Fantasy Football Week 9 Wide Receiver Projections & Rankings: Start Josh Downs, Sit Makai Lemon
Today's projections forecast Week 9 fantasy football wide receivers. We look for the good and the bad. The ensuing numbers are below. Use them to make start-sit decisions; they include highly debated names such as Xavier Worthy, Omar Cooper Jr., and Josh Downs.
Top-12 Wide Receivers
Three wide receivers project for over 11 targets this week: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. These three players, plus CeeDee Lamb, are what I would call "matchup-proof."
Tee Higgins is outperforming Ja'Marr Chase in 2026. Higgins is the WR5, and Chase is the WR8. Higgins is also on pace for about 1,700 yards, the second-most in the NFL.
High-Upside Wide Receivers
When facing top-8 coverage groupings, Tre Tucker is averaging 81.4 yards this season. The sample size is three games. Not only do I promote starting Tucker, but I also name Kirk Cousins my Sleeper of the Week.
Caleb Douglas ranks 2nd in Yards per Target and 4th in EPA per Target. The Dolphins will likely trail the Lions in this game, as the Lions are awful in coverage. Douglas truly has WR1 upside this week.
It sounds like Shedeur Sanders might get the start this week. If so, we can hope that this means better days ahead for KC Concepcion. The rookie has had volatile output, and mostly bad. But in his sole game against only low-end coverage, he recorded only 129 yards, and this week Concepcion faces the 7th-worst defense in Yards per Target Allowed to the slot.
Click here for all must-start wide receivers.
Fade These Wide Receivers
Joe Milton gets the Eagles' surprise starter this week. I do not think that matters much. His scouting report labels Milton as having a strong arm, but not a very accurate one. I'm not convinced he aids Lemon, a short-yardage option who averages 8.1 Yards per Reception. It seems very risky to me.
Do not start any Buccaneer wideout. Baker Mayfield has thrown 14 passes in two games, likely due to his thumb injury.
Click here for all must-sit wide receivers.
Sleeper of the Week
Josh Downs is the pick. He faces the Cowboys this week, and they are bad. For reference, the median yards per Target Allowed to wide receivers is 8.05. The Cowboys allow 11.5 Yards per Target to slot wide receivers. They rank among the worst teams in EPA per Pass Allowed and 30th in Pass Rush Win Rate.
There is little excuse for the Daniel Jones-Josh Downs connection to fail. Downs is a great player, and the Colts want to showcase him in hopes of a trade by next week's deadline.
Week 9 Projected Statistical Leaders
- Targets: Puka Nacua (11.8)
- Receptions: Puka Nacua (7.9)
- Yards: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (108.0)
- Anytime Touchdown: CeeDee Lamb (56.2%)
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.