A busy portion of the schedule for bye weeks continues in Week 9 with four teams on a bye. After four straight weeks of 10 games in the main DFS pool, Week 9 has 11 games in the mix, giving us even more fantasy football sleeper options to consider. In this weekly post, we look at some of the best fantasy football sleeper plays at wide receiver who are set up to make a huge difference in your DFS fantasy football lineups, but still have a bargain DraftKings salary.
The options highlighted as football sleeper plays for DFS can also translate into sneaky plays in your season-long league since they are in line to exceed expectations and many are still on the waiver wire. Earlier this week, I highlighted my top-30 starters at wide receiver. In this list, we’ll focus on players outside those 30 who still bring a high ceiling. Here’s who I am looking at this week and how last week’s picks fared:
Week 9 Fantasy Football Sleeper WR picks (analysis below)
- Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers ($4,400)
- Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers ($4,000)
- Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans ($3,900)
- Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,700)
- Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers ($3,600)
Week 8 Results:
- Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($4,300; 9.3 FPTS)
- Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos ($3,900; 1.8 FPTS-injury)
- Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans ($3,500; 11.3 FPTS)
- Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans ($3,400; 16.4 FPTS)
- Jahan Dotson, Philadelphia Eagles ($3,000; 11 FPTS)
Whether you’re looking for value plays in your DFS contests like the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] or a last-minute addition from the waiver wire in season-long formats, here are my top-five fantasy football sleeper wide receivers for Week 9 of the 2025 season:
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers ($4,400)
Watson returned from IR last week less than a year after he tore his ACL, but he looked very effective in his return. He played 56% of snaps in his season debut for Green Bay and hauled in all four of his targets for 85 yards.
He led the team’s receivers in catches and receiving yards, finishing only behind tight end Tucker Kraft’s huge day in the team’s Week 8 victory on Sunday Night Football.
Watson gives the Packers a great vertical element in their offense, and last year he had 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games before his injury. He had some huge games, including a 150-yard game against the Bears. He’ll look to help the team continue its impressive offensive momentum in Week 9 against the Panthers. The Packers have scored at least 27 points in all but one of their games this year and Watson could step in as the team’s top receiver until Jayden Reed (collarbone, foot) is ready to return from IR as well. In addition to Reed, the Packers won’t have Dontayvion Wicks (calf) this week against the Panthers, opening more chances for Watson if he’s ready to carry the load.
Watson still may not be ready for 100% of snaps, but without a setback, he should be set for increasing work going forward. Take advantage of his reduced salary while he continues to work back to 100%.
Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers ($4,000)
On the other side of Sunday Night Football, the Steelers also got a receiver back last week, although Austin was only out for two weeks compared to Watson’s extended absence. Austin slotted right back in as the Steelers’ second receiver, playing 78% of snaps behind DK Metcalf ($5,500) and ahead of Roman Wilson ($3,300).
He hauled in four of his six targets and finished with 26 yards in Week 8 after missing Week 6 and Week 7 following the team’s Week 5 bye week. He started the year hot with eight catches on 15 targets for 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including this one back in Week 1:
Austin and the Steelers are in a good spot in what could be a high-scoring matchup against the Colts. Indy has been excellent this year overall but has allowed wide receivers to post the third-most fantasy points in the NFL this season. It has allowed nine receiver touchdowns in its eight games and an average of 170.4 receiving yards per game to the position.
With his speed and big-play ability, Austin brings a high ceiling to this matchup for a player at only $4,000, and since he’s past his shoulder issue, targets should flow back his way this week.
Chimere Dike, Tennessee Titans ($3,900)
I’m going back to the well and rolling with Dike again this week, since the Titans’ young offense will continue to be without Calvin Ridley (hamstring) for a third straight week when they face the Chargers.
The fourth-round rookie from Florida has grown into a much bigger role as the season has gone on. He set a season-high in snap share for the second straight week by playing 89% of snaps last week against the Colts, and he set personal bests in catches (7), targets (8) and receiving yards (93).
Dike had over 16 fantasy points for the second straight week after finding the end zone against the Patriots in Week 7, and he brings great upside to this week’s matchup with the Chargers, since he is a big-play threat but is also getting more looks each week as Cam Ward ($4,500) continues to settle in as a weekly NFL starting QB.
Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,700)
The Jaguars lost Travis Hunter (knee) to IR this week, setting up Washington to step into a much more involved role in the passing game. I broke down the situation when the news came out on Friday, and Washington is a huge bargain play this week against the Raiders in his expanded role.
Since it is obviously tied to big news, Washington isn’t going to sneak up on anyone as a value play, but he has a high enough ceiling to eat the chalk and still include him if you need to save salary.
Before the Jaguars’ bye week, Washington caught four of 10 targets in London for 52 yards and also took three carries for 10 rushing yards on his way to 10.2 fantasy points. It was his second-highest total of the season, behind a five-catch performance in Week 2 against the Bengals. He has 17 catches for 207 yards on the year, and he found the end zone against the Chiefs in Week 5:
The Raiders have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to receivers this season, and Washington brings a very high ceiling in his potentially expanded role this week.
Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers ($3,600)
If you’re looking for a contrarian alternative to Washington that brings a high ceiling, Coker is a sneaky play for the Panthers against the Packers. The second-year receiver was primed for a breakout season this year, and the Panthers felt good enough about him as their second option across from Tetairoa McMillan ($5,800) to trade Adam Thielen ($3,000) to Minnesota.
Unfortunately for Coker, he landed on IR with a quad injury just before the season began, derailing those plans. He returned in Week 7 but didn’t have a catch while playing 37% of snaps. That number increased to 66% of snaps in Week 8, but he was working with Andy Dalton ($4,300) instead of Bryce Young ($5,300), who will be back under center this week.
Coker is loaded with big-play potential, and he could have an excellent second half of the season, but we haven’t seen him realize that ceiling yet, which makes him risky this week against the Packers.
He’s high-risk, high-reward, but I like him as a flier play in Week 9 if you want to go with a cheap option that won’t be as highly owned as Washington.
