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When I did my projections process for Week 9 for the first time, I was faced with an alarming outcome: Tyreek Hill was my new No. 1 wide receiver. It's not a terribly advanced projections system, or anything, mostly involved inputting expected scoring from Vegas lines plus player usage stats for the season, but even still, I was surprised to see Hill at the top of the heap.

But I probably shouldn't be. Hill leads all wide receivers in total Fantasy scoring, and he only falls to No. 4 if you sort per game. His 92 targets, 69 catches, and 961 yards all lead the league, with his 120.1 yards per game standing as the third-best pace since the merger. He's having an absurd season, ranking as the No. 4 WR in points per game despite just two touchdowns among those 92 targets.

To be clear, Hill isn't my No. 1 WR this week, as you can see below, but he's not far off. He currently ranks second among all players in target share (if we don't count DeAndre Hopkins' 38% rate through two games), and he's bounced back in yards per catch after a rare down year in 2021, jumping up from 11.2 to 13.9 so far. And he's done that while playing with three different starting quarterbacks leaving four different games early due to injury. 

In the five games Tua Tagovailoa has both started and finished, Hill has double-digit targets in all but one, as that duo has developed immediate chemistry. Jaylen Waddle is, of course, a bit part of Miami's offense, but Hill is the clear No. 1 option, and he has nearly 100 more air yards on his targets than any other player in the league. The combination of Hill's massive target share and his downfield role is something no player in the league can match right now, and it might give him more weekly upside than anyone else – he has the two highest single-game receiving totals of the season and four of the nine highest. 

So, yeah, you can definitely make a case for Hill as the No. 1 WR in Fantasy right now, both for Week 9 and for the rest of the season. He's been everything Miami could have hoped for, and Fantasy players are reaping the rewards right along with them. 

Here are the rest of my rankings for Week 9 wide receivers. 

  1. Cooper Kupp @TB
  2. Stefon Diggs @NYJ
  3. Justin Jefferson @WAS
  4. Tyreek Hill @CHI
  5. DeAndre Hopkins vs. SEA
  6. Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. GB
  7. Tee Higgins vs. CAR
  8. Chris Godwin vs. LAR
  9. Davante Adams @JAX
  10. Chris Olave vs. BAL
  11. Jaylen Waddle @CHI
  12. Mike Evans vs. LAR
  13. Tyler Boyd vs. CAR
  14. Tyler Lockett @ARI
  15. Gabe Davis @NYJ
  16. DK Metcalf @ARI
  17. Rondale Moore vs. SEA
  18. JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. TEN
  19. Michael Pittman @NE
  20. Christian Kirk vs. LV
  21. Terry McLaurin vs. MIN
  22. D.J. Moore @CIN
  23. Josh Palmer @ATL
  24. Garrett Wilson vs. BUF
  25. Curtis Samuel vs. MIN
  26. Jakobi Meyers vs. IND
  27. Adam Thielen @WAS
  28. Romeo Doubs @DET
  29. Darnell Mooney vs. MIA
  30. Devin Duvernay @NO
  31. Josh Reynolds vs. GB
  32. Drake London vs. LAC
  33. Alec Pierce @NE
  34. Robert Woods @KC
  35. Marquez Valdes-Scantling vs. TEN
  36. Zay Jones vs. LV
  37. Allen Robinson @TB
  38. Hunter Renfrow @JAX
  39. K.J. Osborn @WAS
  40. Terrace Marshall @CIN
  41. Mack Hollins @JAX
  42. Sammy Watkins @DET
  43. Marvin Jones vs. LV
  44. DeAndre Carter @ATL
  45. Van Jefferson  @TB
  46. Parris Campbell @NE
  47. DeVante Parker vs. IND
  48. Mecole Hardman vs. TEN
  49. Isaiah McKenzie @NYJ
  50. Trent Sherfield @CHI
  51. Ben Skowronek @TB
  52. Kyle Philips @KC
  53. Marquez Callaway vs. BAL
  54. Elijah Moore vs. BUF
  55. Julio Jones vs. LAR
  56. Robbie Anderson vs. SEA
  57. Kadarius Toney vs. TEN
  58. Russell Gage vs. LAR
  59. Christian Watson @DET
  60. Marquise Goodwin @ARI