Start em or sit em? Fantasy football start or sit decisions can be excruciating. While it feels great to make the right call and cruise to fantasy glory, it hurts just as much when you have someone erupt while on your bench. You can use our Who Should I Start? tool to gauge advice from fantasy football experts as you make your lineup decisions. And you can also sync your fantasy football league for free using our My Playbook tool for custom advice, rankings and analysis.
Let’s dive into our start/sit lineup advice and outlook for a few of the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups of the week. And here are all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 9.
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Start’em, Sit’em Lineup Advice
Darnell Mooney (WR – ATL): 47% Rostered
- Next Opponents: @NE, @IND, CAR
- True Value: $1
- Desperate Need: $2
- Budget-Minded: $0
Analysis: The entire Atlanta offense sputtered in Week 8 against the Dolphins. I have to admit, even with Kirk Cousins under center, I didn’t see that coming. Hopefully, Michael Penix Jr. is back under center in Week 9, but I still think that better days are ahead for Darnell Mooney. Last week, with Drake London out of the lineup (hip), Mooney didn’t see a massive workload as he was third on the team in targets with a 12.9% target share, converting that one reception into 11 yards. Even with those disappointing returns, Mooney is an interesting Flex play in each of the next two weeks. New England and Indy have, respectively, allowed the sixth-most and seventh-most PPR points per target to perimeter wide receivers, per Fantasy Points Data.
Malik Washington (WR – MIA): 15% Rostered
- Next Opponents: BAL, BUF, WSH
- True Value: $1
- Desperate Need: $2
- Budget-Minded: $0
Analysis: Malik Washington hasn’t been a high-upside Flex option over the last two weeks, but he does hold some Flex appeal in PPR formats in two of the next three weeks. Over his last two games, he has drawn a 22.4% target share and averaged 4.5 receptions and 33 receiving yards. Toss a touchdown on top of a stat line like that, as Washington did in Week 8, and you have a player who will flirt with low-end WR2 production in PPR leagues. Washington is a decent PPR Flex option against Baltimore and Washington, who, respectively, have allowed the fourth-most and 14th-most schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game to wide receivers, per Fantasy Points Data.
Chimere Dike (WR – TEN): 8% Rostered
- Next Opponents: LAC, BYE, HOU
- True Value: $1
- Desperate Need: $2
- Budget-Minded: $0
Analysis: Chimere Dike earned a full-time role in Week 7 with a 66.7% route share, seeing an 11.8% target share with 70 receiving yards, 2.69 yards per route run and a 17.6% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. He built upon that standout performance in Week 8 against the Colts with a 90.6% route share, a 21% target share, seven receptions and 93 receiving yards. Dike is a strong Flex play this week against a Chargers secondary that has been more giving to slot receivers. Los Angeles has held perimeter wide receivers to the second-fewest PPR points per target, while slot receivers have recorded the 10th-most PPR points per target. Dike entered Week 8 with a 76.6% slot rate, per Fantasy Points Data.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
