Week 9 Rankings (2020): Top 50 Wide Receivers

by Will Overton

Week 9 is here and we are officially in the second half of the fantasy football season and each week’s matchup feels a little more important. Hopefully I can lend some aid to you as you agonize over difficult decisions at wide receiver. Here is how I see the top 50 for the week:

1. Deandre Hopkins – Arizona Cardinals vs. Miami
2. Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 
3. Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Carolina 
4. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver 
5. DK Metcalf – Seattle Seahawks @ Buffalo 
6. Stefon Diggs – Buffalo Bills vs. Seattle 
7. A.J. Brown – Tennessee Titans vs. Chicago 
8. Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit 
9. Tyler Lockett – Seattle Seahawks @ Buffalo  
10. Terry McLaurin – Washington Football vs. NY Giants
11. Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas 
12. Calvin Ridley – Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver   
13. Will Fuller – Houston Texans @ Jacksonville
14. Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans    
15. Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay
16. Allen Robinson – Chicago Bears @ Tennessee 
17. Robby Anderson – Carolina Panthers @ Kansas City 
18. D.J. Moore – Carolina Panthers @ Kansas City  
19. D.J. Chark – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston
20. Justin Jefferson – Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit 
21. Amari Cooper – Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh 
22. Brandon Aiyuk – San  Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay 
23. Mike Williams – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas 
24. Brandin Cooks – Houston Texans @ Jacksonville
25. Marvin Jones – Detroit Lions @ Minnesota 
26. Chase Claypool – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Dallas 
27. DaVante Parker – Miami Dolphins @ Arizona 
28. Marquise Brown – Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis 
29. Diontae Johnson – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Dallas
30. Darius Slayton – New York Giants @ Washington 
31. Jerry Jeudy – Denver Broncos @ Atlanta 
32. JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Dallas
33. Antonio Brown – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans
34. John Brown – Buffalo Bills vs. Seattle   
35. Christian Kirk – Arizona Cardinals vs. Miami
36. Mecole Hardman – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Carolina
37. Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans vs. Chicago
38. Henry Ruggs III – Las Vegas Raiders @ LA Chargers
39. Jamison Crowder – New York Jets vs. New England  
40. Zach Pascal – Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore 
41. Keelan Cole Sr. – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston
42. Preston Williams – Miami Dolphins @ Arizona 
43. CeeDee Lamb – Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh 
44. Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers @ Kansas City
45. Kendrick Bourne – San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay
46. Scotty Miller – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans
47. Damiere Byrd – New England Patriots @ NY Jets
48. Sterling Shepherd – New York Giants @ Washington  
49. Michael Gallup – Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh 
50. Denzel Mims – New York Jets vs. New England

Thoughts:

• Last week the Minnesota Vikings got back their star running back Dalvin Cook and in turn we saw a super run heavy attack with Kirk Cousins throwing just 14 passes. If you look at the rankings you can see the nerves of fantasy owners, but I’m still not willing to drop Adam Thielen out of my Top 10 and I still have a lot of faith in Justin Jefferson too. Much like the whole Vikings offense Thielen has been a bit boom or bust this year, but this matchup with the Lions is prime and you have to expect some big things.
• The trade deadline came and went this week and somehow Will Fuller is still a Texan, so maybe the legacy of Bill O’Brien has passed. As a Fuller owner I’m happy to see it because he is racking up the fantasy points as Deshaun Watson’s number one target. Fuller has scored in five straight games and there’s a real good chance that goes to six against the woeful Jaguars. He is no longer just the deep threat counterpart to Deandre Hopkins, he’s a bonafide must start guy in fantasy now and in weeks like this a possible WR1.
• Speaking of the Jaguars, they will have a new signal caller with Gardner Minshew on the shelf. The prospect of a sixth round pick taking over the offense is the only thing that kept me from ranking Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole higher than this. The Texans and Jaguars matchup feels like a shootout, even with Jake Luton at quarterback for the Jaguars, and he has a group of underrated pass catchers to catch him up to speed.
• We’re finally seeing some signs of life out of Marvin Jones after a pretty dormant beginning to the season. Last Sunday he caught two TD passes and now he’s poised for what could be his biggest game of the season. The Vikings secondary is clearly outmatched just about every week and with Kenny Golladay likely missing this week’s game Jones will be the go to option for Matt Stafford and will hopefully find his way back to the endzone once again.
• After what has been almost two years out of action, not counting the sparse action he saw last season, Antonio Brown is returning to the football field on Sunday as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Signs are pointing to Chris Godwin missing this game, so Brown likely steps into a pretty prominent role as the counterpart to Mike Evans. We don’t know what kind of shape he’s in or where his head is at so using him is risky, but sitting him feels just as risky because we know if the answer to those questions are positive the talent is there and at 32 he certainly shouldn’t be washed up just yet.
• Who steps up for the New England Patriots is an interesting subplot for fantasy football owners right now. The passing game is stagnant as it is and with Julian Edelman now out someone has to emerge as a reliable option for Cam Newton. As you can see from my rankings the guy I trust the most is Damiere Byrd. There is already an established rapport with Newton and he’s shown flashes of being a solid option. While others are looking to Jakobi Meyers who led the team last week, I’ll be buying more stock on Byrd and hoping it pays off in the end.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 9 rankings: