Week 9 Waiver Wire Wide Receiver Priority List | Picking Between Demario Douglas, Rashid Shaheed, Quentin Johnston and Jayden Reed

We’re near the midway point of the NFL season, so waiver wire moves become more magnified with each passing week. The week 9 waiver wire is a fairly deep one, but lacks the big names fantasy owners are hoping for.

Using FantasySP’s Fantasy Assistant tool and predictive adds, let’s take a look at some of the top waiver wire options at wide receiver and determine how you should be prioritizing them within the position. We’ll stick with players who have a pre-waiver own percentage of below 50%.

I already published a story on quarterbacks and running backs in this criteria, and I’ll be doing a similar story for tight ends, so check back later for that.

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Sought After Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Using the pre-waiver own percentage number of 50, four receivers fit the criteria. New England Patriots’ Demario Douglas, New Orleans Saints’ Rashid Shaheed, Los Angeles Chargers’ Quentin Johnston and Green Bay Packers’ Jayden Reed all have Expected Waiver Interests (EWI) of 13% or more.

Let’s start with Reed, who hasn’t been too thoroughly discussed in our weekly waiver wire coverage.

Reed has the second-most targets on the Packers’ uninspiring offense. He’s caught 20 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He is second on the team in red zone targets (10) and is tied for the most red zone catches (6).

The rookie receiver had a season-high 83 receiving yards in week 8. He’s topped 35 receiving yards in five of the team’s seven games. Reed only has one game with under four targets and he’s playing over 50% of the team’s offensive snaps almost every week.

In a Packers’ offense lacking a true No. 1 option, Reed is certainly in the conversation, along with Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson. Why not take a chance on a guy who could become the go-to receiver?

Douglas has been solid for the Patriots this season, with at least 15 receiving yards in each contest. He’s only topped 50 receiving yards once, but is expected to take on a larger role going forward. Why? Kendrick Bourne, the team’s leading receiver, suffered a torn ACL and is done for the season, and DeVante Parker is dealing with an injury too.

Douglas already had been playing extended snaps these past couple weeks, so now without Bourne on the same field, Douglas has the chance to be the team’s top receiver.

Shaheed is a boom-or-bust player that’s starting to win over most fantasy owners. That’s probably because he’s posted 85 or more receiving yards in two of the past three weeks, including a season-high 153-yard, one-touchdown showing last week.

Shaheed has over 50 yards in four of the team’s eight games and has also scored a touchdown in half of the contests. He also returns kickoffs and punts and has gotten several carries. In other words, the Saints’ offense is trying to get Shaheed more involved.

He surprisingly played only 18 offensive snaps last week, although he’d played in over 50% of the total offensive plays in all but one of the other contests. With quarterback Derek Carr healthy, which he is now, Shaheed has been more of a boom than a bust.

Johnston finally had a breakout game for the Chargers. The first-round pick caught five passes for 50 yards on six total targets against the Chicago Bears in week 8.

Before that, Johnston had struggled, with two or less catches on three or less targets in every other game. His previous high in receiving yards was 20. 

Keenan Allen and Joshua Palmer are wideouts he’ll be fighting for targets with, but on a pass-happy Chargers’ offense, Johnston could still carve out a decent role and be a viable fantasy option.

The Priority List

I’ve already prioritized most of these receivers in other stories, but we’ll add Reed into the equation now.

I like Shaheed the best of the bunch. He might not reach last week’s totals every week, but he’s a flex option just about every week now.

I’d take Douglas out of the three rookies remaining in the discussion. He’s been solid so far, but has the better chance to excel moving forward given the team’s other options at receiver.

Reed and Johnston are pretty close in my book, but I’d give the edge to Reed because he’s already got several weeks of production to his name, while Johnston has just one solid showing. I think both are the likely No. 3 options for their team, but Reed has the far better chance of becoming option No. 1, so I’d lean toward adding him over Johnston.