Week 9 WR Rankings: Will Ja'Marr Chase Keep Sun-Running?

It's Week 9.

We're almost to the halfway point of the NFL regular season, and fantasy campaigns are closer to the end than the beginning.

When games kick off this Sunday, we'll be in the month of November.

November.

Unreal.

I know I say this every year, but it increasingly feels true: Time doesn't fly—it dies.

This game of ours, this fantastical amusement of absurdity, is an affair of attrition.

Sometimes, survival is sufficient.

Let's get into the Week 9 WR edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

Favorable betting factors and situational spots
Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, my Week 9 fantasy football rankings, and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 9 fantasy football plays.

Access our full rankings and projections with a FREE FantasyLife+ subscription when you download and install Comet, an awesome AI-powered web browser via Perplexity. Get Comet AND FantasyLife+ for free. Win. Win. Win.

Week 9 Wide Receiver Rankings

RANK	Wr	Team	Opponent
1	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	SEA	WAS
2	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET	MIN
3	Ja'Marr Chase	CIN	CHI
4	Puka Nacua	LAR	NO
5	Rome Odunze	CHI	CIN
6	CeeDee Lamb	DAL	ARI
7	Rashee Rice	KC	BUF
8	Justin Jefferson	MIN	DET
9	Drake London	ATL	NE
10	Davante Adams	LAR	No
11	Brian Thomas Jr.	JAX	LV
12	Deebo Samuel	WAS	SEA

Ja'Marr Chase: I Guess We Start Him in Week 9?

I'm no hero.

There's nothing bold in saying I like Ja'Marr Chase this week.

But he deserves a callout because what he has done over the past three weeks with QB Joe Flacco—38-346-2 receiving on 54 targets—is almost unbelievable.

Among all WRs, Chase since Week 6 is No. 1 in Utilization Score (97, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

Literally no one has run more routes than Chase over the past three weeks (190, 98%).

And as productive as Chase has been with Flacco unrelentingly bombarding him with targets, he has left some meat on the bone: Last week he was the No. 2 WR in unrealized air yards (84). Translation: With his target volume, Chase has a truly legendary performance within his range of outcomes.

And to be clear: Chase's dominance isn't just a Flacco-related thing. In Weeks 2 & 5, he had 14-165-1 and 6-110-2 receiving performances with QBs Joe Burrow and Jake Browning.

Chase can ball out almost regardless of who throws to him. On the season, he has four top-five fantasy finishes. FOUR. That's obscene. No other WR has more than two.

So he's awesome anyway, and now he's getting extra targets because Flacco is zeroing in on him—and then there's the matchup against the Bears, who are No. 29 in defensive dropback SR (51.9%, per RBs Don't Matter).

Additionally, all three of their starting CBs are injured.

Jaylon Johnson (groin, IR): Out
Kyler Gordon (groin, IR): Out
Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder): Exited Week 7, out Week 8

Last year, Chase's best performance of the season was an 11-264-3 receiving outburst on 17 targets. I don't see why he couldn't have that kind of output this weekend.

DK Metcalf Is on the WR1 Borderline in Week 9

There's nothing special about Metcalf's top-level usage. For the season, he's the No. 28 WR in Utilization Score (68), and he has a career-low 6.1 targets per game.

But the quality of his targets has never been better, as evidenced by his career-best marks of 10.7 yards per target and 11.6% TD rate.

In just seven games, Metcalf has almost as many yards after the catch this year as he had last year in 15 games.

2025: 240 (No. 2)
2024: 262 (No. 40)

That speaks to the ability of QB Aaron Rodgers to hit Metcalf in stride—and his downfield role is apparent: He's the No. 6 WR in air yard share (45%).

So although Metcalf isn't getting peppered with 10+ targets a game, he has still been productive overall (27-461-5 receiving), and this week he has an advantageous matchup against the Colts, who are No. 2 in largest fantasy boost allowed to WRs (+7.3) and without No. 1 CB Charvarius Ward (concussion, IR).

The Steelers will likely need to pass as three-point underdogs, and—although it didn't work out last week—this is the exact spot in which it has paid to back HC Mike Tomlin's team (per Action Network).

Tomlin at Home: 85-69-4 ATS | +1.80 Margin | 7.7% ROI
Tomlin Off Loss: 61-47 ATS | +1.54 Margin | 10.7% ROI
Tomlin as Dog: 66-40-4 ATS | +1.81 Margin | 20.9% ROI
Tomlin as Home Dog Off Loss: 12-4 ATS | +4.34 Margin | 44.8% ROI

It honestly gives me no pleasure to say this, but I have the Steelers as a five-star bet in our Fantasy Life Game Model.

I want to be invested in the Steelers in multiple ways this Sunday.

Christian Watson Looks to Stay Relevant in Week 9

There's nothing especially exploitable about Christian Watson's matchup this week: The Panthers are a solid No. 20 in defensive pass DVOA (10.8%, per FTN).

But I think it's worth noting that last week in his 2025 debut Watson was already the No. 2 WR in the Packers offense (four targets, 37% air yard share), and he converted his usage into an efficient 4-85-0 receiving.

Given that WR Dontayvion Wicks (calf) is dealing with an injury, I expect Watson to maintain his role in the offense, and I like that the Packers are at home, where HC Matt LaFleur is 35-21 ATS (19.9% ROI).

Watson's boom/bust nature makes him risky in Guillotine Leagues™, but from here on out he has a real chance to lead the Packers WRs in fantasy scoring.

Chimere Dike Is the Week 9 Desperado Flier

I hate myself for even mentioning Chimere Dike.

Sure, I have lots of other reasons to hate myself—but right now this one seems especially incriminating.

But No. 1 WR Calvin Ridley (hamstring) exited Week 6 with a soft-tissue injury, and in the two games since then Dike has been the new de facto No. 1 WR for the team with 11-163-1 receiving on 12 targets and a nice organization-best 69 Utilization Score.

Additionally, I like that Dike gets regular work as a runner (eight carries) and returner (38 kick returns, seven punt returns), which speaks to his overall skillset and also gives him additional opportunities to score a TD.

With his usage, Dike upgrades to WR4 territory, and he has a good matchup this week in the slot, where the Chargers could be without CB Tarheeb Still (knee), who exited Week 8 early.

With 12+ fantasy points in back-to-back weeks and four teams on bye, Dike is a viable desperado flier.

The Deep Route

Rome Odunze (Bears) at Bengals: Odunze returned to form last week with 7-114-0 receiving on 10 targets, and he's the only player in the league (outside of injured WR Malik Nabers) with a top-12 mark in air yard share (42%) and endzone target share (42%). The Bengals are No. 32 in defensive dropback SR (53.1%).

Ladd McConkey (Chargers) at Titans: McConkey had a modest first month (16-174-0 receiving, 27 targets), but since Week 5 he has assumed his role as the team's No. 1 WR (27-294-3 receiving, 41 targets) and been the league's No. 7 WR in Utilization Score (85). He should benefit from three extra days of rest off Thursday Night Football, and the Titans are without No. 1 CB L'Jarius Sneed (quad, IR) and slot CB Roger McCreary (traded).

Marvin Harrison (Cardinals) at Cowboys: Harrison's target volume has disappointed this year (5.7 per game), but at least his efficiency has ticked up (9.9 yards per target). Harrison should be fresh off the bye, and with QB Kyler Murray the Cardinals are 27-7-2 ATS (43.4% ROI). The Cowboys are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to WRs (41.1), and No. 1 CB Trevon Diggs (concussion, IR) is out.

Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) at Bills: Worthy has done little in two games since the return of No. 1 WR Rashee Rice (101 yards on 11 targets, one carry), but the offense has still put up 59 points in those games, and he has a team-high 81% route rate. At some point, Worthy will get loose for a big game. With QB Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs as road dogs are 10-1-1 ATS (72.3% ROI), and the Bills are No. 29 in defensive pass DVOA against No. 2 WRs (31.4%).

Jauan Jennings (49ers) at Giants: Jennings (ankle, rib, shoulder) is dealing with all sorts of injuries … but last week he practiced every day in full, and since return to action two game ago he has been the clear No. 1 WR for the 49ers with an 86% route rate, 27% target share, and 35% air yard share. Without WR Ricky Pearsall (knee), Jennings should continue to see heavy usage, and the Giants might be without CBs Cor'Dale Flott (concussion) and Paulson Adebo (knee) and FS Jevon Holland (knee).

Travis Hunter (Jaguars) at Raiders: Prior to the bye, Hunter finally had a breakout game in London with 8-101-1 receiving on 14 targets. No. 1 WR Brian Thomas (shoulder) is uncertain with an injury, and the Raiders are No. 4 in most fantasy points allowed to WRs (31.3).

Malik Washington (Dolphins) vs. Ravens: In each of his four games this year without No. 1 WR Tyreek Hill (knee, IR), Washington has 5+ targets, and last week—without TE Darren Waller (pectoral, IR)—he had his best game of the season with 4-36-1 receiving. Washington gets regular work as a runner (9-61-0 rushing this year) and returner (one punt return TD), and the Ravens are No. 2 in most fantasy points allowed to WRs (32.5). Washington is a viable deep-league streamer.

Notes On My Week 9 WR Rankings

Byes: This week, the Browns, Jets, Eagles, and Buccaneers are on bye.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.

Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
Sun AM: Revise rankings
Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 pm ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 5 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
Against the Spread (ATS)
Over/Under (O/U)
Team Total (TT)
Moneyline (ML)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
Expected Points Added (EPA)
Success Rate (SR)
Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
Short Down and Distance (SDD)
Long Down and Distance (LDD)