Fantasy football Week 9 WR preview: Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel offer hope, but health clouds their returns

The story heading into Week 9 is who we're getting back. We know that Malik Nabers, Chris Olave, and Nico Collins are all returning from bye. That helps. We hope that Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel will be joining them. We may even get to see Jordyn Tyson for the first time all season as well. While we won't suggest starting Tyson even if he's a full go, it would make us much less enthusiastic about Devaughn Vele as a number three wide receiver. In San Francisco, there is no such concern. We need Evans and Samuel back precisely because no one has stepped up behind them.

Evans is probably the easier choice if he returns. He has had an incredible year when he has been on the field. He's averaging 10.8 yards per target and has a 7.6% TD rate. He also has a 31.7% target-per-route run rate. When he's been on the field, he has been inevitable. The problem has been staying on the field. Week 1 is the only week this season that Evans has played more than 65% of the offensive snaps. He is seemingly always recovering from one injury and acquiring a new one. If you promised me 100% health, I would rank him as a top-12 receiver, but he's right around WR20 this week because of those health concerns.

Samuel is more of a number three receiver. He has scored 12 or more PPR points in three of five games this season, but one of those was because of a fluky hook-and-ladder that gave him 80 receiving yards on zero catches in Week 3. If he's a full go at practice this week, you should expect somewhere between five and seven touches, which makes him either a low-end WR3 or a high-upside flex. 

Here is the rest of the Week 9 WR preview:

0 -- Zay Flowers scored zero Fantasy points in his first game with Joe Fagnano. It is hard to start or sit Flowers this week.

27% -- Keenan Allen has a 27% TPRR this season. It is incredible how he continues to demand targets.

327 -- Michael Wilson leads all receivers with 327 routes run. If he plays through his rib injury, we are starting him as a WR2.

3.18 -- Even after his 0-point performance in Week 8 Omar Cooper Jr. is averaging 3.18 yards per route run. We don't want to drop him after one bad game.

29.6 -- In his first game back, Rashee Rice had a 29.6% TPRR. He's a WR2 once again.

11 -- Denzel Boston has 11 end zone targets, tied for second amongst all receivers.

23.5% -- Tetairoa McMillan's 23.5% slot share ranks last amongst Panthers receivers. That probably means more Patrick Surtain for him.

9.0 -- Khalil Shakir leads all receivers with nine yards of YAC per reception.

My full set of Week 9 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 9. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are updated throughout the week, so make sure you check back later in the week for changes.

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