Wide receivers were hit and (a lot more) miss in Week 1, but as offenses start to settle in we can hope for lots more fireworks in Week 2.
Jamey Eisenberg has his Week 2 Start and Sit calls for WR below. His Waiver Wire also can direct you to the best options that may be available in your leagues. And don't forget to check out Heath Cummings' wide receiver preview for more help with matchup notes, Week 2 numbers to know and more. Plus SportsLine data analysis shows surprise best bets for the Week 2 slate.
Wide Receivers
Flowers' performance in Week 1 against Houston wasn't a fluke, and we said all offseason he would be the No. 1 receiver for Lamar Jackson. Flowers had nine catches for 78 yards on 10 targets in his NFL debut against the Texans. To put that in perspective, Jackson completed just 17 passes on 22 attempts, so he was locked in on Flowers. Now, we'll see what happens if Mark Andrews (quadriceps) is able to play in Week 2 at Cincinnati, but I would still use Flowers as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver in all leagues even if Andrews is active. Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr. are just No. 3 Fantasy receivers at best in this matchup.
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Williams had a frustrating performance in Week 1 against Miami with four catches for 45 yards on five targets, and he briefly left the game in the second quarter after taking a strong shot to the head. Hopefully he can stay healthy in Week 2 at Tennessee, and this is a great matchup for him. The Titans secondary looked much like it did in 2022 in Week 1 against the Saints when Derek Carr passed for 305 yards, and three receivers (Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Michael Thomas) all scored at least 11 PPR points. Keenan Allen should have a huge game in this outing, as should Williams, who is worth trusting as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver in all formats.
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Last week, I had Chris Godwin in this spot, but I said you can start both Buccaneers receivers against the Vikings. Evans had the better outing with six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, while Godwin had five catches for 51 yards on six targets. I like both Buccaneers again in Week 2 against Chicago, and this could be the last home-opener for Evans, who is a free agent after this year. It was great to see Baker Mayfield keep Evans playing at a high level in their first game together, and Godwin will hopefully follow suit against the Bears. Both of them should be considered No. 2 Fantasy receivers in all leagues.
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The addition of Calvin Ridley was bad for Kirk in Week 1 as he didn't see a lot of action against the Colts. He was third in playing time at 60 percent of the snaps compared to 81 percent for Ridley and 89 percent for Zay Jones, and Kirk had just one catch for 9 yards on three targets. This week, Kirk will rebound against the Chiefs in a game where the Jaguars should be throwing a lot. The expected point total is 51.5, and Kirk loved facing Kansas City in 2022. In two meetings, Kirk had 16 catches for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 26 targets. Ridley is clearly the alpha of this receiving corps now, but don't judge Kirk yet after what happened in Week 1. He should play well this week and is worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues. And Jones can be used as a No. 3 receiver as well after he had five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on seven targets against the Colts.
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Josh Allen was miserable in Week 1 at the Jets, and so was Davis, who only had two catches for 32 yards on four targets. But Davis has a terrible history against the Jets, and I expected him to struggle. He'll bounce back this week against the Raiders at home, mostly because Allen will make a statement in this matchup to quiet any doubters. And Allen needs to get Davis going, as well as Dalton Kincaid, to take pressure off Stefon Diggs. I would only start Davis in three-receiver leagues or unless you need a flex option with upside, but I expect him to have a big outing in Week 2 at home.
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It was great to see Collins step up in Week 1 at Baltimore in his first game with C.J. Stroud. Collins had 11 targets and finished with six catches for 80 yards, and he should continue to be the No. 1 receiver for Houston this year, as we said all offseason. This week, Collins gets to face a Colts secondary that just allowed Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones to catch 13 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 18 targets on the perimeter, and Collins should be considered a starter in all three-receiver leagues for Week 2. In deeper PPR leagues, you can use Robert Woods as a flex since he had six catches for 57 yards on 10 targets in Week 1.
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Doubs had a quality season-opener at Chicago in Week 1 with four catches for 26 yards and two touchdowns on five targets, and he did that at less than 100 percent because of an injured hamstring. He should be close to normal in Week 2 at Atlanta, and I'm hopeful that leads to more catches and yards, along with finding the end zone again. We'll see what happens with Christian Watson (hamstring) for this matchup, but if he's out again then that only enhances the value for Doubs as a go-to option for Jordan Love. Doubs is a solid starter in three-receiver leagues against the Falcons.
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Thomas did two things of note in Week 1 against Tennessee. For starters, he stayed healthy, which is great to see, and we hope he can make it through the entire season. But he showed a solid rapport with new quarterback Derek Carr with five catches for 61 yards on eight targets, including an impressive 25-yard grab down the left sideline. He'll continue to be a short-area target for Carr while Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed operate on the perimeter, but Thomas still has plenty of appeal as a starter in three-receiver leagues in Week 2 against the Panthers, who are down cornerback Jaycee Horn (hamstring), leaving a big hole in their secondary.
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If Reynolds gets just six targets then he should perform well in Week 2 against Seattle. Reynolds had a good game in Week 1 at Kansas City with four catches for 80 yards on seven targets, and he should be the No. 2 receiver in Detroit until Jameson Williams returns in Week 7 from his suspension. Going back to last season, Reynolds now has six games with at least six targets, and he scored at least 12 PPR points in five of them. One of those games was Week 4 against the Seahawks in 2022 when he caught seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. I like Reynolds as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues in Week 3.
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I was too harsh on Toney after his struggles in Week 1 against Detroit when he had one catch for 1 yard on five targets, and one of his drops led to a 50-yard pick-six by Detroit's Brian Branch. He played in that game following a month-long absence from a knee injury, but he still tied for the team lead in targets. And Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are still backing Toney, which is a positive sign. Hopefully, he's close to 100 percent for this matchup with the Jaguars, and this game should be a shootout with a projected total of 51.5. Based on Week 1, any of the Chiefs receivers could surprise us in this game, especially if Travis Kelce (knee) remains out. But I'll give a slight nod to Toney since he could have a squeaky-wheel outing if Mahomes leans on him against Jacksonville.
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Here we go again with Wilson and Wilson. Garrett Wilson, who many Fantasy managers were drafting in early Round 2 with the hope he would get a significant boost with Aaron Rodgers, is now left with Zach Wilson once again as his quarterback. With Rodgers (Achilles) out for the season, I hope Zach Wilson can turn Garrett Wilson into the sophomore star we were expecting, but Week 1 against Buffalo was more of the same thing that we saw in 2022. He had five catches for 34 yards and a touchdown on five targets, but if you watched his amazing touchdown catch, he was basically playing defense to save an interception and got lucky. In nine games with Zach Wilson under center last year, Garrett Wilson averaged 8.6 PPR points per game. Granted, you don't want to judge this combination fully against the Bills because I'm sure all the Jets were shell-shocked after Rodgers got hurt in the first quarter, so kudos to them for winning. But it's not like Dallas in Week 2 is a slouch on the road. I would only start Garrett Wilson in three-receiver leagues this week.
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Week 1 was a nightmare for London's Fantasy managers when he had no catches on just one target against Carolina. The Falcons run game was dominant, and Desmond Ridder attempted just 18 passes. Things will definitely improve for London moving forward, but we will likely need Atlanta to be chasing points for London's targets to spike. This week, he has a tough matchup against a good Packers secondary led by Jaire Alexander. London is barely worth starting in three-receiver leagues in Week 2.
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Pickens should see a boost in targets with Diontae Johnson (hamstring) out, but I would only start Pickens in three-receiver leagues against the Browns on Monday night. Without Johnson, we'll see if the Steelers will lean on Pickens more or just give more targets to Allen Robinson and Calvin Austin III. Against the 49ers in Week 1, Robinson led Pittsburgh in targets with eight and finished with five catches for 64 yards. Austin had six catches for 37 yards on six targets, and Pickens had five catches for 36 yards on seven targets. The Cleveland pass rush will make things tough on Kenny Pickett, and he might not have the time to connect with Pickens downfield. Also, in Week 1, the Browns held Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to a combined five catches for 39 yards on 17 targets.
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I'd like to see McLaurin post a quality stat line before starting him in all formats, and I would only use him in three-receiver leagues in Week 2 at Denver. I like Jahan Dotson better than McLaurin again, and he's a borderline starter in all leagues. In Week 1 against Arizona, McLaurin had fewer targets than Logan Thomas (eight), Dotson (seven) and Curtis Samuel (five). McLaurin finished that game with two catches for 31 yards on four targets, and his injured toe from the preseason could still be an issue. I hope I'm wrong about McLaurin, but if he's matchup up with Patrick Surtain II then I expect McLaurin to struggle once again in Week 2.
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You should have absolutely added Nacua in all leagues, and we saw his roster percentage rise from 7 percent on Tuesday to 60 percent as of Wednesday afternoon. Once waivers run Wednesday night, Nacua should be close to 100 percent rostered on all CBS Sports leagues. But it's OK to just keep Nacua on your bench this week, and I would only start him in three-receiver leagues. While he was awesome against the Seahawks in Week 1 with 10 catches for 119 yards on 15 targets, this is a step up in competition against the 49ers. It's not so much about Nacua having a bad game, but I worry about Matthew Stafford having the time to connect with Nacua on a consistent basis. And he isn't going to surprise the San Francisco defense after his performance against Seattle. I would also shy away from using Tutu Atwell and Van Jefferson in this matchup, and we'll see what Nacua does for an encore in Week 2.
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