Fantasy Football Week 9 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Zay Flowers vs Travis Hunter
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No wide receiver is created equal. Some are vertical threats, such as Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, and AJ Brown. Some are pure route runners such as DeVonta Smith, Stefon Diggs, and Davante Adams. Others are fast, in space runners that win in the screen playing, short passing games. Two of the best are Zay Flowers and rookie, Travis Hunter. They have less big play ability, but are still very PPR viable. We will debate who has higher upside in Week 9.
The Case for Zay Flowers
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 9 Ranking: WR16
He may be floating under the radar, but Flowers is have a great year. He has over twice as many yards as any other pass catchers in Baltimore. Flowers, through 7 Games, has 54 Targets (31% Target Share) , 41 Receptions, 486 Yards, and 1 Touchdown. This has him as the WR25 in PPR scoring.
Highest target shares in the NFL through eight weeks pic.twitter.com/Clnci1sAm7
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 27, 2025
Flowers is a wide receiver that thrives in space. His Average Depth of Reception is 11.9 Yards, but his Average Depth of Reception is 9.4 Yards. By no surprise, Flowers stands 8th in the NFL in Yards After Catch.
Flowers has been everything that the Ravens expected as a first round pick. His weakness has been that of scoring touchdown. This is not a mark of poor performance. Flowers just plays in a way that lacks him with a big body to be valuable in the red zone. Instead, they go to the tight end and running backs. Flowers has 11 Touchdowns since his 2023 rookie season.
The Ravens look to a very matchup against the Dolphins on Thursday Night. Lamar Jackson is back. As bad as Miami has been, they are actually the 3rd best unit versus wide receivers. The play a balanced mix on man and zone coverage, but Flowers is equally as good versus both looks.
Flowers will command volume. He lacks EPA (30.24 Total - Low). The matchup works against him, but volume is playable. He is a must-start for that reason. This could be a Derrick Henry game.
The Case for Travis Hunter
Fantasy Sports On SI Week 9 Ranking: WR29
Hunter is coming off of his best game of this season. This happens to also come after they called on his increased role. Hunter has 12 Targets (25% Target Share) for 8 Receptions, 101 Yards, and 1 Touchdown versus the Rams in Week 7.
On the season, Hunter has a target share of 18%. We expect this number to be over 20% going forward.
Travis Hunter release off the line
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 22, 2025
Week 8 bye for the Jacksonville Jaguars - might see a much different role after that. https://t.co/CwLiXFc8KO pic.twitter.com/AlEacP5e4n
Hunter is catching the footballs with a 10.6 Yard Average Depth of Reception. His Average Depth of Target is 7.9 Yards, showing great after-the-catch ability. This is his greatest weapon as a purely athletic ability that is perhaps the greatest of any NFL player. The Jaguars will leverage him in this role going forward.
The Jaguars will travel to the Raiders this coming Sunday. They are 5th worst against wide receivers in regards to fantasy football. They do play zone coverage at the 6th highest rate. Hunter is a player that is much better versus a man look, but it may not matter. Even in zone, the Raiders are bad and should be taken advantage of.
Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Zay Flowers vs Travis Hunter
This is a truly good debate to have. Flowers has volume but a worse matchup. Hunter has lesser, but quality volume is a highly advantageous matchup. That makes it a battle of upside versus safety. Which do you want? Which do you need?
If I am going for safe volume, I may roll with Flowers in my lineup. He should command anywhere from 5 to 10 targets, which is volatile, but volume indeed. As for as scoring a touchdown, his likelihood is spread thin, probably less than 30%. This makes Flowers more viable in PPR. In Non-PPR, his stock plummets from WR2 to more of a Flex option.
If I want upside, I am going with Hunter. His role may be touching 25% of targets. He also faces a bad Raiders team and he comes fresh off of the bye week. We could see a 10+ target game with high efficiency. There is even a case to be made that Hunter is also a safe play, but he cannot be more safe that Flowers given that he plays both ways and does have a lesser target share.
For the most part, I will play Hunter over Flowers. It is a matter of my roster construction. Can I afford to take risks, or take the points? Personally, I always play for upside, so I will play Hunter. If you air on the side of caution, Flowers is not a bad bet. Both players work.
Travis Hunter is a High-Upside Play.
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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.