Fantasy Football Week 1 Wide Receiver Ranking: Should You Start Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, and Brian Thomas Jr.?

It’s that time of year. If you’re reading this, you have your fantasy football roster pulled up and, even if you don’t want to admit it, you’re wondering, “How am I going to mess up this beautiful roster that I put together?”

We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.

Well, at the very least, I try hard. Really hard. And with that, I present to you my Week 1 fantasy rankings that have far too much data supporting them to possibly be wrong.

Top 75 Fantasy Wide Receiver Rankings

1) Tyreek Hill | Miami Dolphins (vs. JAX)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | Detroit Lions (vs. LAR)
3) CeeDee Lamb | Dallas Cowboys (at CLE)
4) A.J. Brown | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. GB)
5) Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. NE)
6) Justin Jefferson | Minnesota Vikings (at NYG)
7) Nico Collins | Houston Texans (at IND)
8) Davante Adams | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)
9) Garrett Wilson | New York Jets (at SF)
10) Marvin Harrison Jr. | Arizona Cardinals (at BUF)
11) Mike Evans | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WAS)
12) Chris Olave | New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
13) Michael Pittman Jr. | Indianapolis Colts (vs. HOU)
14) Puka Nacua | Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
15) Amari Cooper | Cleveland Browns (vs. DAL)
16) Jaylen Waddle | Miami Dolphins (vs. JAX)
17) Brandon Aiyuk | San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
18) Rashee Rice | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. BAL)
19) DJ Moore | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
20) DK Metcalf | Seattle Seahawks (vs. DEN)
21) Drake London | Atlanta Falcons (vs. PIT)
22) Cooper Kupp | Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
23) Tee Higgins | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. NE)
24) Deebo Samuel Sr. | San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
25) Malik Nabers | New York Giants (vs. MIN)

26) Jayden Reed | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
27) George Pickens | Pittsburgh Steelers (at ATL)
28) DeVonta Smith | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. GB)
29) Zay Flowers | Baltimore Ravens (at KC)
30) Terry McLaurin | Washington Commanders (at TB)
31) Stefon Diggs | Houston Texans (at IND)
32) Brian Thomas Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars (at MIA)
33) Chris Godwin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WAS)
34) Christian Kirk | Jacksonville Jaguars (at MIA)
35) Tank Dell | Houston Texans (at IND)
36) Keenan Allen | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
37) Calvin Ridley | Tennessee Titans (at CHI)
38) Diontae Johnson | Carolina Panthers (at NO)
39) Rome Odunze | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
40) Christian Watson | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
41) DeAndre Hopkins | Tennessee Titans (at CHI)
42) Courtland Sutton | Denver Broncos (at SEA)
43) Jameson Williams | Detroit Lions (vs. LAR)
44) Ladd McConkey | Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)
45) Jakobi Meyers | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)
46) Xavier Worthy | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. BAL)
47) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seattle Seahawks (vs. DEN)
48) Khalil Shakir | Buffalo Bills (vs. ARI)
49) Rashid Shaheed | New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
50) Romeo Doubs | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)

51) Joshua Palmer | Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)
52) Michael Wilson | Arizona Cardinals (at BUF)
53) Keon Coleman | Buffalo Bills (vs. ARI)
54) Gabe Davis | Jacksonville Jaguars (at MIA)
55) Jordan Addison | Minnesota Vikings (at NYG)
56) Tyler Lockett | Seattle Seahawks (vs. DEN)
57) Mike Williams | New York Jets (at SF)
58) Brandin Cooks | Dallas Cowboys (at CLE)
59) Darnell Mooney | Atlanta Falcons (vs. PIT)
60) Jerry Jeudy | Cleveland Browns (vs. DAL)
61) Dontayvion Wicks | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
62) Rashod Bateman | Baltimore Ravens (at KC)
63) DeMario Douglas | New England Patriots (at CIN)
64) Ja’Lynn Polk | New England Patriots (at CIN)
65) Demarcus Robinson | Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
66) Adam Thielen | Carolina Panthers (at NO)
67) Adonai Mitchell | Indianapolis Colts (vs. HOU)
68) Jahan Dotson | Cleveland Browns (vs. DAL)
69) Marvin Mims Jr. | Denver Broncos (at SEA)
70) Xavier Legette | Carolina Panthers (at NO)
71) Greg Dortch | Arizona Cardinals (at BUF)
72) Luke McCaffrey | Washington Commanders (at TB)
73) Curtis Samuel | Buffalo Bills (vs. ARI)
74) Tyler Boyd | Tennessee Titans (at CHI)
75) DJ Chark Jr. | Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)

The Top Wide Receivers To Start in Week 1

Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans

Among the most interesting storylines of the first week (for that matter, the first month) of the season is the usage of Diggs. Will he be used as he was for the majority of his time in Buffalo? Will Houston elect to tier their receiver routes – Dell runs deep, Collins a mix of everything, and Diggs more shallow? Was the late-season decline in 2023 a blip on the radar or a red flag?

We will get those answers with time, and until then, he’s going to occupy my “you can Flex him, but he’s not a must-play” tier of receiver. Sorry for the long name and some fence-sitting, but I’m a straight shooter, and the honest truth is that we aren’t sure what his role is going to look like just yet.

Of course, I have my guesses. Last season, the Bills were beating their head against a wall with their WR1. Instead of adapting to what they saw on the field, they, more-or-less, kept his role the same and prayed the production would resurface. In the second half of the season, he didn’t stop running deeper routes (his aDOT dropped just 5.1%, well within the range of expected variance over a small sample) despite a lack of success on such plays.

• Weeks 1-10: 58.6% catch rate on deep passes
• Weeks 11-18: 20% catch rate on deep passes

We know Stroud wants to punish defenses down the field, and we know he had the weapons to do so before Diggs was acquired. If they elect to leverage his experience and route running, he could have a very successful season that mirrors something like peak Diontae Johnson. If not, we could be looking at a frustrating player who struggles to string productive weeks together on a weekly basis.

I have confidence that Houston will put the pieces together with time, but expecting another season with over 1,100 yards and at least eight touchdowns, something he did every season in Buffalo, is dangerous. Both he and Dell are going to live in that fringe top-30 range for me at the position until we have a better feel as to the quantity (and quality) of targets that both are seeing.

Brian Thomas Jr. Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m in — all the way in. This WR rookie class got plenty of deserved attention this summer, and I actually think some of the hype actually helped us get a bargain on Thomas. With the bar set so high for Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, Thomas’ star didn’t shine as bright in terms of the media machine – that could change once the cleats hit the ground and the games count

Brian Thomas Jr.

(thread) pic.twitter.com/hJOabDQo0V

— Kyle Soppe (@KyleSoppePFN) August 29, 2024

If you need the full Thomas love letter, check out either our Bold Takes or My Guys podcasts — I couldn’t choose, so he’s heavily featured in both. As for this specific week, the ‘Fins were the fifth worst red-zone defense last season, and that has me thinking Thomas could score in his NFL debut, something his LSU brethren in Ja’Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr. both did.

I think you can Flex him now, I’m not going to wait on a profile that lines up this well.