Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Wide Receivers – Fantasy Football (Week 9)

Welcome to another edition of our weekly fantasy football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em. In this series, we’re here to help you set your lineups and put yourself in a position to win your fantasy football matchups each week. With eight weeks in the books, it’s time to take a look at wide receivers for Week 9 of the 2023 NFL and fantasy football season.

These players will be those “less-obvious” players that you’re on the fence about starting as your WR3 or Flex type of options. Nobody needs to tell you to start Justin Jefferson or Christian McCaffrey.

Week 9 bye weeks: 49ers, Broncos, Lions, Jaguars

Stay tuned for updates throughout the week.

Start ‘Em

Josh Downs WR – Indianapolis Colts @ Carolina Panthers

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a complete change in the Colts’ offensive philosophy. With Gardner Minshew under center, the passing game has really had to step up to keep them in games. Josh Downs is standing out, averaging 13.7 yards per reception over the last four weeks. He’s also scored twice in the last three games.

Carolina will play host to Indianapolis this week. Before getting their first win of the season, Carolina gave up eight passing touchdowns and 14.5 yards per catch to wide receivers in Weeks 4-6. Having Jonathan Taylor back to full form will also open up passing lanes as the Panthers will have to attempt to stymie the running game.

Most weeks, you can look to Downs as a Flex option. With bye weeks returning, he’s a WR2 candidate in many leagues as he’s coming into his zone as a rookie pass catcher.

Diontae Johnson WR – Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tennessee Titans

Check this, Diontae Johnson in his second game back from IR had 14 targets last week. 14 targets! That is a massive amount and was about to turn that into 8 receptions for 85 yards. If Johnson continues to see this usage, he could be a league winner going down the stretch.

Furthermore, this week he faces the Tennessee Titans who are giving up nearly 40 points per game to opposing wide receivers. My only hesitation in this start is the Mitch Trubisky effect. I will be closely monitoring who starts this Thursday night, and making changes based upon that start.

Sit ‘Em

Christian Watson WR – Green Bay Packers vs. Los Angeles Rams

Personally, I don’t know what the bigger problem is for Green Bay. Jordan Love’s inept passing or Christian Watson’s inability to catch the ball. I’m going to go with Watson as we’ve already seen him do special things on the field, just not this season. This year, he’s only caught 45.8% of his targets (11 of 24) and surpassed 33 receiving yards once in four games played. Additionally, he is also averaging only 2.75 receptions per game.

The Rams, who face the Packers in Week 9, have been troublesome for all but the best of wide receivers this season. Of all the wide receivers to catch less than five passes in a game against the Rams, only one (Michael Wilson) has surpassed 51 receiving yards. Players on that list include D.K. Metcalf, Tee Higgins, and DeVonta Smith.

Even in a positive matchup, I don’t think I could start Watson in fantasy right now. Overall, I’m definitely not starting him in a bad matchup.

Marquise Brown WR – Arizona Cardinals @ Cleveland Browns

Marquise Brown has been quietly having himself a very strong season with backup quarterback play. He is currently on pace to potentially have a better statistical season than his 2021 season on the Ravens when he had 91 receptions for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns. However, this is a bit of an odd week with coaching announcing earlier this week that Joshua Dobbs will not be the starter, and it will either be Kyler Murray or Clayton Tune. Not to mention, they are facing the Cleveland Browns who are only allowing 27 points per game to wide receivers. All things considered, I would try to find an alternative option for Brown this week if you can.

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