The 2022 fantasy football season is finally set to begin. Decisions will only get more difficult from here on out. Let’s take a look at our recommended WR start/sit Week 1 plays.
Week 1 fantasy football WR start ’ems
The first week of the 2022 fantasy football season is here. While lineup decisions are usually the easiest heading into Week 1, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still decisions to be made. As always, Pro Football Network will do its best to steer you in the right direction and provide you with our best recommendations. Let’s get into this week’s start/sit plays at the wide receiver position.
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings (vs. GB)
The consensus has been pretty anti-Adam Thielen all summer. Despite averaging 15.4 PPR fantasy points per game last season, Thielen is being treated like a random WR3. This is likely due to his age (32) and health concerns (four missed games last season).
I’m here to assuage those fears. Thielen is a young 32. He’s also Kirk Cousins’ favorite red-zone target. In the past two seasons, Thielen has scored 24 touchdowns, and his 15 red-zone targets last year were good for 23rd in the league. And remember, he played in only 13 games.
Against the Packers last season, Thielen played once and scored 22.2 fantasy points. While that doesn’t mean he will do that again, Thielen is still the Vikings’ WR2 and will be out there for 90% of the snaps. In a game likely to be high scoring, Thielen should be in fantasy lineups this week.
Sammy Watkins, Green Bay Packers (@ MIN)
I fully acknowledge this may look very foolish come Sunday evening. With that said, the stars seem to be aligning for a vintage Week 1 Sammy Watkins performance. By no means will Watkins be a reliable fantasy starter all season. In fact, I wouldn’t even recommend rostering him in most leagues. But I can’t shake the feeling that Watkins is about to smash this week.
Here are Watkins’ stat lines for the past three Week 1s:
- 4-96
- 7-82-1
- 9-198-3
The Packers have a barren WR corps, and Allen Lazard is trending toward not playing. Christian Watson will likely play, but he missed the entire preseason due to injury. Aaron Rodgers may be looking at a starting wide receiver duo of Randall Cobb and Watkins.
The part about this potentially being a high-scoring contest that applied to Thielen above — it applies to Watkins as well. I’m calling my shot here. Watkins comes out hot again in Week 1. Don’t bench anyone you shouldn’t for Watkins, but in deeper leagues, get Watkins in lineups!
Week 1 fantasy football WR sit ’ems
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns (@ CAR)
Last season, Amari Cooper was a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He received passes from Dak Prescott as the team’s WR1, and yet, he managed just 13.5 ppg.
Cooper is now in a run-first offense in Cleveland and is playing with Jacoby Brissett. The Browns are not projected to face negative game script against the Panthers. Their game plan for the first 11 weeks will likely be to hide Brissett as much as possible. That means leaning heavily on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
Just as Brissett torpedoed the fantasy value of prime T.Y. Hilton in Indianapolis, he’ll do the same to Cooper. There’s always a chance Cooper finds the end zone, but unless he does, I’m expecting him to disappoint fantasy managers this week. Leave Cooper on the bench for this one.
Robert Woods, Tennessee Titans (vs. NYG)
The Titans are favored by a touchdown at home against the Giants. It’s a pristine Week 1 matchup for Tennessee, but unfortunately, that’s bad news for Robert Woods.
Without a true WR1 following the departure of A.J. Brown, the Titans are poised to lean even more heavily on Derrick Henry this season. Last season, they ran the ball 48% of the time. In 2020, they ran it 50% of the time.
The Titans are consistently one of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL. Against the Giants, likely playing with a lead for most of the game, they’re going to continue running the ball.
Last season, Ryan Tannehill averaged 31.2 pass attempts per game. That number dropped to 28.5 in wins and 25.3 in double-digit wins. I’m just not anticipating much in the way of volume for Bobby Trees this week. He’s going to be a fringe starter in fantasy lineups for most weeks. This is a week where he’s better left on the bench.
