Week 9 of the 2020 NFL regular season is here. With it comes a lot of questions regarding your fantasy football team.
Usually, at this point in a season you would have all types of different obstacles to overcome.
There are the obvious bye week issues, but there are also injuries that you have to deal with. At the same time there are usually some underperforming superstars that you might feel you need to question when it comes to putting them in your lineup. Meanwhile, there could be some emerging stars that are pushing their way into your lineup weekly.
This year there is an added wrinkle though. It's 2020, we can't have nice things. That means we also have to worry about COVID-19.
With that in mind, it is getting trickier and trickier to set your fantasy football lineups. Luckily we're here to help (as much as we can).
So who exactly should you be looking at when it comes to the wide receiver position? Let's break it down and try to decide who to start and who to sit in your fantasy football lineup at wide receiver in Week 9.
WRs to Start in Week 9
Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
The Houston Texans are 1-6 on the year. With that kind of record, it always feels weird starting a player on the team in fantasy.
However, just because a team is performing poorly does not mean they don't have great fantasy players. Houston just so happens to have quite a few.
Deshaun Watson is still one of the better quarterbacks in the entire NFL. David Johnson is having a solid year at running back, and the receivers are exciting.
Randall Cobb is a nice piece, but is not the star he once was. Will Fuller is fantastic, but he has all those trade rumors floating around him. That leaves Brandin Cooks.
Cooks started off the year really slowly. After his first four games of the year, the wide receiver had just 10 receptions for 138 yards and no touchdowns.
However, in his last three games Cooks has been elite. He has racked up 24 receptions for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He has had at least seven receptions and 60 yards in all three games and has scored a touchdown in two of them.
That type of production makes Cooks a must-play at this point. He's a great receiver who is now getting hot. Oh, and the Texans are squaring off with the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9. Definitely plug him back into your lineup right now.
Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers (vs. Kansas City Chiefs)
Robby Anderson is having a superb year. The wide receiver joined the Carolina Panthers and is putting up massive numbers.
Anderson already has 51 receptions for 688 yards. However, there is one glaring issue with those numbers. He also only has one touchdown to compliment those high totals. That makes some of his games much less exciting when it comes to fantasy production.
Add in the fact that Anderson had five receptions for 48 yards in NFL Week 8 and you might not be all that excited about him at the moment.
Sure, that's a decent NFL game – but it is nothing great. Do you want to bank on him to rack up a lot of receptions and yards, because clearly touchdowns are not in the book for him this year.
Yes, yes you do. The Panthers have the Kansas City Chiefs this week on the NFL slate. You know, the team that is liable to drop 40 on anyone's head at any moment?
That means the Panthers will be chucking the ball a lot. Who better to reel in some short passes and maybe hit on a few deep bombs than Anderson?
Anderson has at least five receptions in seven of his eight games this year. He also has over 50 yards in seven of the eight NFL games he has played in 2020. In fact, he has over 70 yards in six games. He will get you decent numbers.
Going against the chiefs, Carolina will be tossing it around. Expect Anderson to get even more than his usual number of targets. That should lead to a good amount of receptions for a lot of yards. Maybe he'll even throw in a touchdown for you.
Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (vs. Atlanta Falcons)
Jerry Jeudy is one of the most exciting young receivers in the NFL. However, he has not all that great in his rookie year when it comes to fantasy football numbers.
Truth be told, he's had some target issues in a few NFL games. There have been some times where it looks like the Denver Broncos' quarterbacks are not really looking his way.
However, there are two arguments against that. First, there are games where Jeudy is getting around 10 targets – that's great. Second, Drew Lock is back.
Last week, with Lock at quarterback, Jeudy caught four passes for 73 yards on 10 targets.
The numbers are not great, but they are solid. Meanwhile those targets are extremely encouraging.
The Broncos have an interesting matchup with the Atlanta Falcons in NFL Week 9. Two teams that had decent expectations in 2020, but both have been wildly disappointing so far.
There is one thing you can bank on when it comes to Atlanta: The Falcons will be in an NFL shootout.
If the Broncos are forced to pass the ball and score a lot, that means they will need to spread the ball around. Could this be one of the weeks that Jeudy truly breaks out?
So far this season, the NFL rookie has 23 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown. He has yet to reel in more than five receptions or pick up over 75 yards. So you could argue he has a very low floor which could hurt you.
However, we are dealing with a lot at this point in the NFL season and sometimes you have to take risks. Jeudy is worth the risk as he is poised for a massive game in Week 9. The first of what should be many in his career.
WRs to Sit in Week 9
Cole Beasley, Buffalo Bills (vs. Seattle Seahawks)
Cole Beasley has been absolutely awesome this year. He has 41 receptions for 494 yards and two touchdowns. Not only has he been good, but the receiver has put together some legitimately great fantasy football weeks.
However, there are a few things going against him here. First, he is coming off his worst game of the NFL season. Beasley had a season-low two receptions for a season-low 24 yards. His previous lows before that came a few weeks earlier when he had three receptions for 36 yards, but he at least added a touchdown that time.
Second, quarterback Josh Allen has not been great lately. He is not getting the ball into the end zone, and his receivers are suffering mightily fantasy wise because of that.
Finally, the defense. The Buffalo Bills are going up against the Seattle Seahawks in NFL Week 9. While they might not be the same feared team they were a few years ago when it comes to defense, they are still no slouches.
Don't expect Beasley to be picking up any massive yardage. The only way he's having a solid fantasy game is if he racks up a lot of receptions for a few yards or sneaks in a touchdown. Not worth it this week.
He'll help you again later in the season, so keep him on your roster. But Beasley should not be counted on too heavily in NFL Week 9.
Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit Lions (vs. Minnesota Vikings)
I'm a big Marvin Jones Jr. fan. However, this one is pretty cut and dry. Sure, he's always been a little bit of a question mark in the NFL. The wide receiver is inconsistent when it comes to fantasy football. He could drop 40 for your team one week, then get you two points a few days later.
However, that is not even the problem here. Neither is the fact that they are going up against the Minnesota Vikings and their disappointing defense.
The issue here is simple – no Matthew Stafford for the Detroit Lions. Stafford was placed on the NFL COVID/reserve list earlier this week. He's out for this game.
Jones has been solid this year. He has 22 receptions for 265 yards and three touchdowns. That includes a two-touchdown performance last week.
You would want to ride high on him, right? Well the quarterback is either going to be Chase Daniel or David Blough. So no, you do not want to ride high on Jones in NFL fantasy football.
Not to disrespect those two quarterbacks, but they are not Stafford. They have been backups in the NFL for a reason. If you have other options, please go with them. Jones is far too risky this week.
A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans (vs. Chicago Bears)
The Tennessee Titans Titans are on a two-game losing streak after starting the NFL season 5-0. So that's where I'm going with this, right?
A.J. Brown has been pretty consistent this NFL season. That includes 10 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games (those two losses). So it's not like they have hurt him much when it comes to fantasy production.
In just five games this NFL year, Brown has 27 receptions for 356 yards and five touchdowns. That's really good. He's only had one game this year without a touchdown, that's even better.
However, the issue here is the defense. The Chicago Bears have proven to be a tough NFL defense to go up against. Can Ryan Tannehill and company overcome that to break their losing streak?
Chicago has the type of defense that can put real pressure on Tannehill while also keeping close to the receivers. Not to sound like a hater to Tannehill (who has proven a lot over the last two years), but can he perform under all of that pressure?
If he struggles, Brown could easily be the one left out to dry. Brown has been great, but don't ride that touchdown hubris too much. It is hard to imagine two receivers will have good games for the Titans in NFL Week 9. Apparently I'm banking on Corey Davis being the one to still produce solid numbers.
That means Brown might be better served on your bench this time around.
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