Nerds! The Dynasty Nerds writers are here to provide you with weekly start/sit advice all season long. We will be making our recommendations based on weekly consensus PPR rankings. Here is the Week 9 Wide Receiver Start/Sit from senior writer Tristan Cook.
One thing to keep in mind when making your wide receiver start/sit decisions; it will ALWAYS depend on who your other options are. Don’t take the players below out of (or put them into) your lineup unless the alternatives are worth it.
NOTE: Rankings are sourced from FantasyPros expert consensus expert rankings (ECR) and our terminology is for a 12-team PPR league. So, saying WR2 means top 24, or WR1 means top 12, etc.
WEEK 8 WIDE RECEIVER START/SIT RESULTS
| Player | FPts | Tgts | Recs | Yds | TDs | Call | Rank | Result | Change |
| Trey Palmer | 4.9 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 0 | Start | 67 | 74 | -7 |
| Xavier Legette | 13.4 | 7 | 4 | 34 | 1 | Start | 55 | 32 | +23 |
| Courtland Sutton | 17.1 | 11 | 8 | 100 | 0 | Start | 37 | 20 | +17 |
| Calvin Ridley | 22.6 | 15 | 10 | 143 | 0 | Sit | 36 | 5 | +31 |
| Keenan Allen | 5.9 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 0 | Sit | 33 | 66 | -33 |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | 23.1 | 7 | 6 | 111 | 1 | Fade | 23 | 4 | +19 |
WIDE RECEIVER START/sit
Cedric Tillman | Cleveland Browns | WR 34
Week 8 Stats | WR 2 | FPts 4.5 | Tgts 9 | Rec 7 | Yds 99 | TDs 2 | Confidence 95%
If you had 10 guesses for who the highest scoring wide receiver was over the last 2 weeks, I’d be surprised if Cedric Tillman was one of them (thanks to our own @DynastyRich for pointing out that surprising stat). I have long recommended starting players that have an opportunity for a heavy target share in this article and this is why.
Obviously Tillman isn’t the best WR in the league, but if he’s going to be peppered with targets, you want him in your lineup. A few weeks ago I advocated for Jerry Jeudy for the same reason. I simply had the wrong Browns receiver. This level of involvement looks like it’s here to stay. The matchup with the Chargers isn’t ideal, but that shouldn’t deter you. So, Cedric Tillman needs to be in your lineup this week.
Xavier Legette | Carolina Panthers | WR 46
Week 8 Stats | WR 32 | FPts 13.2 | Tgts 7 | Rec 4 | Yds 34 | TDs 1 | Confidence 85%
For the second week in a row, Xavier Legette finds his name in the “start” section. That is because looking for players with a big opportunity for targets leads us to the new No. 1 receiver in Carolina. After the trade of Diontae Johnson, the Panthers’ new top receiving option is in line for an increase in targets. It’s no secret that Carolina has struggled offensively (and in every other way) this year, but Legette has been a bright spot of late.
Against the stout Denver defense last week, he was able to post a high-end WR3 week. It should be noted that Legette was added to the injury report during the week, so be sure to have a backup option in case he misses the game. Assuming he plays, I’m starting Legette with confidence against the Saints’ bad pass defense in Week 9.
Romeo Doubs | Green Bay Packers | WR 37
Week 8 Stats | WR 44 | FPts 10.2 | Tgts 6 | Rec 3 | Yds 72 | Confidence 75%
Next up is Romeo Doubs who has come on strong since serving his one-game team-initiated suspension. Over the last 3 games, Doubs finished as WR11, WR13, and WR46 respectively. While this last performance wasn’t anything to write home about, Doubs was tied for the team lead in targets with 6. The Packers simply did not need Jordan Love to throw the ball. This week they take on the Detroit Lions in a game that has shootout potential. If Doubs can maintain anything close to the 21.7% target share he received during the last 4 games, you’ll be glad to have him in your lineup.
Michael Pittman Jr. | Indianapolis Colts | WR 26
Week 8 Stats | WR 94 | FPts 2.6 | Tgts 6 | Rec 1 | Yds 16 | Confidence 85%
If you hear the sound of champagne glasses clinking together in Indianapolis, it might just be the Colts’ receivers reacting to the news that they’ll have Joe Flacco under center this week and moving forward. It also may be fantasy managers of Michael Pittman Jr. who are the ones celebrating. This week, the Colts face the third-worst pass defense in the NFL in the Minnesota Vikings. As long as Flacco is slinging the ball around, I’ll be playing Michael Pittman Jr. in my lineups, and so should you!
WIDE RECEIVER start/SIT
Keenan Allen | Chicago Bears | WR 35
Week 8 Stats | WR 66 | FPts 5.9 | Tgts 7 | Rec 2 | Yds 39 | Confidence 10%
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, Keenan Allen is once again a “sit” for me this week. Somehow he keeps getting ranked highly despite doing virtually nothing to deserve that level of confidence. Allen has played five games this year. In 4 of those 5 games, his average result is WR63. In the other game, he only had 41 yards receiving. He finished as WR9 that week thanks to finding the end zone twice. The matchup against Arizona is the only redeeming quality for considering Keenan Allen in your lineups. But, I don’t like relying on touchdowns to make a start worthwhile. If at all possible, I’m looking elsewhere this week.
Zay Flowers | Baltimore Ravens | WR 19
Week 8 Stats | WR 13 | FPts 18.5 | Tgts 12 | Rec 7 | Yds 115 | Confidence 25%
My last “sit” of Week 9 may come as a surprise. Given that I usually covet opportunities for large target shares. Aside from his Week 7 performance against Tampa Bay (1 catch for 11 yards) in which he missed time due to injury, Flowers has been a target monster. He received 12 targets in Week 5, 9 targets in Week 6, and 12 targets last week. So, why is he a sit? It’s simple.
The matchup against the Denver Broncos is a bad one. The Broncos are the 4th-best team against the pass in yards per game and I expect to see Pat Surtain II lining up across from Flowers with regularity. Additionally, the aforementioned trade of Diontae Johnson muddies the water a bit on how the Baltimore passing attack will look. You may not have better options this week, but I’m taking a long look before I put Flowers in my lineup.
That’s it for Week 9 wide receiver start/sit advice, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (x) (@THEtristancook) if you have any specific questions about who I would start.
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If your dynasty season hasn’t turned out as planned, take a look Tristan’s 2025 Rookie Big Board for the players that will help you turn your team around:
