After months and months of waiting, football is finally back! You’ve drafted your teams, now it’s time to set your lineups. Choosing the right players is ultimately the difference between victory and defeat so, without further ado, let’s take a look at the fantasy football Week 1 wide receiver rankings.
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Week 1 Rankings: Football Is Back!
Tier 1: Week-Winning Potential
1. Davante Adams
2. Tyreek Hill
3. Calvin Ridley
4. DeAndre Hopkins
5. Justin Jefferson
6. Stefon Diggs
Davante Adams was easily the WR1 last year, both in terms of actual production and expected production. With Rodgers back and no new faces at wide receiver, there is no reason he can’t do it again. Tyreek Hill is the most dangerous non-quarterback in the game in the most explosive passing offense in football. Calvin Ridley is a bit of a surprise at 3, but he’s thrived in every opportunity without Julio Jones, and Philadelphia’s defense probably won’t be good.
DeAndre Hopkins has one of the most reliable target shares in the league, and I’m not too worried about A.J. Green stealing targets. Justin Jefferson is a superstar in the making set to thrive with minimal target competition. Stefon Diggs is going to be great, but he’s in for a tough day against a great Pittsburgh defense.
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Tier 2: Low-End WR1
7. Keenan Allen
8. A.J. Brown
9. Terry McLaurin
10. D.K. Metcalf
11. Allen Robinson
12. Diontae Johnson
Keenan Allen absolutely crushed my weighted opportunity rankings last year, and he should only be better with a more experienced Justin Herbert. The Titans will always be a run-first offense, but they should throw a little more with Julio Jones in town. That’s good news for Brown, who will still be the alpha in this passing attack. An injured Terry McLaurin succeeded with terrible quarterbacks last year, and now gets two healthy ankles and an aggressive gunslinger in Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The only thing that can slow down D.K. Metcalf is Pete Carroll and his run-first philosophy. Andy Dalton might not be a superstar, but he’s the best quarterback Allen Robinson’s ever had. Diontae Johnson was a target machine last year and had one of the best Reception Perception scores on record. He’s due for a massive breakout season.
In Matt Harmon’s reception perception, Diontae Johnson finished in the 95th percentile since 2014 in beating man coverage.
This means he posted a season in the top 5% of all charted receivers since 2014.
If Johnson minimizes the drops, he is going to scorch in 2021
— Tony DelSignore Jr (@TonyD_12) July 16, 2021
Tier 2: Reliable WR2
13. Julio Jones
14. Chris Godwin
15. Tyler Lockett
16. Amari Cooper
17. Robert Woods
18. Cooper Kupp
19. CeeDee Lamb
20. Mike Evans
21. D.J. Moore
22. Courtland Sutton
23. Antonio Brown
24. Tyler Boyd
Julio Jones battled injuries last year but was still one of the NFL’s best receivers when healthy. Every Tampa Bay receiver should do well this year, but I’m taking Godwin over all of them. He’s the youngest and, in my humble opinion, the most talented of the bunch. Tyler Lockett was wildly inconsistent last year, but he’ll always be a big part of a Russell Wilson passing attack.
Amari Cooper looks healthy, and I don’t think CeeDee Lamb will dethrone him as the Cowboys WR1 right out of the gate. One of Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp will fly up these rankings next week, but I genuinely do not know which one will emerge as Matthew Stafford’s favorite target. D.J. Moore is a yardage monster, but he is simply allergic to the endzone, and I don’t think Sam Darnold will be the cure.
Courtland Sutton has a fantastic profile and looked completely ready to go in Week 1. Teddy Bridgewater supported three top-25 receivers last year, so he should be able to give Sutton plenty of opportunity in 2021. Joe Burrow is seeing his first real action since his ACL tear, so he’ll probably look to Tyler Boyd in the short part of the field early and often.
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Tier 3: Strong Flex Play
25. Tee Higgins
26. Adam Thielen
27. Odell Beckham
28. Brandon Aiyuk
29. Brandin Cooks
30. Chase Claypool
31. Juju Smith-Schuster
32. Jerry Jeudy
33. Robby Anderson
34. DeVonta Smith
35. Corey Davis
36. Ja’Marr Chase
Tee Higgins was breaking out before Burrow’s injury, and I expect him to return to that trajectory by the end of the year. That said, I’m not expecting that much in Burrow’s first week back on the field. Adam Thielen is getting up there in age and won’t have as many touchdowns this year, but he should still be a featured part of Minnesota’s passing attack. Odell Beckham has the best odds of making me look like an absolute fool. He’s finally healthy and is probably the best candidate to be 2021’s Stefon Diggs.
Brandon Aiyuk dominated down the stretch last year, but his numbers will probably go down with a healthy Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. Brandin Cooks is the only proven receiver in Houston, but do you really want any part of the Texans offense? Chase Claypool is the high-upside play, while Juju Smith-Schuster offers a safe floor.
Throwback to September 20th 2020, Chase Claypools First Career NFL Touchdown. 84 yards to the house.@ChaseClaypool #Steelers pic.twitter.com/cBnycdaJed
— 🐐MinkahFitzStan🐐 (@JOKERMVP15) September 4, 2021
Robby Anderson is back with Sam Darnold, but is that really a good thing for Anderson? After all, his best season came away from the former third-overall pick. Zach Wilson might have some growing pains, but Corey Davis should get the volume to cancel out the inefficiency. In the preseason, Ja’Marr Chase looked like a guy that hadn’t played football in over a year. He might have a rough start, but he’ll be fine long-term.
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