WR Rankings
- Keenan Allen bumps up to WR4 and earns a spot on the cover of The List after a 19 fantasy point game against a tough Washington defense in the opener. Last week’s list featured Kyler Murray on the cover, who led all QBs in fantasy scoring, so let’s hope this is the start of a reverse Madden cover curse of sorts. Allen gets a matchup against a Cowboys defense that got lit up by the Bucs last week, and I’d be willing to wager that Allen finds his way into the end zone this week. The Chargers should enjoy having a little more breathing room on offense this week, and Allen and Justin Herbert already showed off their connection against a tough defense. He’s going to be a popular DFS play this week.
- We’ve got a bunch of teammates in the strong starter tier of wide receivers, and while they can trade off weeks at times, the upside is too immense to ever bench them. We’ve got three of Tom Brady‘s receivers represented, along with two of Russell Wilson‘s, Dak Prescott‘s, Matthew Stafford‘s, and Kirk Cousin‘s top options. Ok, maybe Cousins doesn’t belong in that list, but you get the point. With a matchup against an Atlanta defense that just got lit up by the Eagles, we really might see WR1 weeks out of all three of Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Antonio Brown. Amari Cooper leads the NFL with 16 targets and CeeDee Lamb is tied for second with 15. You get the point.
- We have to downgrade Terry McLaurin with the injury to Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 1. Not only do we miss out on the deep game that we hoped Fitzpatrick would provide, but we are one step closer to outright catastrophe if they suffer another injury at the position. McLauren was fine last year despite his quarterback play, but there’s a big difference between this limited Washington offense and the offenses at the top of the wide receiver rankings. McLaurin saw four targets last week, and I worry there are similar days ahead.
- Will Fuller V is back! That’s all I’ve got, I’m just excited to watch him play on Sunday.
- Mike Williams, Chase Claypool, Brandin Cooks, and Marquise Brown are all big plays waiting to happen. Williams saw ten targets last week and draws the Cowboys, so he leads the pack. But all four could have a big week and I wouldn’t be surprised, we just have enough past history with these players to have questions about their consistency, keeping them in the WR32-35 range.
- Darnell Mooney is my favorite under-the-radar play this week, as he played nearly all of the Bears’ snaps last week and saw a healthy seven targets. The Vikings frequently picked on the Bengals’ secondary corners last week, especially Eli Apple, which bodes well for the chances of a breakout for Mooney. While the Bengals’ best coverage shadows Allen Robinson, Mooney should be able to feast, well, Andy Dalton-willing.
Green=Strong Starter, Yellow=Solid Starter, Red=Look for Better Options
Week 2 WR Rankings