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Week 1 Wide Receiver Rankings Fantasy Football
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Week 1 Wide Receiver Rankings Fantasy Football

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Austin Ambler  |  Last updated Sep 2, 2025 6:12 PM ET

The NFL season is finally here. It is time to set your lineups for Week 1. Here are the Week 1 wide receiver rankings for fantasy football.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings Week 1

Tier 1: Superstar WR1s

Rank Player Opponent
1 Ja’Marr Chase Cleveland Browns
2 Justin Jefferson Chicago Bears
3 CeeDee Lamb Philadelphia Eagles
4 Malik Nabers Washington Commanders
5 Nico Collins Los Angeles Rams
6 Drake London Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7 Brian Thomas Jr. Carolina Panthers
8 Puka Nacua Houston Texans
9 Amon-Ra St. Brown Green Bay Packers
10 A.J. Brown Dallas Cowboys

These wide receivers are must-starts every week and are the ones that will carry your teams throughout the season, starting in Week 1:

Tier 2: Proven Solid WR2s

Rank Player Opponent
11 Ladd McConkey Kansas City Chiefs
12 Mike Evans Atlanta Falcons
13 Tee Higgins Cleveland Browns
14 Marvin Harrison Jr. New Orleans Saints
15 Tyreek Hill Indianapolis Colts
16 Davante Adams Houston Texans
17 Courtland Sutton Tennessee Titans
18 Jaxon Smith-Njigba San Francisco 49ers
19 Garrett Wilson Pittsburgh Steelers
20 Xavier Worthy Los Angeles Chargers

The players in this tier are all must-starts this week and will provide plenty of fantasy value throughout the season:

Tier 3: WR3s With Something to Prove

Rank Player Opponent
21 George Pickens Philadelphia Eagles
22 DeVonta Smith Dallas Cowboys
23 Jerry Jeudy Cincinnati Bengals
24 DJ Moore Minnesota Vikings
25 DK Metcalf New York Jets
26 Jameson Williams Green Bay Packers
27 Zay Flowers Buffalo Bills
28 Ricky Pearsall Seattle Seahawks
29 Tetairoa McMillan Jacksonville Jaguars
30 Calvin Ridley Denver Broncos

This tier of players includes wide receivers who are all borderline WR starts this week, depending on the size of your league:

  • Jeudy and the Browns get a great offensive matchup against a Bengals defense that struggled last season.
  • On the flip side, Ridley is in a tough position for Week 1. The Titans travel to Denver, which might be the best defense in football. Additionally, rookie quarterback Cam Ward is making his first career start, so there could be some adjustment time. Temper expectations for Ridley and the entire Titans offense in Week 1.
  • The Panthers vs Jaguars game could be an exciting, high-scoring game, and McMillan will be the center of that for the Panthers passing attack.

Tier 4: Potential Flex WRs

Rank Player Opponent
31 Terry McLaurin New York Giants
32 Travis Hunter Carolina Panthers
33 Jaylen Waddle Indianapolis Colts
34 Emeka Egbuka Atlanta Falcons
35 Stefon Diggs Las Vegas Raiders
36 Rome Odunze Minnesota Vikings
37 Chris Olave Arizona Cardinals
38 Jakobi Meyers New England Patriots
39 Khalil Shakir Baltimore Ravens
40 Josh Downs Miami Dolphins

These guys are FLEX options to fill out your starting lineup:

  • Rookie Hunter is listed as a starting wide receiver for the Week 1 game. Fire him as a full go in fantasy lineups
  • Egbuka is another rookie who is in position to have a big Week 1 in an expected shootout with the Falcons.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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