Week 9 of the NFL season is here, and it is my privilege to highlight my favorite wide receivers for your Week 9 NFL DFS lineups on the main slate for FanDuel and DraftKings. 

From the top priced receivers to the value wide receivers, and everything in between, we got your NFL DFS Week 9 WR Coach right here! Take these insights and numbers and check out some NFL player props for Week 9 as well, as some of the insights in this article can help uncover some advantageous lines for you to exploit!

 

 

 

Without further ado, let’s jump into the NFL DFS Week 9 WR Coach, here exclusively at Fantasy Alarm!

NFL DFS Week 9 WR Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

Overall, you’ll find my NFL DFS Week 9 WR Coach play of the week below, but some guys that just missed the cut of receiving that prestigious honor are A.J. Brown, Puka Nacua, and Zay Flowers. 

The most exploitable secondaries on this slate are Jacksonville (Brown, DeVonta Smith), Carolina (Chris Olave), and the New York Giants (Terry McLaurin). Check out Jalen Coker and Cedric Tillman if you need some super cheap options to round out your Week 9 NFL DFS lineups.

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 Wide Receivers

Teams on bye: Steelers, 49ers

Teams not playing on the main slate: Texans, Jets, Colts, Vikings, Buccaneers, Chiefs

Quick NFL DFS Week 9 WR Coach notes on the slate:

  • Four games with a total of at least 48 points
  • Two games with a total of 42 or fewer points
  • 25+ implied point totals (on main slate): Bills, Falcons, Ravens, Eagles, Bengals, Cowboys, Saints
  • Possible mid-week additions: Drake London/Darnell Mooney, Courtland Sutton

NFL DFS WR Coach Week 8 Results

From the top tier picks last week, A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs were serviceable, while Drake London and Jayden Reed underwhelmed.

The mid-tier was a bit of a flop, as only Romeo Doubs and Xavier Worthy reached double-digit fantasy points.

The value tier had a few misses, but Ladd McConkey and Cedric Tillman put up big numbers in Week 8.

Terry McLaurin outproduced my expectations against Chicago, and Tyreek Hill didn’t reach 2x value, so that was disappointing.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Top Tier Picks For Week 9

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $8,100 | FanDuel: $9,000

The Jaguars have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season, and simply put, they have no chance of stopping Brown. He’ll see a good bit of Tyson Campbell, but I’m not worried about that. Brown has 80+ yards in every game this season, and if Jacksonville can keep it somewhat close throughout the course of the game, Brown will go for 100+ for the third time this season. 

Devonta Smith benefitted from the “squeaky wheel” game last week after he had -2 yards in Week 7, but Week 9 will be the A.J. Brown show. Jacksonville plays a bunch of man coverage, and on the season, Brown has a 5.52 yards per route run (Y/RR), 15.9 aDOT, and quarterback Jalen Hurts has a 156.3 passer rating when targeting Brown in man coverage, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Lastly, if PFF receiving grades are your thing, only Malik Nabers has a higher receiving grade against man coverage than Brown. 

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - DraftKings: $8,600 | FanDuel: $9,500

Chase caught nine of 11 targets for 54 yards and a touchdown last week, but the thing with Chase is that he’s a big play threat anytime Joe Burrow looks his way. 

The big-time receiving totals weren’t there last week, but this Las Vegas secondary isn’t threatening by any means, and Chase’s reps out of the slot against Nate Hobbs should be quite profitable, and out wide against Jack Jones should be quite profitable. 

If Tee Higgins is out of action again in Week 9, expect another heavy dosage of targets to come Chase’s way, resulting in 20+ fantasy points.

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams - DraftKings: $7,200 | FanDuel: $8,100

On DraftKings, we’ll gladly take the $500 discount by going with Nacua over Kupp, as I believe Nacua carries the greater upside in this NFC West showdown. Over the last four weeks, the Seahawks have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, and in the first game this year where both Nacua and Kupp played, Nacua was the more explosive piece. 

While Kupp scored a touchdown, he was more of a low aDOT possession receiver, while Nacua posted healthy marks of 5.05 Y/RR and 11.3 aDOT, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite. Nacua paced the Rams in that game with nine targets, and with it being one of the higher totals on the slate, I expect Matthew Stafford to be ready to sling it around the yard. FWIW, he went for 16+ FD points and 18+ DK points in both games against Seattle in 2023.

The mid-week injury news isn’t ideal, but if he’s good enough to play, I’m comfortable with him in my lineup.

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins - DraftKings: $7,300 | FanDuel: $8,500

Hill’s price didn’t jump too much, keeping him in consideration for this matchup against Buffalo. He drew nine targets last week against Arizona, hauling in six of them for 72 yards, and with Tua Tagovailoa back under center, he posted a 2.00 yards per route run last week, per PFF, and he only did that in one other game since Tagovailoa was out of action. 

While we would have liked more fantasy points last week, there were a lot of encouraging numbers for Hill, like the fact that he posted a 23.7 percent target share, dominated the team’s air yards, and led the team in first read rate (per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite). This is a good environment for fantasy points, and Hill is in a great spot to lead the way for Miami. If you need to save some money, Jaylen Waddle is a fine target.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Mid-Tier Picks For NFL Week 9

Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $7,200

Flowers has 110+ yards in three of his last four games, and if it weren’t for an ankle injury that clearly limited him in that game against Tampa Bay, we could be talking about the fact that Flowers has four straight 100-yard games! Flowers has at least seven receptions and nine targets in three of his last four games, and he won’t see as much Pat Surtain as you think. 

Surtain rarely goes into the slot, and Flowers is amongst the top-10 receivers in the NFL in receiving yards out of the slot. On his slot targets, Lamar Jackson has a 118.3 passer rating when targeting Flowers, and Denver’s Ja’Quan McMillian ranks in the bottom three in terms of targets, receptions allowed, and receiving yards in slot coverage, per PFF.

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $6,100 | FanDuel: $7,100

Olave caught eight of 14 targets for 107 yards last week, and he finds himself in a far better matchup this week against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have allowed the 11th-most receiving yards to wideouts this season, and Olave has been the team’s best receiver against zone coverage in 2024, posting a healthy 2.51 Y/RR and 11.5 aDOT, per PFF.  

Derek Carr is expected back this week, and while I have some concerns about game script getting away from the New Orleans passing attack, I can’t ignore how great of a matchup this is for Olave. He feasibly could handle a 30+ percent target share in this game, given the current state of affairs in the New Orleans WR room, and he should be the first read more often than not. 

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders - DraftKings: $7,100 | FanDuel: $7,400

We faded McLaurin last week due to a tough matchup, and he fared quite well against a stout Chicago secondary. This week, however, he gets a soft matchup against a New York Giants secondary that has been torched by perimeter receivers this season. In fact, they’ve been one of the most generous defenses to perimeter receivers in 2024! 

McLaurin continues to get it done, and Jayden Daniels ensures that his top receiver is peppered with targets (6+ targets in all but one game). McLaurin was quiet against New York back in Week 2, but since that game, McLaurin has been a top-5 receiver in PPR formats.

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $6,800 | FanDuel: $7,800

I prefer Brown to Smith in this matchup, but I love targeting this Jacksonville defense. Smith hasn’t had the same dominance against man coverage like Brown has, but Jalen Hurts is playing excellent football of late, and Jacksonville has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season. 

This Jacksonville secondary is not good, and for what it’s worth, Smith has at least 64 yards in all three home games this season. We’ve targeted Jacksonville all year long, and if you don’t have the money for A.J. Brown, Smith is a fine target against the Jags, especially coming off a big game where he found the end zone and logged a season-high 85 yards through the air.

Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $6,400

We nailed the McConkey pick, and we are going right back to the well this week! The Browns have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers over the last four weeks, Furthermore, Greg Newsome has struggled in slot coverage this year, allowing a 106.6 passer rating when targeted, per PFF, but over the last four weeks, he’s allowed 10-of-11 targets to be caught and a 145.1 passer rating when targeted. 

McConkey has averaged 14.0 yards per reception out of the slot this season, and he should be primed for another big day against Cleveland’s man-heavy defensive scheme (4.31 Y/RR, 19.4 Y/Rec., and 153.3 passer rating when targeted versus man coverage).

 

 

 

NFL Week 9 DFS WR Value Picks

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,300

With Davante Adams out of town, the passing attack runs through Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. After missing a few weeks, Meyers returned against the Chiefs, and caught six of seven targets for 52 yards and a touchdown. Now, he’ll face a Cincinnati defense that is prone to allowing production through the air. 

Bowers is in line for a big day against this defense, but don’t sleep on Meyers, especially with Vegas playing from behind in this one. I like his outlook on his slot reps against Mike Hilton, and I wouldn’t call the likes of Cam Taylor-Britt or DJ Turner shutdown by any means. Meyers is more of a cash game play than GPP, as he doesn’t really carry that big time upside needed to take down a tournament.

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns - DraftKings: $4,300 | FanDuel: $6,100

Tillman is a DAWG, that’s all I have to say. Pricing will eventually catch up with him, likely next week, but for this week, Tillman remains an excellent value. Jameis Winston had the passing offense firing on all cylinders, and it was Tillman who led the team in air yards and receiving yards. He held a respectable 22 percent target share, and he won’t come off the field when the team goes to 2-WR sets. 

While the Chargers have actually allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers, I’m not afraid to go to Tillman at this price point, and Winston’s unpredictability can work in his favor at times. Tillman figures to be incredibly chalky, but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given his price tag and production over the last two weeks.

Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $5,200

The rookie out of Holy Cross has been exciting at times for Carolina this year, and last week, he caught four balls for 78 yards and a touchdown while playing a season-high 69 percent of the snaps. Diontae Johnson was traded on Tuesday, paving the way for regular snaps once again for the rookie. Coker plays primarily out of the slot, and slot receivers against New Orleans have been good to us! 

Coker has caught 8-of-9 targets out of the slot this year, while posting 1.48 Y/RR and 11.1 aDOT, per PFF. However, New Orleans’ slot corner Alontae Taylor has allowed the most yards out of the slot in coverage, and a 116.6 passer rating when targeted. Carolina should be playing from behind, and the added volume should offset any inefficiencies that come with Bryce Young being under center.

Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars - DraftKings: $3,600 | FanDuel: $5,400

Washington could end up becoming very chalky if both Christian Kirk and Brian Thomas are forced to miss this game. Well, we know Kirk is out, but we’ll have to monitor Thomas’ status throughout the week. Washington can play inside or outside, and he caught three of four targets for 46 yards last week. 

The Eagles’ secondary has been playing better of late, but Jacksonville will be forced to throw while playing from behind, leading to some added volume for Washington. You could do far worse for a dart throw, value wide receiver than Washington, again, if both Thomas and Kirk were to miss this game, as Washington could become the de facto possession receiver for the offense.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Fades For Week 9

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks - DraftKings: $6,200 | FanDuel: $6,500

Believe it or not, the Rams have been tough on opposing slot receivers this season, and the defense is starting to find its stride. Benching Tre’Davious White certainly helped, but they’ve actually allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to wideouts over the last four weeks. Smith-Njigba took advantage of a good matchup and DK Metcalf’s absence last week, but I’m not expecting the same thing this week.

The Rams will continue to deploy a tone of zone coverage, and while Smith-Njigba leads the Seattle wideouts in receptions against zone coverage, his 8.5 yards per reception, 1.23 Y/RR and 6.7 aDOT aren’t indicative of a ceiling play here. If he doesn’t score, it feels like a matchup where JSN will catch maybe five passes for 40-ish yards.

NFL Week 9 WR Play Of The Week

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $9,100

Lamb is an alpha receiver locked into an elite target share, and now draws a generous matchup against an Atlanta secondary that has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers over the last four weeks, and eighth-most per game for the entire season. 

Lamb will run a good number of routes from the slot, and while the overall production hasn’t been massive on his slot snaps, there are few better matchups for slot receivers than the Falcons. Atlanta’s Dee Alford has allowed the second-most yards in slot coverage this season, per PFF, not to mention the most receptions, tied for the most touchdowns, and a 115.6 passer rating when targeted. 

Don’t overthink it with Lamb. The Cowboys can’t stop anyone right now, and while Lamb has at least seven targets in every game this season, he has 31 targets (!!!) over his last two games.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 9 WR Projections

Check out the NFL DFS Week 9 projections table to help build your NFL DFS Week 9 lineups. 

Be sure to also check out not just the NFL Week 9 DFS WR Coach, but the rest of our NFL DFS Coaches, Watch List and NFL DFS Playbook as you build those winning daily fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2024 NFL regular season.