50.5 over/under featured on BetMGM.
Jakobi Meyers (New England Patriots) vs. Indianapolis Colts
Since returning from a knee injury in Week 5, New England Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers is top 10 in both targets per route run (29.0%) and yards per route run (2.98). The fourth-year veteran has parlayed his exceptional efficiency into the overall WR7 spot in half-PPR scoring (55.5 points) during that span.
Meyers operates as an inside/outside slot receiver taking roughly two-thirds of his snaps lined up on the interior. The primary defensive weakness of his Week 9 foe, the Indianapolis Colts, is slot cornerback Kenny Moore. Expect Meyers to get the better of Moore for much of Sunday afternoon.
* Check out the full WR rankings here.
Wide Receiver – Sits
Brandin Cooks (Houston Texans) vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Fantasy managers cannot start Houston Texans wide receiver this week and it would be best to trade him away, if possible. The NFL’s trade deadline came and went without a Cooks being sent to a new team. Reports indicate a fellow Texas team, the Dallas Cowboys, was the intended landing spot. Cooks was not a fan of how Houston handled the issue.
Don’t take a man’s kindness for granted. Covered for the lies for too long those days are done. Crossed the line with playing with my career 🏹
Cooks was bizarrely listed with a wrist injury on last Friday’s injury report but logged a Full Participant designation.
On Tuesday of this week, the day of the trade deadline, Cooks was not seen at practice and Head coach Lovie Smith flippantly told reporters that Cooks had been excused for “personal reasons”. Less than an hour before the trade deadline, Cooks was listed on the injury report as “wrist/not injury related”.
The status of the veteran wide receiver is entirely unclear and Houston is facing one of the league’s most terrifying defenses, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia’s 23.1 half-PPR points allowed per game to opposing receivers is the seventh-fewest in the NFL and their 181.9 passing yards allowed per game rank No. 4.
Michael Pittman Jr. (Indianapolis Colts) @ New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have the league’s best cornerback duo in Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones. Indianapolis Colts No. 1 wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is being led into battle against them with Sam Ehlinger as his quarterback.
Though the target volume should be there, Ehlinger’s middling 69.6% on-target rate leaves questions as to whether the targets will actually get there.
Indianapolis’ mid-tier offensive line (24.3% quarterback pressure rate allowed) is unlikely to hold up against New England’s second-ranked pass rush (26.2% quarterback pressure rate).
New England’s 2.1 touchdowns per game allowed are tied for sixth-best in the NFL and their 0.17 forced turnovers per drive and 0.12 interceptions per drive both rank top five.
