Week 1 fantasy football rankings: Top WRs, sleepers for standard leagues

The first week of the NFL regular season is finally here. All of the mock drafts, offseason moves and news, and your drafts have led to this moment. The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams get the week started on Thursday, September 8, while the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks close it out on Monday, September 12. Here is a wide receiver overview for standard fantasy football leagues in Week 1.

Injuries

Michael Gallup has already been ruled out this weekend, so the rookie Jalen Tolbert should slot in as the Dallas Cowboys’ WR2. Kadarius Toney is banged up for the New York Giants, as is Allen Lazard for the Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh Steelers WR1 Diontae Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s final preseason game and is questionable this week.

Week 1 WR sleepers

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Steelers are used to running three wide receivers sets, so even if Johnson is active, the rookie Pickens should still have upside in the offense. Pickens looked great in the preseason and put his physicality on display. He is expected to be on the outside opposite Johnson with Chase Claypool manning the slot. Regardless of Johnson’s status, Pickens is a worthy sleeper this week.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won back-to-back MVP awards but no longer has Davante Adams in tow to help out. Lazard is assumed to be the WR1 in the offense, but it banged up. Fellow rookie Christian Watson is also uncertain for Week 1, leaving Doubs and the veteran Sammy Watkins as the best healthy receiving options for Rodgers. While this doesn’t automatically lead to fantasy relevance, there is certainly upside here against a Vikings defense that gave up the most fantasy points per game to wideouts a year ago.

Standard wide receiver rankings for Week 1