Week 9 features a ton of injuries and some brutal Bye Weeks. As such, many fantasy football managers will be faced with some tough lineup decisions.
Thankfully, some intriguing Week 9 Fantasy Football WR Streamers exist to help fill the WR3 and Flex voids.
New England WR Demario Douglas (30% rostered) is the easy top Week 9 WR Streaming choice where he’s available. He’s set to see a massive target share in a pristine matchup vs. the Washington Commanders, and is a no-brainer plug-and-play for quality WR3+ stats.
Yet, if you’re not among the 70% of league’s where he’s available, both Khalil Shakir (5%) and Jamison Crowder (1%) are worth “Hail Mary Fantasy Flier” type looks in Week 9.
Demario Douglas Week 9 Fantasy Outlook: High-End Usage in Elite Matchup v. Commanders
As explored more thoroughly here, Douglas has been balling out since he arrived to New England. He was among the daily Training Camp standouts, routinely generating praise from Patriots Beat Writers like Mike Reiss:
This is a guy who averaged a gaudy 28% TPRR player over his collegiate career at Liberty. Sure, the Patriots have had their “questionable” WR evaluations in the Belichick era. The one mold they’ve consistently nailed, though, is the shifty slot WR (Julian Edelman, Jakobi Meyers).
In recent weeks, Douglas’ role has continued to grow. Just last week, Douglas reached a season-high 84% route participation, 77% snap share, and 22% target share with a team-high 7 looks.
Over the past two weeks, he has snared nine of 13 targets for 79 yards and logged 24 rushing yards on two carries as well — and that was before Kendrick Bourne’s season-ending injury.
With Bourne and his team-high 20.2% target share gone, as well as Devante Parker out of the lineup, Douglas has zero competition for the lion’s share of work in Week 9.
Even better: that work will come against the most generous pass-defense to WRs. The Commanders allow a league-high +11.1 schedule-adjusted FPs to opposing WRs fantasy totals. They trail only the Eagles in terms of total points allowed as well.
It is hard to see a ton of TD upside in the Patriots offense (31st in scoring). In fact, Bourne ranked just 41st in receiving yards and 29th in receptions prior to his injury.
Still, with volume and matchup on his side, Douglas should be a WR3 at minimum this week, as he’s my WR33 (+5 ECR) in my Week 9 Fantasy Rankings. Douglas has the upside to evolve into an every-week Flex play as the Patriots’ “last man standing” at WR.
Khalil Shakir Week 9 Fantasy Outlook: Primed for Heavy Slot Role
If you missed on Douglas, you surely still have a shot at Khalil Shakir. He’s out there in a whopping 95% of Yahoo Leagues, but I expect that number to dramatically shift after Week 9.
Last week, in their first game without Dawson Knox, the Bills ran 3-WR, “11 personnel” almost exclusively. This led to a much more up-tempo attack, as well as a season-high 72% snap-rate for Shakir.
The shifty sophomore responded in a big way: catching all 6 targets (15% share) for a team-high 92 yards. His 15.2 PPR FPs ranked as the WR24 in Week 8 — not too shabby!
In Week 9, Shakir and the Bills square off with the Bengals. Although this defense has been solid, they have been sneaky generous to slot WRs specifically.
Via Fantasy Points’ Data, the Bengals surrender the 5th most schedule-adjusted FPs to slot WRs. This is largely due to volume, with Cincinnati ranking third-highest in opponent slot target rate:
Next week, the Bills get the moribund Broncos defense. Shakir could, at minimum, be a nice two-week WR3 stopgap if you’re dealing with WR injuries or Byes.
Shakir is my WR47 (+7 ECR) in Week 9 Rankings, with room to rise the more I dive in.
Jamison Crowder Week 9 Fantasy Outlook: Curtis Samuel’s Injury Opens Door for WR Hail Mary Streamer
Indeed, this Jamison Crowder (1%) Week 9 recommendation could produce some puke. Indeed, Crowder hasn’t been fantasy-relevant for three seasons now.
At least, until last week. Crowder posted 7 catches, 95 yards, and 1 TD for a massive 22.5 FPs. Shockingly, Crowder ranked as the WR11.
This, despite only playing 31.9% of the snaps and running 35.9% of the routes. In fact, Crowder past the team with an absurd 37% targets per route run.
While Crowder is unlikely to maintain that gaudy TPRR, he should see a major spike in playing time with Curtis Samuel ruled out for Sunday.
Crowder should be a near every-down slot weapon on Sunday, which puts him in a prime spot for volume. Via Fantasy Points’ Data Suite, the Commanders rank 7th in slot-target share, funneling a massive 36% of their looks to the slot WRs:
Also, Crowder flashed a bit more juice than he has in recent seasons. Via the ole ye-ball-test, Crowder looked faster and stronger, consistently churning for extra yards after the catch. It was clear Sam Howell trusted Crowder in key, drive-sustaining situations.
Indeed, Crowder is a deep-league play only. He could absolutely have been a one-week-wonder.
Still, in desperate situations, I expect Crowder could come through far better than any other 1% rostered WR. He is my WR55 right now (+23 ECR), and I might be bumping him up further after publishing.
