Fantasy Football Week 9 Wide Receiver Start/Sit: Travis Hunter, Keenan Allen and More

Welcome to Week 9's fantasy football wide receiver start/sit breakdown! 

Last week was the byepocalypse, and I unfortunately did not escape unscathed. Things were solid on the start side: I (like everyone else in the fantasy industry) fell for the Darnell Mooney (1.6 half-PPR points) bait, but Tetairoa McMillan (13.4) had a good outing and Tez Johnson (6.8) wasn't too terrible for a deep selection.

However, things were undeniably terrible for my picks on the sit side. Stefon Diggs (8.9), Khalil Shakir (17.8), and Terry McLaurin (12.9) all had decent (if not great) outings. Hopefully, we can bounce back this week.

Without further ado, here are my picks for receivers to start (or not) in your fantasy football lineups in Week 9. 

For more help with your toughest Week 9 start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Wide Receivers to Start Week 9

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Like his rookie campaign, Harrison's sophomore season so far has been fine, but nothing special. He is currently the WR40 with just 9.1 half-PPR points per game. This number is probably slightly deflated by the fact that he and the Cardinals are coming off a bye, but he is currently being started in just under 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues. 

I am here to say that, unless your team is absurdly stacked, MHJ should be in your lineup this week. Yes, Harrison isn't living up to the absurd hype he had as a prospect. But he gets to play the Cowboys' defense this week. 

It's difficult to overstate how soft of a matchup Dallas' defense is, especially for opposing passing attacks. They are giving up 35.5 half-PPR points per game to opposing wideouts; no other team is at even 33 points. They just let Troy Franklin explode for a WR1 overall performance, so Harrison should be able to manage at least a solid outing. Fire him up with confidence this week.

Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers

It hasn't turned into much production in two matchups with tough secondaries, but Jennings has reasserted himself as the 49ers' top receiver (or healthy receiver, anyway) over the last two weeks.

In San Francisco's last two games, he has led their receiver room in route share (81%), target share (24%), and air yards share (35%). With Ricky Pearsall yet to return to practice, he should remain the undisputed WR1 for the 49ers for at least one more week.  

And that status has a great chance to actually turn into some fantasy points this week. For one, there's a chance that Brock Purdy will return from his toe injury this week. Even if he doesn't, Jennings' matchup with the Giants' defense is very appealing. 

Although I just stressed how terrible the Cowboys' defense has been against wide receivers, their NFC East counterparts have actually been worse in terms of yards allowed, giving up a massive 174.3 yards per game to the position. The 49ers are also road favorites for this matchup with a solid 25.5-point team total. Put it all together, and Jennings projects as a solid WR3 (if not better) this Sunday. 

Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

Early in the season, the 2024 Heisman winner was a staple of the “sit” section of this column. Adjusting to the NFL and being used on both sides of the ball, Hunter was seeing limited snaps on offense and not even being particularly productive with the work he did see. But that has all changed in recent weeks.

Hunter has led the Jaguars in route participation rate in each of their last two games, with 86% in Week 6 and 84% in Week 7 (Jacksonville was on bye last week). In Week 7, he turned those routes into production, blowing away his previous career highs with eight catches on 14 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. 

Obviously, this pick gets better if Brian Thomas Jr. misses this matchup with a shoulder injury that currently has him limited in practice. But Hunter doesn't need BTJ to be absent to have a big game — he was active in Week 7, after all.

The Jaguars also have a good matchup with the Raiders, who have allowed the third-most points per game to opposing wideouts. Likely to see a full workload coming out of the bye, Hunter is an excellent high-upside option for fantasy managers this week.

Wide Receivers to Sit Week 9

Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots

The definition of insanity may be doing the same thing over and over, but I just can't help myself: I don't think Diggs can keep on scoring fantasy points on such mediocre usage. If anything, his usage is getting worse as the season goes on. Last week, he saw a lower route share than Mack Hollins, 65% to 71%.

In fact, Diggs saw worse usage than Hollins across the board last week. He posted a 21% target share, which is solid, but an uninspiring 5.4-yard ADOT meant he had a miserable 10% air yards share. He also only actually caught three passes for 14 yards — his first touchdown of the season was the only thing that saved his fantasy day.

To be fair, the touchdowns are likely to keep coming for anyone catching passes from Drake Maye this season (just ask Kayshon Boutte). Even against an excellent Falcons' defense, the Patriots have the 10th-highest total of the week. But Atlanta's defense is particularly tough against receivers, giving up the sixth-fewest points per game to the position.

Combine mediocre (and getting worse) usage with the bad matchup, and I once again recommend benching Diggs if you have other options. 

Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Speaking of aging receivers who have been getting it done despite running limited numbers of routes, we have Allen. Unlike Diggs, however, Allen's mediocre usage has been showing up on the fantasy stat sheet recently. He had an admittedly excellent outing in Week 7, but has otherwise been below nine half-PPR points in each of his last five outings (and below 6.5 in three of them). 

Like Diggs, Keenan is also trending in the wrong direction. He averaged a bad-not-terrible 73% route participation rate through Week 7. Last week, that number fell to 50%, by far his lowest mark of the season. Keenan has run 41% of his routes this season from the slot, so the emergence of TE Oronde Gadsden II (49% slot rate) may be the culprit for his declining usage. 

This week, Allen and the Chargers have a decent matchup with the Titans' defense, which is an above-average opponent for wide receivers. However, the Chargers are heavy favorites against the toothless Titans — they may be content to lean on the run game and/or heavy personnel, neither of which favors Allen.

With his ability to earn targets (28% target per route run rate for the season), the 33-year-old veteran is not a must-bench. But if you're in a shallower league and have other solid options, I recommend giving Allen a week off to make sure last week's decreased usage was just a one-off and not the start of a troubling trend. 

Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers

I had high hopes for Golden coming into the season. With first-round draft capital on his side, the speedy former Longhorn had the opportunity to assert himself as the WR1 in a Green Bay receiver room full of WR2s. Instead, the rookie has simply become another face in the Packers' crowded competition for targets.

Even if we only look at games since Jayden Reed went out with an injury, Golden is averaging just a 14% target share and a 24% air yards share on a 70% route participation rate.

And, if anything, those numbers might start trending in the wrong direction. Green Bay's WR room got even more crowded last week, as Christian Watson made an impressively early return from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season. Watson, who theoretically fills a similar niche to Golden as a deep threat, immediately saw a solid 60% route participation rate in his debut last week. He also out-targeted Golden, 4-3, and saw more valuable downfield usage — a 36% air yards share to a laughably low 0.5% for the rookie. 

This week, the Packers face the Panthers, who have actually been the fourth-toughest matchup for fantasy receivers so far this season. The Packers are also 13.5-point favorites, and we know they are happy to pound a game away when given an opportunity.

Golden does have the explosive ability to have a solid fantasy outing with just one play. But given his low-volume (and getting lower) role and the likely low-volume environment for Green Bay's passing attack as a whole, this is a terrible spot. He should only be started if you are desperate for upside and have no other viable options.