Fantasy Football Week 1 Wide Reciever Rankings

The 2022-23 NFL season is about to begin which means that fantasy football is back! Usually in the first week of the season fantasy football players tend to play the players they originally drafted to be their starters. However, since every week is important it would be irresponsible to start a player with a rough matchup over a player with a more favorable one because he was drafted to be a starter. Here are fantasy football week 1 wide receiver rankings.

*Ratings are subject to change due to injury reports or possible move to reserve/COVID-19 list*

(Check out the section below for details on players already rumored to possibly miss this week and how their replacement options rank for the week)

Key:

Must Start- a player who is in your lineup regardless of the matchup or most circumstances. They will likely finish near the top of the league in points that week and in most weeks.

Starting WR1- a player who makes fantasy owners comfortable starting week after week. Regardless of the matchup, this player has a high floor.

High WR2- a player who may isn’t likely to carry a lineup that week, but has the ability to have a breakout game and is teetering between WR1 and WR2 category.

Starting WR2- a player who should be started in most lineups and should reach their point projection. This player is started is because of their consistency and moderately high floor

Low WR2- a player who may not be a lock to start for a team every week, but will start more times than not. Their production may not be pretty or win a person their lineup but the production is consistent enough to make a fantasy owner comfortable starting them.

Flex- a player who could float around the territory of being benched, but is started due to the potential to play better than their point projection. However, this player has the potential to flop and causes a fantasy team to lose if he has a bad game.

Deeper League Flex- a player who has starting value in deeper leagues. There are enough reasons to leave this player on the bench, but their upside makes them an attractive option. Desperate times may call for a player like this to be inserted into starting lineups.

Upside Player- a player who is boom or bust. This player can exceed expectations in a given week or could flop and be the reason why someone lost their fantasy matchup.

Leave on the Bench- a player who should be avoided in all lineups that week. Many times this player could even be left on waivers.

Category	Name	Opponent	Ranking
Must Start	Cooper Kupp	vs Buffalo Bills	WR1
Must Start	Ja’Marr Chase	vs Pittsburgh Steelers	WR2
Must Start	Justin Jefferson	vs Green Bay Packers	WR3
Must Start	Deebo Samuel*	vs Chicago Bears	WR4
Must Start	Stefon Diggs	vs Los Angeles Rams	WR5
Must Start	Davante Adams	vs Los Angeles Chargers	WR6
Starting WR1	CeeDee Lamb	vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers	WR7
Starting WR1	Tyreek Hill	vs New England Patriots	WR8
Starting WR1	A.J. Brown	vs Detroit Lions	WR9
High WR2	Keenan Allen	vs Las Vegas Raiders	WR10
High WR2	Chris Godwin*	vs Dallas Cowboys	WR11
High WR2	Michael Pittman Jr.	vs Houston Texans	WR12
Starting WR2	Tee Higgins*	vs Pittsburgh Steelers	WR13
Starting WR2	Terry McLaurin	vs Jacksonville Jaguars	WR14
Starting WR2	Mike Evans	vs Dallas Cowboys	WR15
Starting WR2	Diontae Johnson*	vs Cincinnati Bengals	WR16
Starting WR2	Marquise “Hollywood” Brown	vs Kansas City Chiefs	WR17
Low WR2	D.J. Moore	vs Cleveland Browns	WR18
Low WR2	Courtland Sutton	vs Seattle Seahawks	WR19
Low WR2	Brandin Cooks	vs Indianapolis Colts	WR20
Low WR2	Mike Williams	vs Las Vegas Raiders	WR21
Low WR2	Michael Thomas*	vs Atlanta Falcons	WR22
Flex	Jerry Jeudy	vs Seattle Seahawks	WR23
Flex	Jaylen Waddle*	vs New England Patriots	WR24
Flex	Amon-Ra St. Brown	vs Philadelphia Eagles	WR25
Flex	Darnell Mooney	vs San Francisco 49ers	WR26
Flex	D.K. Metcalf	vs Denver Broncos	WR27
Flex	Rashod Bateman	vs New York Jets	WR28
Flex	Amari Cooper	vs Carolina Panthers	WR29
Deep League Flex	JuJu Smith-Schuster	vs Arizona Cardinals	WR30
Deep League Flex	Drake London	vs New Orleans Saints	WR31
Deep League Flex	Adam Thielen	vs Green Bay Packers	WR32
Deep League Flex	Robert Woods	vs New York Giants	WR33
Deep League Flex	Christian Kirk	vs Washington Commanders	WR34
Deep League Flex	Gabe Davis	vs Los Angeles Rams	WR35
Deep League Flex	Hunter Renfrow	vs Los Angeles Chargers	WR36
Deep League Flex	Allen Robinson	vs Buffalo Bills	WR37
Deep League Flex	Kadarius Toney*	vs Tennessee Titans	WR38
Deep League Flex	Brandon Aiyuk	vs Chicago Bears	WR39
Upside Play	Chris Olave	vs Atlanta Falcons	WR40
Upside Play	DeVonta Smith	vs Detroit Lions	WR41
Upside Play	Allen Lazard*	vs Minnesota Vikings	WR42
Upside Play	Elijah Moore	vs Baltimore Ravens	WR43
Upside Play	Tyler Lockett	vs Denver Broncos	WR44
Upside Play	Jakobi Meyers	vs Miami Dolphins	WR45
Upside Play	Garrett Wilson	vs Baltimore Ravens	WR46
Upside Play	George Pickens	vs Cincinnati Bengals	WR47
Upside Play	Treylon Burks	vs New York Giants	WR48
Upside Play	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	vs Arizona Cardinals	WR49
Upside Play	Chase Claypool	vs Cincinnati Bengals	WR50
Upside Play	Tyler Boyd	vs Pittsburgh Steelers	WR51
Upside Play	Skyy Moore	vs Arizona Cardinals	WR52
Upside Play	Jahan Dotson	vs Jacksonville Jaguars	WR53
Upside Play	Russell Gage*	vs Dallas Cowboys	WR54
Upside Play	D.J. Chark	vs Philadelphia Eagles	WR55
Upside Play	Jalen Tolbert	vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers	WR56
Upside Play	Rondale Moore	vs Kansas City Chiefs	WR57
Upside Play	Joshua Palmer	vs Las Vegas Raiders	WR58
Upside Play	DeVante Parker	vs Miami Dolphins	WR59
Upside Play	Romeo Doubs	vs Minnesota Vikings	WR60
Upside Play	Nico Collins	vs Indianapolis Colts	WR61
Upside Play	Alec Pierce	vs Houston Texans	WR62
Upside Play	Christian Watson*	vs Minnesota Vikings	WR63
Upside Play	Van Jefferson*	vs Buffalo Bills	WR64
Leave on the Bench	Jarvis Landry	vs Atlanta Falcons	WR65
Leave on the Bench	Marvin Jones Jr.	vs Washington Commanders	WR66
Leave on the Bench	Robbie Anderson*	vs Cleveland Browns	WR67
Leave on the Bench	Isaiah McKenzie	vs Los Angeles Rams	WR68
Leave on the Bench	A.J. Green	vs Kansas City Chiefs	WR69
Leave on the Bench	Mecole Hardman	vs Arizona Cardinals	WR70
Leave on the Bench	Kenny Golladay	vs Tennessee Titans	WR71
Leave on the Bench	Sammy Watkins	vs Green Bay Packers	WR72
Leave on the Bench	Kendrick Bourne	vs Miami Dolphins	WR73
Leave on the Bench	Wan’Dale Moore	vs Tennessee Titans	WR74
Leave on the Bench	Randall Cobb	vs Minnesota Vikings	WR75
Leave on the Bench	Curtis Samuel	vs Jacksonville Jaguars	WR76
Leave on the Bench	Sterling Shepard*	vs Tennessee Titans	WR77
Leave on the Bench	K.J. Osborn	vs Green Bay Packers	WR78
Leave on the Bench	Julio Jones	vs Dallas Cowboys	WR79
Leave on the Bench	Corey Davis	vs Baltimore Ravens	WR80
Leave on the Bench	Donovan Peoples-Jones	vs Carolina Panthers	WR81
Leave on the Bench	K.J. Hamler	vs Seattle Seahawks	WR82
Leave on the Bench	Cedrick Wilson Jr.	vs New England Patriots	WR83
Leave on the Bench	Zay Jones	vs Washington Commanders	WR84
Leave on the Bench	David Bell	vs Carolina Panthers	WR85
Leave on the Bench	Nelson Agholor	vs Miami Dolphins	WR86
Leave on the Bench	Parris Campbell	vs Houston Texans	WR87
Leave on the Bench	Jamison Crowder	vs Los Angeles Rams	WR88
Leave on the Bench	Terrace Marshall Jr.	vs Cleveland Browns	WR89
Leave on the Bench	Velus Jones Jr.	vs San Francisco 49ers	WR90

Possible Changes that can occur before Sunday

WR4 Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Deebo Samuel returned to practice Monday after missing multiple practices the week prior due to a knee injury. It is unclear the severity of his injury. However if Samuel was to miss Week 1 against the Chicago Bears then Brandon Aiyuk would move up to WR17 between Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and D.J. Moore. Jauan Jennings and third round pick rookie Danny Gray would become interesting DFS plays this week.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receivers: WR11 Chris Godwin & WR54 Russell Gage

Chris Godwin is recovering from a torn ACL while Russell Gage has been dealing with leg issue. If Godwin is inactive but Gage is active then Mike Evans moves up to WR10 between A.J. Brown and Keenan Allen. Gage would move up to WR32 between Adam Thielen and Robert Woods. Julio Jones would then bump up to WR42 between DeVonta Smith and Allen Lazard.

If Godwin is active and Gage is not active then Julio Jones moves up to WR48 between George Pickens and Treylon Burks.

If neither Godwin or Gage are active then Mike Evans moves up to WR8 between CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill. Julio Jones would move to WR40 between Chris Olave and DeVonta Smith.

WR13 Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

Tee Higgins returned to practice Monday after missing time because of a shoulder injury. If Higgins was to miss Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers Tyler Boyd would move up to WR20 between Brandin Cooks and Mike Williams.

WR16 Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Diontae Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in the final game of the preseason. If he was to miss the first game of the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals then George Pickens would move up to WR31 between Drake London and Adam Thielen. Chase Claypool would then move up to WR43 between Allen Lazard and Elijah Moore.

WR24 Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

Jaylen Waddle has missed time in the preseason due to a lower body injury. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniels said “Waddle is on track to play Sunday”. However he is not confirmed to play. If Waddle is to miss this week’s game against the New England Patriots then Cedrick Wilson Jr. will move up to WR63 between Christian Watson and Van Jefferson.

WR31 Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

Drake London injured his knee early in the preseason. He returned to practice on Monday. If London is to miss Atlanta’s game against the New Orleans Saints then Bryan Edwards would join the list as WR64 between Van Jefferson and Jarvis Landry.

Green Bay Packers Wide Receivers: WR42 Allen Lazard & WR63 Christian Watson

Allen Lazard may be in jeopardy to miss the first game of the year due to an undisclosed injury. Christian Watson is still recovering from offseason knee surgery. If Lazard misses Week 1 and Watson is active then it is a dart throw between Watson, Romeo Doubs, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins on which receiver will see the most targets my Aaron Rodgers. It is too early in the season to establish a pecking order between the four. Randall Cobb has the most chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, Watkins is a proven veteran outside receiver, Watson was selected with a top-40 pick this past April, and Doubs has the most preseason hype out of any player in Packers camp.

If Watson is inactive and Lazard is active then the other Packers receivers do not move up the rankings due to uncertainty about this offense.

If both Lazard and Watson are inactive then Sammy Watkins moves up to Lazard’s position at WR42 between DeVonta Smith and Elijah Moore. Doubs would move up to WR49 between Treylon Burks and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Cobb would move up to WR51 between Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Chase Claypool.

WR64 Van Jefferson, Los Angeles Rams

Van Jefferson has not practiced all week due to a knee issue. This does not bode well for Jefferson considering his season opener against the Buffalo Bills is Thursday night. If Jefferson misses this week’s game then Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell, or Lance McCutcheon would be third on the Rams depth chart at receiver and should not be on the fantasy radar.

WR67 Robbie Anderson, Carolina Panthers

Robbie Anderson has been dealing with both a quad and hip injury in recent weeks. If he was to miss the season opener against the Cleveland Browns then Terrace Marshall Jr. would move up to WR72 between Sammy Watkins and Kendrick Bourne. Recently acquired receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. would then join the rankings at WR84 between Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Zay Jones.

WR77 Sterling Shepard, New York Giants

Despite tearing his Achillies late last season, Sterling Shepard told media on Tuesday that he is “ready to go” for the Giants’ first game of the season. New York opens against the Titans this weekend. If Shepard doesn’t play this weekend it doesn’t change the rankings of his receiver teammates but gives more clarity to a very crowded receiver room.

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