Surprise! You get another two-fer this week from the ol’ Lineup Builder. Jefferson is out being a great dad this week so you get me once again with my favorite WR starts and sits for Week 9. Just like Jefferson, I’m utilizing Razzball’s Wide Receiver Fantasy Points Scored Slot vs. Wide and our Defense Slot vs. Wide for these recommendations…and YOU SHOULD TOO!
The Slot vs Wide chart breaks down how many fantasy points a wide receiver has scored so far this season from the slot vs. out wide. With five weeks now under our belts, the sample size is growing, and trends are there for the taking. So let’s take them!
But first:
Be sure to check out the latest tools on Razzball.com: Slot vs. Wide PPG Allowed | WR Slot vs. Wide| DEF Targets Allowed | Home vs. Away | Wins vs. Losses | TD Tool | RB Zone vs. Gap Rushing | DEF Zone vs. Gap Rushing |
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Starts
- Player: Travis Hunter
- Opponent: at Las Vegas Raiders
Jefferson made me promise to include Travis Hunter in this week’s recommendations. He just didn’t say Hunter had to be first, that was my call. Why, you ask? That’s because the Raiders allow the 2nd MOST fantasy points per game to Slot WRs at just over 17 PPG. Only the Commanders allow more to slot WRs. So why Hunter and not Brian Thomas Jr.? Well, our handy-dandy WR Fantasy Points Scored Slot vs. Wide tool tells us, BTJr scores 94% of his fantasy points out Wide and Hunter scores 73% of his fantasy points from the Slot. There’s also news out of northeast Florida that the Jags want to get Hunter more involved in the offense. This week in Sin City provides them the perfect opportunity to do so successfully. Take advantage.
UPDATE: Disregard the Travis Hunter recommendation as it was just announced that Hunter was placed on IR for a non-contact knee injury. That really sucks for a lot of reasons. Next in line for the Slot WR role is Parker Washington. It’s not ideal but he definitely gets a bump up to WR#3/Flex consideration.
- Player: Wan’Dale Robinson
- Opponent: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Next up is Wan’Dale Robinson of the G-Men. The 49ers set sail cross county with a defense that allows the 6th MOST fantasy points per game to Slot WRs at 14 PPG. Robinson is the clear-cut Slot WR for the Giants, scoring 82% of his fantasy points there. He’s coming off the Eagles game with just 4 TGTs, but over the past 4 weeks, he’s hovering around 8 TGTs, including the 12 TGT game at Denver. The Giants have now lost their two top playmakers, so the torch is now Robinson’s to carry. He should be targeted early and often, in my opinion.
- Player: Michael Pittman Jr.
- Opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers
One more before I get to the deeper plays. There are a number of really good matchups out Wide this week but I’m leaning on Michael Pittman Jr. The Steelers may put up more of a fight against the Colts on Sunday but it’s probably not going to be out wide. The Steelers give up the MOST fantasy points to out wide WRs in the league at 32.7 PPG (76% of WR scoring). That’s a huge opportunity for an Indy QB to continue building his MVP resume by linking up with Pittman, who’s averaging almost 13 fantasy PPG, or 83% of his fantasy scoring.
WR3 Starts (WRs ranked outside the top 25)
- Player: Tre Tucker
- Opponent: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Raiders come off a much-needed BYE week and host the Jaguars, who’s defense allows the 2nd MOST fantasy scoring to out wide WRs at just over 30 PPG. The Raiders primary out wide weapon has been Tre Tucker, scoring over 11 fantasy PPG (86%) out wide. The Raiders presumably get their top receiving option back this week in Brock Bowers, so the Jags will need to put a little more focus there, leaving Tucker to operate in more space. The Raiders are a mess, no doubt, but let’s hope the BYE week did them some good.
- Player: Rashid Shaheed
- Opponent: at Las Angeles Rams
This one’s a bit of a wild card selection but hey, why not! Rashid Shaheed is the closest thing to a Saints Slot WR, scoring 51% there. That would be the Rams vulnerable space as they allow the 5th MOST fantasy scoring to Slot WRs. Of course, the Saints have given the reigns to Tyler Shough. We have a very small sample size to base our expectations on here, but what we do have indicates he may be comparable to Spencer Rattler, at least. Again, I said this was a wild card selection, but if you’re juggling names to fill your Flex spots, or even in DFS, you could probably do worse.
Sits
- Player: Troy Franklin
- Opponent: at Houston Texans
I know a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of my fantasy colleagues across the industry are very high on Troy Franklin right now. I’m not saying they’re wrong over the long term. In fact, I own him on plenty of rosters myself. I’m just saying this may not be the week for him. The Texans are one of the BEST in limiting Slot WR production, a miniscule 6.8 fantasy PPG. Franklin is the predominant Broncos WR in the Slot, so it goes to reason this may be more of a Courtland Sutton week.
- Player: Keon Coleman
- Opponent: vs Kansas City Chiefs
Last one and I’ll get out of here. Keon Coleman leads all Bills WRs in production out WIDE at 8.0 fantasy PPG, which is 84% of his fantasy production. The Chiefs come in the top defense in limiting total WR production, PERIOD. Breaking it down further, that’s 2nd BEST in limiting out WIDE fantasy production. There’s just not a lot of optimism here that Coleman is going to return useful fantasy numbers this week. Steer clear, if you can.
That’s All Folks
A special thanks again to Jefferson for trusting me with his column this week. A little behind-the-curtain secret here, I get to put together the weekly data for many of our free tools, including this one, so it’s fun to step on stage and give my takes. I hope they pay off for you.
Speaking of our free tools, do you take advantage of all of them? If you don’t, why not? The RazzballNFL staff is here to help so get on the ball. Be sure to read our daily articles and especially join us on gameday morning for the Razzball Sunday Start/Sit show. We had another great turnout last Sunday with excellent (i.e., tough) lineup questions to talk through. Keep bringing it!
As always, the show airs LIVE on the Razzball YouTube channel this Sunday from 11:00 am EDT (8:00 PDT) right up right up to gametime. Sky – @SkyGuasco, Matt – @Stiles08, Dave – @Crewser128, Jeff – @Jefferson__21 and I will be there to answer all your fantasy football questions. Don’t miss it.
As always, look for my RB Zone vs Gap (and sometimes OL/DL “In The Trenches”) articles right here each week and be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @Derek_Favret. I’m also on BlueSky as well (@dfavret.bsky.social).
Until next time, my friends.
| Download Table as CSV | |||
| Note: Filters and sorting in the table below apply to the output | |||
| # | Defense | Total PPG Allowed | Slot PPG Allowed | Wide PPG Allowed | Slot% | Wide% | Next Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARZ | 31.3 | 10.0 | 21.3 | 29% | 71% | HST | |
| ATL | 39.7 | 10.2 | 29.5 | 24% | 76% | TB | |
| BLT | 29.3 | 9.1 | 20.2 | 31% | 69% | CIN | |
| BUF | 27.4 | 12.6 | 14.8 | 46% | 54% | NE | |
| CAR | 29.7 | 11.4 | 18.3 | 38% | 62% | NO | |
| CHI | 38.1 | 15.1 | 23.0 | 42% | 58% | CLV | |
| CIN | 19.4 | 9.2 | 10.2 | 40% | 60% | BLT | |
| CLV | 20.8 | 7.0 | 13.8 | 49% | 51% | CHI | |
| DAL | 40.0 | 14.4 | 25.7 | 34% | 66% | MIN | |
| DEN | 32.1 | 8.5 | 23.6 | 31% | 69% | GB | |
| DET | 39.5 | 11.5 | 28.0 | 29% | 71% | LA | |
| GB | 22.9 | 5.7 | 17.3 | 21% | 79% | DEN | |
| HST | 25.0 | 11.4 | 13.5 | 46% | 54% | ARZ | |
| IND | 29.9 | 13.1 | 16.8 | 46% | 54% | SEA | |
| JAX | 27.5 | 10.2 | 17.3 | 39% | 61% | NYJ | |
| KC | 31.0 | 8.4 | 22.6 | 28% | 72% | LAC | |
| LA | 30.5 | 6.4 | 24.1 | 22% | 78% | DET | |
| LAC | 21.6 | 6.7 | 14.9 | 33% | 67% | KC | |
| LV | 33.2 | 8.8 | 24.4 | 29% | 71% | PHI | |
| MIA | 26.8 | 10.6 | 16.2 | 41% | 59% | PIT | |
| MIN | 19.6 | 7.2 | 12.4 | 39% | 61% | DAL | |
| NE | 27.5 | 11.4 | 16.0 | 43% | 57% | BUF | |
| NO | 24.2 | 4.9 | 19.4 | 24% | 76% | CAR | |
| NYG | 33.1 | 10.3 | 22.8 | 29% | 71% | WAS | |
| NYJ | 24.9 | 7.6 | 17.4 | 29% | 71% | JAX | |
| PHI | 23.4 | 6.1 | 17.4 | 32% | 68% | LV | |
| PIT | 33.5 | 13.5 | 20.0 | 39% | 61% | MIA | |
| SEA | 18.5 | 7.9 | 10.6 | 39% | 61% | IND | |
| SF | 37.6 | 18.6 | 19.0 | 50% | 50% | TEN | |
| TB | 34.9 | 11.7 | 23.2 | 39% | 61% | ATL | |
| TEN | 36.9 | 12.5 | 24.4 | 32% | 68% | SF | |
| WAS | 35.7 | 12.6 | 23.1 | 34% | 66% | NYG | |
| NFL Average | 29.5 | 10.1 | 19.4 | 35% | 65% |
