The 2023-24 NFL season has been outstanding so far. Already there have been a ton of breakout players and fantasy duds that have made the game so entertaining. Bye weeks are starting to take place. This means that wide receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brandon Aiyuk will be out this week. On top of that injuries have started to mount up at this point of the season. It is always a great idea to evaluate backup options so that way fantasy managers are prepared if star players miss time. Here are the fantasy football week 9 wide receiver rankings.
Must Start- a player who is in your lineup regardless of the matchup or most circumstances. They will likely finish near the top of the league in points that week and in most weeks.
Starting WR1- a player who makes fantasy owners comfortable starting week after week. Regardless of the matchup, this player has a high floor.
High WR2- a player who may not be likely to carry a lineup that week, but has the ability to have a breakout game and is teetering between WR1 and WR2 territory.
Starting WR2- a player who should be started in most lineups and should reach their point projection. This player is started is because of their consistency and moderately high floor
Low WR2- a player who may not be a lock to start for a team every week, but will start more times than not. Their production may not be pretty or win a person their lineup but the production is consistent enough to make a fantasy owner comfortable starting them.
Flex- a player who could float around the territory of being benched, but is started due to the potential to play better than their point projection. However, this player has the potential to flop and cause a fantasy team to lose if he has a bad game.
Deeper League Flex- a player who has starting value in deeper leagues. There are enough reasons to leave this player on the bench, but their upside makes them an attractive option. Desperate times may call for a player like this to be inserted into starting lineups.
Upside Player- a player who is boom or bust. This player can exceed expectations in a given week or could flop and be the reason why someone lost their fantasy matchup.
Leave on the Bench- a player who should be avoided in all lineups that week. Many times this player could even be left on waivers.
| Category | Name | Opponent | Ranking |
| Must Start | Tyreek Hill | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR1 |
| Must Start | Ja’Marr Chase | vs Buffalo Bills | WR2 |
| Starting WR1 | A.J. Brown | vs Dallas Cowboys | WR3 |
| Starting WR1 | Stefon Diggs | vs Cincinnati Bengals | WR4 |
| Starting WR1 | CeeDee Lamb | vs Philadelphia Eagles | WR5 |
| Starting WR1 | Keenan Allen | vs New York Jets | WR6 |
| Starting WR1 | Cooper Kupp | vs Green Bay Packers | WR7 |
| High WR2 | Jaylen Waddle | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR8 |
| High WR2 | Davante Adams | vs New York Giants | WR9 |
| High WR2 | Mike Evans | vs Houston Texans | WR10 |
| High WR2 | Chris Olave | vs Chicago Bears | WR11 |
| High WR2 | Garrett Wilson | vs Los Angeles Chargers | WR12 |
| High WR2 | Adam Thielen | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR13 |
| High WR2 | D.J. Moore | vs New Orleans Saints | WR14 |
| High WR2 | DeAndre Hopkins* | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | WR15 |
| Starting WR2 | Terry McLaurin | vs New England Patriots | WR16 |
| Starting WR2 | Zay Flowers | vs Seattle Seahawks | WR17 |
| Starting WR2 | Diontae Johnson | vs Tennessee Titans | WR18 |
| Starting WR2 | D.K. Metcalf | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR19 |
| Starting WR2 | Michael Pittman Jr. | vs Carolina Panthers | WR20 |
| Low WR2 | Puka Nacua* | vs Green Bay Packers | WR21 |
| Low WR2 | Chris Godwin | vs Houston Texans | WR22 |
| Low WR2 | Drake London* | vs Minnesota Vikings | WR23 |
| Low WR2 | Nico Collins | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR24 |
| Low WR2 | Tee Higgins | vs Buffalo Bills | WR25 |
| Low WR2 | DeVonta Smith | vs Dallas Cowboys | WR26 |
| Flex | Amari Cooper | vs Arizona Cardinals | WR27 |
| Flex | Joshua Downs | vs Carolina Panthers | WR28 |
| Flex | Tyler Lockett* | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR29 |
| Flex | Michael Thomas* | vs Chicago Bears | WR30 |
| Flex | Jordan Addison | vs Atlanta Falcons | WR31 |
| Flex | George Pickens | vs Tennessee Titans | WR32 |
| Flex | Rashee Rice | vs Miami Dolphins | WR33 |
| Flex | Marquise “Hollywood” Brown | vs Cleveland Browns | WR34 |
| Deep League Flex | Jakobi Meyers | vs New York Giants | WR35 |
| Deep League Flex | Christian Watson | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR36 |
| Deep League Flex | Gabriel Davis | vs Cincinnati Bengals | WR37 |
| Deep League Flex | K.J. Osborn* | vs Atlanta Falcons | WR38 |
| Deep League Flex | Joshua Palmer | vs New York Jets | WR39 |
| Deep League Flex | Rashid Shaheed | vs Chicago Bears | WR40 |
| Deep League Flex | Jahan Dotson | vs New England Patriots | WR41 |
| Deep League Flex | Demario “Pop” Douglas | vs Washington Commanders | WR42 |
| Upside Play | Brandin Cooks | vs Philadelphia Eagles | WR43 |
| Upside Play | Curtis Samuel* | vs New England Patriots | WR44 |
| Upside Play | Tank Dell | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR45 |
| Upside Play | Odell Beckham Jr.* | vs Seattle Seahawks | WR46 |
| Upside Play | Elijah Moore | vs Arizona Cardinals | WR47 |
| Upside Play | Romeo Doubs | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR48 |
| Upside Play | Michael Gallup* | vs Philadelphia Eagles | WR49 |
| Upside Play | Tyler Boyd | vs Buffalo Bills | WR50 |
| Upside Play | Khalil Shakir | vs Cincinnati Bengals | WR51 |
| Upside Play | Jonathan Mingo | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR52 |
| Upside Play | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR53 |
| Upside Play | Jayden Reed | vs Los Angeles Rams | WR54 |
| Upside Play | Treylon Burks | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | WR55 |
| Leave on the Bench | Noah Brown | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR56 |
| Leave on the Bench | JuJu Smith-Schuster | vs Washington Commanders | WR57 |
| Leave on the Bench | DJ Chark* | vs Indianapolis Colts | WR58 |
| Leave on the Bench | Wan’Dale Robinson* | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR59 |
| Leave on the Bench | Allen Lazard | vs Los Angeles Chargers | WR60 |
| Leave on the Bench | Tutu Atwell | vs Green Bay Packers | WR61 |
| Leave on the Bench | Michael Wilson* | vs Cleveland Browns | WR62 |
| Leave on the Bench | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | vs Miami Dolphins | WR63 |
| Leave on the Bench | Darnell Mooney | vs New Orleans Saints | WR64 |
| Leave on the Bench | Rondale Moore | vs Cleveland Browns | WR65 |
| Leave on the Bench | Darius Slayton | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR66 |
| Leave on the Bench | Quentin Jonston | vs New York Jets | WR67 |
| Leave on the Bench | Skyy Moore | vs Miami Dolphins | WR68 |
| Leave on the Bench | Braxton Berrios | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR69 |
| Leave on the Bench | Jalin Hyatt | vs Las Vegas Raiders | WR70 |
| Leave on the Bench | Alec Pierce | vs Carolina Panthers | WR71 |
| Leave on the Bench | Braxton Berrios | vs Kansas City Chiefs | WR72 |
| Leave on the Bench | Van Jefferson | vs Minnesota Vikings | WR73 |
| Leave on the Bench | Allen Robinson | vs Tennessee Titans | WR74 |
| Leave on the Bench | Jake Bobo | vs Baltimore Ravens | WR75 |
| Leave on the Bench | Trey Palmer | vs Houston Texans | WR76 |
| Leave on the Bench | Kadarius Toney | vs Miami Dolphins | WR77 |
WR15 DeAndre Hopkins. Tennessee Titans
DeAndre Hopkins missed practice on Wednesday with a toe injury. There is a chance that Hopkins could be resting for this week’s game. If Hopkins misses Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers Treylon Burks moves up to WR34 between Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Nick Westbrook-Ihkine becomes the WR46 between Curtis Samuel and Tank Dell.
WR21 Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Puka Nacua was limited in practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. He could be limited in practice all week because of this injury. If Nacua misses Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers Tutu Atwell moves up to WR43 between Brandin Cooks and Curtis Samuel. Ben Skowronek becomes WR64 between Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore.
WR23 Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
Drake London missed practice on Wednesday with a groin injury. It is unclear if London will miss time due to this injury. If London misses Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings Van Jefferson moves up to WR45 between Tank Dell and Odell Beckham Jr.
WR29 Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
Tyler Lockett missed practice on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. He has been dealing with this injury for a few weeks If Lockett misses Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens Jaxon Smith-Njigba moves up to WR33 between Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Jake Bobo becomes the WR58 between JuJu Smith-Schuster and DJ Chark.
WR30 Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
Michael Thomas was limited in practice on Wednesday due to an illness. He played through the illness last week. If Thomas misses Week 9 agains the Chicago Bears Rashid Shaheed moves up to WR34 between Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Jakobi Meyers.
WR38 Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders
Curtis Samuel missed practice on Wednesday with a toe injury. If he misses Week 9 against the New England Patriots Jahan Dotson moves up to WR35 between Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Jakobi Meyers. Dyami Brown becomes the WR76 between Trey Palmer and Kadarius Toney.
WR46 Odell Beckham Jr., Baltimore Ravens
Odell Beckham Jr. missed practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. If he misses Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks Rashod Bateman becomes the WR59 between Wan’Dale Robinson and Allen Lazard. Nelson Agholor becomes the WR66 between Ronald Moore and Darius Slayton.
WR49 Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
Michael Gallup missed practice on Wednesday because of an illness. If Gallup misses Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles Jalen Tolbert becomes the WR62 between Michael Wilson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
WR59 Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants
Wan’Dale Robinson was limited in practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. If Robinson misses Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders Darius Slayton moves up to WR60 between Allen Lazard and TuTu Atwell.
WR62 Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Michael Wilson missed practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury. If he misses Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals Zach Pascal becomes WR77 below Kadarius Toney.
New England Patriots Wide Receivers: Kendrick Bourne & DeVante Parker
New England will be without two of their top pass catchers this week against the Washington Commanders. Kendrick Bourne’s season is over after tearing his ACL last week against the Miami Dolphins. DeVante Parker is currently dealing with a concussion. There will be a lot of turnover in the Patriots wide receiver room. Demario “Pop” Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster are expected to be New England’s top two wide receivers going forward.
Robert Woods, Houston Texans
Robert Woods is unlikely to play this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of a foot injury. In Woods’ absence there isn’t one specific receiver for the Texans that will see more work. The Texans have spread the ball out to their pass catchers this season.
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