Week 9 Wide Receiver Rankings

It's now time for the toughest part of the season.  Before most of the bye weeks have consisted of only two teams on bye, but now there will be six in week nine.  This causes problems for owners who have limited space to work with on there roster, and with some players nursing injuries.  You may have to make some tough decisions to drop a guy on bye just to find a replacement for one week to have a chance at winning in week nine.  My advice to you would be to find anyway possible to make it through any given week like this one without sacrificing a player of value on your team.  If you are a Jamaal Charles owner, and need to find another receiver this week because you have Jordy Nelson and another guy on a bye, do everything you can to find someone other than his handcuff, Knile Davis to drop.  If in that scenario you own Justin Hunter or Kendall Wright, I would drop them first to pick up a different Wide Receiver this week.  All teams are constructed differently, but the point is that you need to consider your short-term winning abilities, and balance it out with you long-term aspirations of a championship.  If winning today is paramount to you making the playoffs, then cut whoever you need to, but if you are in a decent position already, hold onto those key players for the playoff run.  Remember that there are six teams on bye this week, which I will have listed below.  With that, let's take a look at the rankings and comments on a few of the guys.

DeAndre Hopkins - After his one bad outing of one point in week six, Hopkins has put up over 90 yards each time, but has failed to find the endzone.  I see that changing this week as they play the soft Eagles secondary, so Ryan Fitzpatrick should be able to pick them apart deep to where both Hopkins and Johnson put up 100+ yards and a score.

Allen Robinson - Since Blake Bortles has been the starting QB in Jacksonville, no other receiver on the team has been targeted more often than Robinson.  Now Cecil Shorts was hurt for a little bit, but even last week while both were healthy Robinson was targeted more often.  His production may come in junk-time of games, but it all counts for the same amount when all is said and down.  80+ yards and a score should be expected again this week.

Andrew Hawkins - Part of him being ranked 16th has to do with the fact that six teams are on bye, but it actually has more to do with the matchup.  The Bucs have been decimated by the passing game all year, and now they traded away there best saftey in Mark Baron.  I expect Hawkins to have his usual PPR stud like game, but now it will also carryover into success for standard scoring.

Mike Evans - I watched a lot of the Bucs and Vikings game, and noticed a few things.  First thing I noticed was that I choose a terrible game to watch, as it was played poorly all around.  The last thing I noticed though was how effective Mike Evans was, and the trust he has already built up with Mike Glennon.  When Jackson nor Evans would breakaway from there corner, Glennon prefereed to throw the ball up to Evans.  This is huge since Glennon is constantly under pressure in the pocket, so when he needs to just throw it up, he will look Evans way first.

Keenan Allen - Sure he had a good game, but I want to see it again, as I don't trust his performance.  Don't get me wrong I think he is a very good receiver, but that offense he is playing in is not conducive to getting him monster fantasy number each week.  Once I see some consistency out of him he will be back to borderline top 20 status.

Martavis Bryant - I almost wrote about him in the preseason about being a deep league sleeper, but his rawness and the emergence of Markus Wheaton in training camp left me writing about the latter.  That was a mistake as Bryant is fully healthy now, and has surpassed Wheaton on the depth chart.  He is a physical freak, and that helps his overall game as his route running is still a work in progress.  Dynasty league owners if you own him, don't try to sell him.  For redraft leagues, see if this production can continue when Big Ben doesn't play the game of his life.

Teams On Bye: Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Tennessee