Fantasy WR Rankings Week 1: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

The opening week of the NFL season is here, and our Week 1 fantasy WR rankings aim help you figure out how to best manage your standard-league lineup to begin the season. At wide receiver, the first couple of tiers include pass catchers who will be cemented into your lineups on a weekly basis, even if they draw tough matchups. Since you have to start at least two WRs every week in virtually every fantasy football league, it’s hard to really make a case to put a WR ranked within the top 25 on your bench no matter how much you like the matchup-based sleeper du jour.

That said, in deeper leagues, your start 'em, sit 'em decisions (and our rankings) are definitely affected by matchups, projected target share, and injury concerns. We have around 80 pass-catchers ranked in our Week 1 list, which should satisfy those in deep leagues looking for the best boom-or-bust WR3 or flex.

Without any regular-season data points, there's a good deal of uncertainty pertaining to how a team’s target share will play out, but we've tried our best to give you a feel for how Week 1 could unfold. As the fantasy season progresses, there will be WRs who plummet down the list and those who rise sharply.

WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

Since these are our standard rankings, it's crucial to identify which wideouts are more valuable across each format. Red-zone mismatches like Mike Evans (@ Cowboys), and Courtland Sutton (@ Seahawks) have higher upside in standard formats. Other borderline players with a low average depth of target who don’t pose much of a threat in the red zone are worth fading in standard scoring.

WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

A few pass catchers who could be in line for big Week 1 performances in standard formats include Michael Pittman Jr. (@ Texans), A.J. Brown (@ Lions), and DeVonta Smith (@ Lions). The Colts WRs get an enticing matchup against an unproven Texans secondary. Pittman, along with fellow WRs Alec Pierce and Parris Campbell, could all put up respectable fantasy outputs, even with work-horse RB Jonathan Taylor expected to a get a heavy workload. Brown and second-year wideout Smith both could finish Week 1 sitting in the top 15 with the Lions’ secondary still being one the weaker coverage units.

WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo

Heading down the list, Brandon Aiyuk (@ Bears) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (@ Falcons) might be two players you’re on the fence about starting as WR3s, but both look like solid starts this week due to their matchups. Chicago’s secondary is young and playing under a new scheme, which could allow for Trey Lance to have his way through the air. Smith-Schuster is flexed into a brand new offense with several new faces, but he has as stable of a QB as you can find.

WEEK 1 DFS: Best values | Best stacks

A few other WRs ranked outside the top 30 who could have effective Week 1 performances include Sammy Watkins and Romeo Doubs (@ Vikings), Christian Kirk (@ Commanders), Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney (@ Titans), Garrett Wilson (vs. Ravens), Jahan Dotson (vs. Jaguars), and Chris Olave (@ Falcons), all of whom, like Aiyuk and Smith-Schuster, are facing defenses that were in the top 10 in fantasy points per game allowed to WRs last year.

WEEK 1 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Overall, Week 1 of the fantasy season isn’t a time to hit the panic button if things don’t go smoothly. A one-game sample size isn’t the end all be all, as the NFL is truly a week-to-week league. We'll learn a lot more about this (and every) position after this week as we track snaps, targets, and red-zone usage. For now, your safest bet is projected target share, but if you want to take some chances with the guys mentioned above, have at it. As we always say, "all it takes is one" at WR.

We'll be updating these standard WR rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest changes and analysis.

Fantasy WR Rankings Week 1: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring