Week 1 is here! After seven long, cold months: Meaningful NFL football is back, baby!
I'll break down my weekly WR rankings and tiers each and every week *with* some bigger-picture questions sprinkled in along the way. This week's additional topics feature:
- Should we be concerned about 2025 being an outlier year for JSN?
- What Week 1 matchups profile as fantasy-friendly back-and-forth shootouts?
- What wide receivers have the best and worst early season schedules?
- What are the key injuries to watch at WR in Week 1?
- Who were the best and worst teams against slot receivers last season?
- Can Michael Wilson keep getting away with it in 2026?
- What wide receivers figure to have full-time roles and are dirt cheap in dem DFS streets?
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Check out the rest of my positional ranks and tiers for Week 1:
QB Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
RB Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
TE Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
Get access to this article, all of my fantasy football articles and my rankings for 40% off with code IAN40.
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.
Tier 1: The Big Four
- WR1: Puka Nacua (vs. SF in Australia). Has posted 15-147-0, 4-41-1 (on 29 snaps), 7-97-0, 10-85-1 and 5-64-1 (on 36 snaps) in five career games against the 49ers. The only obstacle
Week 1 is here! After seven long, cold months: Meaningful NFL football is back, baby!
I'll break down my weekly WR rankings and tiers each and every week *with* some bigger-picture questions sprinkled in along the way. This week's additional topics feature:
- Should we be concerned about 2025 being an outlier year for JSN?
- What Week 1 matchups profile as fantasy-friendly back-and-forth shootouts?
- What wide receivers have the best and worst early season schedules?
- What are the key injuries to watch at WR in Week 1?
- Who were the best and worst teams against slot receivers last season?
- Can Michael Wilson keep getting away with it in 2026?
- What wide receivers figure to have full-time roles and are dirt cheap in dem DFS streets?
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Check out the rest of my positional ranks and tiers for Week 1:
QB Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
RB Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
TE Ranks and Tiers for Week 1
Get access to this article, all of my fantasy football articles and my rankings for 40% off with code IAN40.
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.
Tier 1: The Big Four
- WR1: Puka Nacua (vs. SF in Australia). Has posted 15-147-0, 4-41-1 (on 29 snaps), 7-97-0, 10-85-1 and 5-64-1 (on 36 snaps) in five career games against the 49ers. The only obstacle could be the murmurs of a potential suspension coming to fruition.
- WR2: Ja'Marr Chase (vs. TB). He should be fine … but it sure would have been a lot cooler if Chase hadn't hyperextended his knee two weeks before the season.
- WR3: Amon-Ra St. Brown (vs. NO). The only thing working against our one true Sun God is back-to-back Week 1 duds (3-13-0, 4-45-0). Don't be surprised if St. Brown clears those combined totals inside the friendly confines of Ford Field in this sneaky shootout.
- WR4: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (vs. NE). New England held JSN to just four catches for 27 scoreless yards on 10 targets in the Super Bowl. No. 1 CB Christian Gonzalez is certainly a dawg (and recently got PAID), but we're still talking about an elite receiver with easy double-digit target upside. Also note Smith-Njigba would have had an 86-yard touchdown just 10 minutes into his last game with a better ball here.
Key question: Should we be concerned about 2025 being an outlier year for JSN?
This is less a debate on whether the reigning Offensive Player of the Year is awesome at football (he is!) and more so a look at just how wild Smith-Njigba's domination of his own offense really was.
Consider …
- JSN earned an absurd 35.8 percent of his team's targets in games he played. The only other man to reach 35 percent in the last decade was 2017 DeAndre Hopkins (35.3%).
- We also saw the Seahawks feature Smith-Njigba as their primary downfield threat: He commanded 49.4 percent of the offense's air yards, clearing 2022 DJ Moore's (47.9%) previous 10-year high.
It's unlikely someone as good as JSN falls too far (he's my WR4 in Week 1 after all), though the departure of Klint Kubiak, and the potential for Rashid Shaheed to be just a bit more involved with a full offseason of preparation under his belt, could result in this passing game possibly relying just a bit less on their rising fourth-year receiver than we saw last season.
Track player roles with our NFL Depth Charts to see who's in line for snaps this season.
Tier 2: Badass WR1s
- WR5: A.J. Brown (at SEA). AJB's down year still produced a low-end WR1 finish in PPR points per game. Now equipped with potentially the best pure passing QB of his career, the ceiling is the roof for a motivated version of Brown — especially with the Seahawks secondary likely being without difference-making S Nick Emmanwori (ankle) being iffy for Week 1.
- WR6: CeeDee Lamb (at NYG). Out-targeted (116 vs. 99) and out-produced (16.6 PPR points vs. 15.9) George Pickens in 12 full games together last season.
- WR7: Nico Collins (vs. BUF). Suddenly the only show in town inside this Texans passing game. Collins has a scary-high ceiling this season considering his potential volume boom and proven efficiency (only trails Puka in yards per route run the last three seasons).
- WR8: Justin Jefferson (vs. GB). We'll find out in a hurry if Kyler Murray can help get Jettas back to looking like one of the best receivers in the game. Even after removing screens, last season the ex-Cardinal QB had a far higher catchable pass rate to his WRs (69.6%) than J.J. McCarthy (60.7%).
- WR9: Chris Olave (at DET). Finished last season on an absolute heater, posting 6-85-1, 10-148-2 and 8-119-1 receiving lines in the fantasy playoffs. That was with several wide receivers sidelined … something that is again already in play with Jordyn Tyson (hamstring, IR) out of the picture.
- WR10: DeVonta Smith (vs. WSH). A popular pick for "this year's JSN" (more like DeVonta Smith-Njigba, amiright?), Smith gets a Commanders cornerback room that looks pretty far from OK on paper. This looks a LOT like a smash spot.
- WR11: Drake London (at PIT). The Steelers boast a pair of big-bodied corners in Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. who could give London more problems than usual. Then again, the limit to London's target ceiling doesn't exist, and Pittsburgh allowed the fifth-most PPR points per game to WRs last season.
- WR12: Malik Nabers (vs. DAL). It remains to be seen if Nabers will be on a pitch count of sorts. The fact the Giants take on the Cowboys on Sunday night doesn't help matters; fantasy managers should have a backup plan ready to go just in case things go sideways late. The next-best Giants receiver to roster in case of emergency would be Malachi Fields. No. 3 Cowboys WR Ryan Flournoy is another good worst-case option.
Key question: What Week 1 matchups profile as fantasy-friendly back-and-forth shootouts?
We're looking for matchups that have a game total of 48-plus points *and* have a spread of less than six points, meaning Vegas is expecting plenty of points to be scored in a contest where both teams are in it.
- 49ers at Rams (LAR -3.5, 48.5)
- Buccaneers at Bengals (CIN -3.5, 50.5)
- Saints at Lions (DET -7, 49.5)
- Cowboys at Giants (DAL -2.5, 48.5)
The biggest question of the group is Malik Nabers and just how much the Giants will look to lean on him in his first game back from last season's season-ending knee injury. However, the team's decision to release Darius Slayton sure seems like a positive regarding Nabers early-season availability, and the matchup is certainly tantalizing against the league's reigning 32nd-ranked defense in PPR points per game allowed to WRs.
Tier 3: Starting with Confidence
- WR13: George Pickens (at NYG). The most expensive No. 2 WR in fantasy averaged a respectable 15.9 PPR points per game in 12 full contests alongside CeeDee Lamb. Fifteen offenses have produced multiple top-12 wide receivers in the same season the last decade, it'd make sense if the 2026 Cowboys join the club.
- WR14: Tee Higgins (vs. TB). The second-most expensive No. 2 WR in fantasy worked as fantasy's overall WR5 the last time he and Joe Burrow were given a clean bill of health from the Injury Gods. Unfortunately, Higgins is already battling a bruised heel.
- WR15: Jaylen Waddle (at KC). One of my bold calls for the 2026 season is Waddle finishing as THE overall WR5 in PPR scoring. He was used heavily in the slot during preseason and profiles as the top dawg in this Bo Nix/Sean Payton-led attack. First up is a young, unproven group of Chiefs corners.
- WR16: Ladd McConkey (vs. ARZ). Comeback szn gets started for Ladd as a comfortable double-digit home favorite against a Cardinals defense (again) coordinated by Nick Rallis, who is fresh off leading the league's 29th-ranked scoring defense. The Chargers already looked the part of a Mike McDaniel offense in the preseason — don't be surprised if the main characters in this new look offense are BOOMING in fantasy land sooner rather than later.
- WR17: Zay Flowers (at IND). One of only six wide receivers with 1,200-plus receiving yards last season, Flowers effortlessly creates separation and YAC goodness thanks to his nearly unparalleled twitch and short-area quickness. There's 150-plus target upside inside this wide-open Ravens passing game.
- WR18: Rashee Rice (vs. DEN). Has worked as a fantasy WR1 whenever the law and his health have obliged, though Pat Surtain and company have done a good job limiting Rice (4-72-0, 4-56-0, 6-38-0) in three career matchups.
- WR19: Davante Adams (vs. SF in Australia). The 33-year-old future Hall of Famer had 10 more end-zone targets than the next-closest player in 2025. We don't usually see high-end fantasy production from elderly receivers, but it's tough to keep Adams out of the top 20 as long as he's healthy.
- WR20: Mike Evans (at LAR in Australia). Has been banged up all August, but will be the No. 1 WR for the ever high-flying Brock Purdy-Kyle Shanahan-led 49ers attack against this new-and-improved Rams secondary.
Key question: What wide receivers have the best and worst early season schedules?
We'll get better data here as the season goes on, but for now, the below chart denotes the best-and-worst receiver rooms in terms of the average combined rank of their opponents during the first four weeks of the season.
Wide receiver rooms set up the best early season stretches feature the Eagles, Saints, Ravens, Giants and Jets. Each team has a pretty clear No. 1 receiver; I'd expect Dontayvion Wicks, Devaughn Vele, Rashod Bateman (or Ja'Kobi Lane), Malachi Fields and Adonai Mitchell to be the biggest potential beneficiaries of these quality matchups.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers, Jaguars, Bears, Steelers and Lions stand out as the wide receiver rooms with the toughest starts to the season. Of course, we regularly see elite receivers make up for tough on-paper matchups thanks to pure volume and an offense willing to move them around the formation. This gives me less cause for concern for guys like Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, Parker Washington, Luther Burden and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Tier 4: There's Just a Little Bit of Concern
- WR21: Tetairoa McMillan (vs. CHI). The Bears secondary is HURT, dog. Cornerbacks Kyler Gordon (calf, PUP), Jaylon Jones (undisclosed, IR), Jaylon Johnson (arm) and Tyrique Stevenson (undisclosed) are banged up, as are safeties Coby Bryant (knee, IR), Elijah Hicks (shin) and Xavier Woods (groin). It's tough to assume big numbers from anyone in this Bryce Young-led passing game, but if there was a week for T-Mac or Jalen Coker to go off, this is it.
- WR22: Garrett Wilson (at TEN). Posted top-10 fantasy numbers on a per-game basis before suffering a season-ending knee injury last season. There's a much higher ceiling here (big) *IF* Geno Smith can get back to partying like it's 2022-2023 again.
- WR23: Jameson Williams (vs. NO). Had some damning splits with (10.9 PPR points per game, WR33) and without (15.2, WR9) Sam LaPorta last season. Then again, maybe we just shouldn't doubt the ultra-talented 25-year-old speedster inside an offense capable of scoring 40 points during any given week?
- WR24: Christian Watson (at MIN). Last season's WR4 (!) in yards per route run behind only Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Luther Burden, Watson has some SERIOUS upside — top-15 caliber ceiling — should he manage to parlay last season's elite efficiency with a newfound high-end target total.
- WR25: Parker Washington (vs. CLE). Our most applicable final five-game stretch with BTJ, Meyers and Washington healthy featured the latter receiver leading the way in target share (27%) and PPR points (19.1). The training camp Hall of Famer shouldn't see much of ace Browns CB Denzel Ward from the friendly confines of the slot.
- WR26: DJ Moore (at HOU). Josh Allen's new No. 1 WR will face some stiff competition from Derek Stingley in his first game with the Bills. Still, the potential for 6-8 targets in this ever-high-scoring offense is too much to ignore — especially with so many other receivers in this tier dealing with injuries of various shapes and sizes.
- WR27: Emeka Egbuka (at CIN). It's unclear just how much of a hindrance Egbuka's toe injury will be. If 100 percent healthy, there's blowup upside in this potential shootout … if the Bengals refrain from shadowing Egbuka with ace CB DJ Turner.
- WR28: Luther Burden (at CAR). Da Bears figure to flow the heavy majority of their passing attack through their top-two receivers and stud TE Colston Loveland. Burden was more efficient and explosive than Burden with his opportunities last season, though missing the last few weeks of training camp with a groin injury was hardly ideal. Don't be surprised if the correct answer to which Bear to target this season just winds up being: "Yes."
- WR29: Rome Odunze (at CAR). Keep an eye on that leg injury. If healthy, Odunze is a rock solid WR3 with the potential to soar up the ranks should we find out he has the advantage over Burden in target share.
- WR30: Terry McLaurin (at PHI). Has posted relatively underwhelming 1-10-0, 5-60-1, 3-51-1, 3-53-0 and 4-57-0 receiving lines in five matchups against Quinyon Mitchell and the Eagles the last two seasons. New No. 2 WR Stefon Diggs is steeper target competition than McLaurin has arguably had in his entire career.
Key question: What are the key injuries to watch out for at WR in Week 1?
There are quite a few! Make sure to check out RotoWire's critically acclaimed Injury Report and Practice Participation pages throughout the week for updated info, but for now these are the main ones to worry about:
- Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (knee) and Tee Higgins (heel)
- Rams WR Puka Nacua (groin)
- Giants WR Malik Nabers (knee)
- Ravens WR Zay Flowers (lower body)
- Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (toe) and Jalen McMillan (knee)
- 49ers WR Mike Evans (groin) and De'Zhaun Stribling (shoulder)
- Bears WR Luther Burden (groin) and Rome Odunze (leg)
- Steelers WR DK Metcalf (undisclosed) and Michael Pittman (hamstring)
- Colts WR Alec Pierce (ankle) and Josh Downs (calf)
- Titans WR Carnell Tate (undisclosed) and Wan'Dale Robinson (head)
- Jaguars WR Jakobi Meyers (hand)
- Bills WR Khalil Shakir (undisclosed) and Keon Coleman (foot)
- Chargers WR Tre' Harris (undisclosed) and Brenen Thompson (undisclosed)
- Texans WR Jaylin Noel (hamstring)
Of the group, I'm most worried about Odunze (didn't practice Monday) in terms of actually being healthy enough to play, though getting additional information on just how big of a role to expect from Nabers and Pierce will also be VERY important to monitor. Lucky for you, the RotoWire NFL news team always has you covered with fast and accurate updates throughout the week!
Tier 5: FLEX Plays you Should Feel Good About
- WR31: Chris Godwin (at CIN). It'll be interesting to see who gets more work from the slot between Godwin and Egbuka. If it's the former veteran, this could wind up being a sneaky smash spot with DJ Turner spending most of his time on the outside. Godwin worked as the overall WR2 in fantasy for a solid month and a half the last time we saw him fully healthy with Baker Mayfield.
- WR32: Quentin Johnston (vs. ARZ). My pick for this year's "Sammy Watkins Memorial Award" given to the player who goes absolutely nuts in Week 1 … before struggling to get much of anything going throughout the rest of the year. For the record: I drafted a LOT of QJ this offseason and hope I'm wrong about the latter rest-of-season outcome.
- WR33: Jayden Reed (at MIN). The Packers have condensed their WR rotation and figure to throw the ball more than ever without Josh Jacobs (Commissioner's Exempt List) around. I'll be answering the majority of start/sit questions involving a Packers WR with the cheesehead in question.
- WR34: Stefon Diggs (at PHI). Obama was still in office the last time Diggs finished worse than the WR25 in PPR points per game.
- WR35: Marvin Harrison (at LAC). Michael Wilson's production fell off a cliff when Marv was on the field last season. The 2024 NFL Draft's No. 4 overall pick hasn't lived up to sky-high expectations, but to say the man is bad would simply be incorrect. New Chargers DC Chris O'Leary has never called plays at the NFL level, but credit to him for leading college football's ninth-ranked scoring defense at Western Michigan last season!
- WR36: DK Metcalf (vs. ATL). Aaron Rodgers recently stated, "We gotta get the ball to DK. He's our No. 1 for a reason." The reigning WR20 in PPR points per game will go to war with A.J. Terrell and the Falcons' pair of stud safeties, though this was one of just four groups to allow 20-plus touchdowns to wide receivers last season.
- WR37: Josh Downs (vs. BAL). We'll finally find out if the Colts really plan on using Josh Downs as more than just a pure slot receiver. It's fair to be a bit worried with how Daniel Jones looks in his first game back from last year's season-ending torn Achilles; just realize the matchup is more than fine — the Ravens ranked among the league's bottom-seven defenses in passer rating, yards per attempt and explosive pass play rate allowed to slot receivers last season.
- WR38: Brian Thomas (vs. CLE). 2025 was unfortunate … but we are looking at a man that went for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie in 2024! The early season cornerback schedule for BTJ is rough; just realize he figures to have the sort of downfield role in an ascending offense to warrant weekly boom-or-bust WR4 consideration at worst.
- WR39: Jordan Addison (vs. GB). Posted WR30 and WR23 finishes in PPR points per game during his first two career seasons before last year's unfortunate J.J. McCarthy-induced WR46 performance.
Key question: Who were the best and worst teams against slot receivers last season?
The five worst defenses in terms of PPR points per game allowed to wide receivers aligned from the slot:
- Bears: Good news for T-Mac and Jalen Coker especially with so many Chicago defenders currently banged up.
- 49ers: More reason to be happy you drafted Puka.
- Colts: Week 1 Zay Flowers breakout game?
- Commanders: DeVonta Smith looks ready to EAT against the underqualified group of corners, but hey, maybe Makai Lemon turns in a solid debut as well.
- Cowboys: Please be healthy, Mr. Nabers. This also could simply be good news for No. 1 TE Isaiah Likely.
Meanwhile, the Vikings, Eagles, Falcons, Browns and Saints were the five best defenses against slot receivers. I wouldn't recommend benching Amon-Ra St. Brown or Parker Washington because of this news, though these are quality defenses with enough talent in their secondary to at least make life a bit more difficult than normal for their respective opponents.
Tier 6: We're Saying there's A Chance
- WR40: KC Concepcion (at JAX). Todd Monken showed a willingness to feed Concepcion designed touches as both a rusher and receiver in his only preseason action. That's a GREAT sign for someone obviously not expected to deal with anything resembling competent QB play.
- WR41: De'Zhaun Stribling (at LAR in Australia). The preseason Hall of Famer will now have to earn targets away from the 49ers' army of uncs. Let's not get too excited here until we see evidence that there are ample targets for the rookie in this (currently) healthy offense — especially against a Rams defense that could mess around and be the best in the league.
- WR42: Carnell Tate (vs. NYJ). Going catch-less in the preseason doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things … but it wasn't ideal! We'll see if the Titans' lackluster August showing was simply them deploying vanilla packages, or if this will (again) resemble one of the worst offenses in football.
- WR43: Matthew Golden (at MIN). Last season was pretty rough outside of a quality wild card performance, but new year, new Golden, and now he's cemented as a starter in a condensed rotation in an offense expected to pass far more often. That's the sort of combination that boom-or-bust WR4 dreams are made of!
- WR44: Michael Wilson (at LAC). The Cardinals' $75 million man ended last season on an absolute tear … with literally no other wide receivers to speak of around as competition. Maybe Wilson and Jacoby Brissett pick up right where they left off and rack up counting numbers in garbage time, but I struggle to get past his brutal numbers with Marv also on the field.
- WR45: Courtland Sutton (at KC). Deserves credit for working as fantasy's WR21 on a per-game basis during the past two seasons, but age (31 in October) is beginning to be a concern, and it sure looks like Jaylen Waddle is poised to take the lead in this Bo Nix-led passing attack.
- WR46: Jalen Coker (vs. CHI). Gets a sizable boost up the ranks thanks to a matchup with the Bears' injury-riddled secondary. Arbitrary timeline be damned: Coker actually out-produced Tetairoa McMillan in PPR points (14.6 vs. 10) and target share (22% vs. 21%) from Weeks 13-wild card to end last season.
- WR47: Alec Pierce (vs. BAL). It's been good to see Pierce get back on the practice field; I'd just like to see confirmation that his ankle, and Daniel Jones' Achilles, are truly back to full health before going out of my way to get either in fantasy lineups.
- WR48: Michael Pittman (vs. ATL). Figures to eat into DK Metcalf's target share to some extent, though offseason whispers about Pittman overtaking the ex-Seahawk don't look too good at the moment after Aaron Rodgers recently stated, "We gotta get the ball to DK. He's our No. 1 for a reason."
Key question: Can Michael Wilson keep getting away with it in 2026?
The case for Wilson keeping on keeping on: He worked as the WR4 in PPR points per game (18.6!) from Week 8 on last season, and only Puka Nacua outscored him during the final eight weeks of the year.
The case against: The numbers with Marv on the field were NOT good. Wilson went from averaging just 0.67 yards per route run (last) in eight games with Marv playing 70-plus percent of snaps to 2.33 yards (12th!) with Harrison sidelined. Plenty of the numbers were also aided by garbage time production: Wilson's 57.6 PPR points while trailing by three-plus scores in the second half was the highest mark of any receiver during the last five seasons. He also benefited from complementary options Zay Jones and Greg Dortch joining Wilson on the sideline for most of his breakout stretch.
I attempted to quantify the latter phenomenon by looking at second-half breakouts and whether we saw the magic continue in the future based on whether the bump in production came on a good/competitive real-life team or not. The verdict wasn't too kind to Wilson's archetype.
Now, the other side of the coin is that Wilson largely looked GOOD while racking up those numbers, and the Cardinals accordingly rewarded him with a three-year, $75 million extension. I'm not going out of my way to find out if the second half of 2025 was a fugazi or not in this tough Week 1 matchup; just realize there are pretty decent glass-half-full and half-empty cases to be made looking forward without the benefit of hindsight.
Tier 7: WR5 Longshots
- WR49: Jakobi Meyers (vs. CLE). The expected No. 3 WR for a passing game that probably won't need to keep its foot on the gas for 60 full minutes as big-time home favorites against the lowly Browns.
- WR50: Tre Tucker (vs. MIA). Winnable matchup, and technically someone will get production in this lackluster receiving room, but make no mistake about it: Brock Bowers is the real No. 1 target here.
- WR51: Rashid Shaheed (vs. NE). The Seahawks now have 51 million reasons to get Shaheed the football more often, though that's still more of a hope than a given. Shaheed had less than *10* receiving yards in seven of his 12 games with Seattle last season.
- WR52: Wan'Dale Robinson (vs. NYJ). The artist known as Scamdale might get away with it again with Brian Daboll calling plays in Tennessee, but his gimmick works better when able to find open voids against zone-heavy defenses — and the Jets ran the fifth-most man coverage in football last season.
- WR53: Devaughn Vele (at DET). Went for 19-239-1 on 26 targets in Weeks 12-15 as a starter last season. Not too shabby considering Chris Olave went 22-232-2 (34 targets) in the same span! There's some solid deep league appeal here in the early going while Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) is sidelined. The Saints have the second-easiest Weeks 1-4 schedule in opponent 2025 PPR points per game allowed to the position.
- WR54: Romeo Doubs (at SEA). Could perhaps be undervalued as the No. 2 WR in this Drake Maye-led attack, though a rotation among the auxiliary parts (Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas) behind A.J. Brown also feels possible.
- WR55: Khalil Shakir (at HOU). Set season highs in targets (10), receptions (8) and yards (110) against this very defense last year. Still, Shakir has been sidelined since mid-August, and now DJ Moore is in town to theoretically work as the sort of true No. 1 WR the Bills haven't had since Stefon Diggs.
- WR56: Xavier Worthy (vs. DEN). We could see Worthy have more layups (screens, underneath targets) with the benefit of good health this season, but a Week 1 matchup against Pat Surtain and company isn't the spot to find out.
- WR57: Makai Lemon (vs. WSH). Excited about the future, and maybe Lemon finds a way to smash this aforementioned lackluster Commanders cornerback room, but a slow start could happen after Lemon missed a large chunk of training camp with a hamstring injury.
- WR58: Rashod Bateman (at IND). Lamar Jackson's No. 2 WR is set up well against a Colts defense that allowed the second-most PPR points per game to WRs last season. It seems unlikely that the Colts will have Sauce Gardner shadow Bateman.
- WR59: Denzel Boston (at JAX). It'll be a lot cooler to target the big-bodied rookie if/when Deshaun Watson is benched.
- WR60: Tre' Harris (vs. ARZ). Harris was banged up throughout August, and it's unclear what sort of rotation we'll see between the Chargers' top-three receivers. That matchup is nicey, though!
Key question: What wide receivers figure to have full-time roles and are dirt cheap in dem DFS streets?
It's fun to dabble in some daily fantasy sports over on DraftKings, especially when we can save some money and find a free square or two at receiver.
The following pass-catchers are: 1) Expected to have something close to a full-time role, and 2) Come in at less than $4,000 at DraftKings:
- Ravens WR Rashod Bateman ($3,900)
- Chargers WR Tre' Harris ($3,800)
- Falcons WR Jahan Dotson ($3,700)
- Texans WR Jaylin Noel ($3,600)
- Saints WR Devaughn Vele ($3,500)
- Dolphins WR Chris Bell ($3,200)
- Dolphins WR Caleb Douglas ($3,000)
I'm easily the most pumped about playing Vele considering his lack of target competition and the potential for Saints-Lions to turn into a back-and-forth shootout. What could go wrong?
Thanks for reading, and best of luck to everyone in Week 1!
