clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers for Week 9

Deebo Samuel boasts the league’s highest target share and is a reliable option in Week 9.

By Skyler Carlin
San Francisco 49ers v Chicago Bears Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images

What a season we’ve had at the wide receiver position thus far, with Cooper Kupp separating himself from the pack as the clear-cut WR1 moving forward. Just to illustrate how dominant he’s been, he’s on track to accumulate 134 receptions, 1,964 yards, and 21 touchdowns. In full-point PPR leagues, Kupp is projected to finish with 456.4 fantasy points, which would be only 14.8 points fewer than Christian McCaffrey scored in 2018. The thing is, Kupp is playing the wide receiver position while McCaffrey — as impressive as he was in 2019 — is a running back.

Kupp isn’t going anywhere as long as Matthew Stafford remains under center for the Los Angeles Rams. Who else has cemented themselves as a top-tier option at the wide receiver position in 2021? Check out my rankings below and let’s all just agree on one thing: Jakobi Meyers deserves to score a touchdown every week for the rest of his life.

WR Rankings Week 9

RANK NAME TEAM OPPONENT NOTES
RANK NAME TEAM OPPONENT NOTES
1 Cooper Kupp LAR vs. TEN Is on a historic pace right now and remains WR1. Faces off against TEN, who surrenders the most points per week to WRs.
2 Davante Adams GB @ KC Should be activated this week off of reserve/COVID-19 list. Adams is 2nd in the NFL with a massive 33.8% target share and gets a mediocre KC defense in Week 9.
3 Tyreek Hill KC vs. GB Has gotten a league-high 27 targets in the past two weeks and plays a GB secondary that is still sans Jaire Alexander.
4 Deebo Samuel SF vs. ARI Deebo is the league-leader in target with a whopping 36.4% for the 49ers. ARI's defense has held up well against WRs, but volume is king.
5 Ja'Marr Chase CIN vs. CLE Ja'Marr Chase continues to be Burrow's favorite target and keeps scoring TDs. CLE is allowing the fifth-most points to WRs in the past month.
6 Stefon Diggs BUF @ JAC Diggs doesn't have his usual heavy target share, but he does get JAC's defense, who just got carved up by Geno Smith.
7 A.J. Brown TEN @ LAR It is officially AJB WR1 SZN again. With Henry out for TEN, Brown should be busy against the LAR in Week 9.
8 Diontae Johnson PIT vs. CHI Has one of the safest floors at WR with a dead-armed Roethlisberger targeting him. CHI has given up the fifth-most points per week to WRs this season.
9 CeeDee Lamb DAL vs. DEN Dak should be back for DAL and Lamb has been Dak's favorite target in an efficient passing attack.
10 Justin Jefferson MIN @ BAL Jefferson was quiet in Week 8 with two catches on four targets. Does have a meeting with Marlon Humphrey, but should remain a top 10 WR this week.
11 Keenan Allen LAC @ PHI Allen had his best week of the season in Week 8 with 19.4 points in half-PPR. Still has a 25.6% target share, even with Williams seeing more looks.
12 DeAndre Hopkins ARI @ SF Trusting Hopkins every week has been tough with ARI having a variety of weapons. Had six receptions, 87 yards, and a TD against SF earlier this season.
13 Mike Williams LAC @ PHI NE made a concerted effort to slow down Williams, limiting him to two catches for 19 yards in Week 8. Could see a lot of Darius Slay on Sunday, which could lower his ceiling a bit.
14 Michael Pittman Jr. IND vs. NYJ Pittman is the WR1 in IND and is amid a breakout season. Is the current WR13 and gets the NYJ, who have allowed the seventh-most points to WRs in the past two weeks.
15 Robert Woods LAR vs. TEN Woods has quietly worked his way up the WR rankings while Kupp has been unstoppable. Bobby Trees is WR8 from Weeks 4-8 and gets the worst defense to WRs this season in Week 9.
16 Marquise Brown BAL vs. MIN People seem to have gone sour on Marquise Brown despite him being WR9 this season still. There isn't a team giving up more points to WRs in the past two weeks than MIN, who just got torn apart by Cooper Rush.
17 Amari Cooper DAL vs. DEN As long as Dak is officially back, Lamb and Cooper are both in WR1 consideration.
18 Courtland Sutton DEN @ DAL Leads the NFL in air yards and is a threat to catch multiple deep passes every game. DAL has surrendered the eighth-most points to WRs this season.
19 Adam Thielen MIN @ BAL Thielen continues to score TDs and has eight red-zone targets (16th most in the NFL). May get less attention if Humphrey is on Jefferson on Sunday.
20 Tee Higgins CIN vs. CLE Higgins is due for a TD and gets a CLE that has allowed the fifth-most touchdowns to WRs in the past four weeks.
21 D.J. Moore CAR vs. NE It's extremely tough to trust Moore right now with Darnold in concussion protocol. Could have Walker throwing him passes against NE, causing him to decline in my rankings.
22 Emmanuel Sanders BUF @ JAC Was doing cardio in Week 8 as he caught zero passes versus MIA. Gets another juicy matchup with JAC in Week 9, giving him a perfect chance to bounce back.
23 Chase Claypool PIT vs. CHI Targets are narrowed to Johnson and Claypool in PIT with Smith-Schuster out. Has received five red-zone targets in the past three weeks.
24 Jerry Jeudy DEN @ DAL Caught all four of his targets in his return in Week 8 and faces a pass-funneling defense in DAL on Sunday.
25 Brandin Cooks HOU @ MIA Wish Cooks could have gotten traded to a contender, but is the only viable weapon in HOU against a MIA defense that has disappointed thus far. Does get a boost if Tyrod can return for HOU.
26 Jaylen Waddle MIA vs. HOU Tua has given MIA a boost on offense and Waddle is one of his favorite options. HOU has given up the seventh-most points to WRs in past month.
27 Cordarrelle Patterson ATL @ NO Continues to see a versatile workload with ATL and gets a NO defense that forces teams to pass the ball often.
28 Cole Beasley BUF @ JAC Led BUF WRs in Week 8 with 16.1 points in half-PPR formats. Has a chance to have another productive day versus JAC's below-average defense.
29 DeVante Parker MIA vs. HOU WRs on MIA get a boost this week against HOU. Parker hauled in eight passes for 85 yards in Week 8 to lead MIA in receiving in his first game since Week 4.
30 Marvin Jones Jr. JAC vs. BUF It's hard to determine who JAC will target the most at WR every week with Chark out. Jones remains JAC's best vertical threat, giving him the highest ceiling.
31 Tyler Boyd CIN vs. CLE Had second-best performance of the season with 19.4 points in Week 8. Boyd is always a threat in the slot despite Chase and Higgins garnering attention on the outside.
32 Jarvis Landry CLE @ CIN Is a semi-safe option in PPR formats as he's seen 18 targets in the past two weeks. Continues to be the preferred target for Mayfield instead of OBJ.
33 Jakobi Meyers NE @ CAR Can CAR just let Meyers score a TD this week? CAR has only given up 3 TDs to WRs in the past month, lowering Meyers' chances of scoring his first career TD.
34 Sterling Shepard NYG vs. NYG As long as Shepard is healthy, he'll be Jones' favorite target on the NYG. if Shepard is out, then Toney could see his ranking increase.
35 Jamison Crowder NYJ @ IND Corey Davis could be out for the NYJ, giving Crowder another opportunity to operate as the No. 1 wideout on TNF versus IND.
36 Christian Kirk ARI @ SF Is a threat to catch a deep ball at any moment. SF''s defense has been solid against WRs, thus why Kirk isn't a top 35 option in Week 9.
37 Van Jefferson LAR vs. TEN Jefferson has become a valuable commodity as the No. 3 wide receiver on the LAR. Gets a TEN defense that is bleeding points to WRs this season.
38 DeVonta Smith PHI vs. LAC Smith is going to be tough to trust every week with Hurts under center for PHI. PHI could be forced to pass more against LAC in Week 9, which could lead to a decent output from the rookie wideout.
39 Kadarius Toney NYG vs. LV Toney returned in Week 8 and then had another brief exit with a thumb injury. Toney apparently has a gash on his hand, but he could see an increased role if Shepard is sidelined in Week 9.
40 Hunter Renfrow LV @ NYG Renfrow is slated to see an uptick in targets upon the awful news surrounding Ruggs. Has seen 6+ targets in six out of LV's first seven games.
41 Rashod Bateman BAL vs. MIN Bateman has been solid in his first two outings for BAL with seven receptions for 109 yards on 12 targets. If Watkins is out for BAL again, Bateman could have another decent showing on Sunday against MIN.
42 Mecole Hardman KC vs. GB KC didn't add a WR at the trade deadline, leaving Hardman to be the No. 3 option in the passing attack. Could be a shootout between KC and GB in Week 9.
43 Bryan Edwards LV @ NYG Edwards is another candidate to see an increase in usage with Ruggs' unfortunate situation. Is fifth in the NFL in target distance and fourth in the NFL in yards per reception.
44 A.J. Green ARI @ SF Is the No. 2 WR on a pass-heavy ARI offense and has shown he has a little gas left in the tank. May need to be productive if SF focuses their attention on Hopkins.
45 Darnell Mooney CHI @ PIT Mooney remains Fields' favorite weapon, seeing 34 targets in the past five weeks. Doesn't have a favorable matchup against PIT on the road.
46 Elijah Moore NYJ @ IND Could see another busy week if Davis is ruled out for the NYJ on TNF. Moore caught a season-high six passes for 67 yards in Week 8.
47 Jamal Agnew JAC vs. BUF Agnew appears to be taking the role that many expected Shenault to take. He's seen 26 targets in the past three weeks and JAC could be asked to throw more to keep up with BUF.
48 Odell Beckham Jr. CLE @ CIN OBJ remains in CLE, but with Mayfield as his QB, he's not worth starting in fantasy unless you're desperate at WR.
49 Allen Robinson CHI @ PIT It's weird seeing OBJ and Robinson down this far in my rankings, but I can't say it isn't warranted with how they've performed this season.
50 Zach Pascal IND vs. NYJ If T.Y. Hilton is sidelined again for IND, then Pascal becomes the No. 2 wideout alongside Pittman. Pascal has nine red-zone targets this season, which is the 12th most in the NFL.

In This Stream

Everything You Need for NFL Week 9

View all 11 stories

Next Up In Fantasy Football