Week 2 Fantasy Football Rankings: WR

Amon-Ra St. Brown hopes to start a hot streak against the Seahawks, Calvin Ridley sets about proving he’s here to stay as a WR1, and Chris Olave prepares to command more down-field targets.

Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Updated 9/17 at 12:00 PM ET. Keeping DeAndre Hopkins in WR30 range due to decoy fears. Removed Amari Cooper. Removed Brandin Cooks.

Week 2 Receivers

WR Notes: Can anything slow Justin Jefferson down? Darius Slay did last season. … Stefon Diggs was about the only thing that went right for the Bills in Week 1. He’s now off Sauce Gardner Island against a more accommodating Raiders defense. … The Lions just know how to use Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Seahawks, evidently, don’t know how to stop the pass after they failed to contain Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell in Week 1. … Never known as the most consistent (elite) wideout in Tennessee, A.J. Brown has caught at least five passes in 11-of-18 regular season appearances as an Eagle. … There is no need to overthink the Calvin Ridley situation. A receiver who profiled as an alpha before the season passed his final test in Week 1, dominating Jaguars targets as he posted an 8/101/1 box score. Maybe it won’t be entirely representative of his weekly usage in this deep skill corps, but Ridley has proven beyond a doubt his two-year layoff has not affected his game. The Chiefs and a 51.0 over/under await.

We don’t know the severity of Davante Adams’ foot issue, but we do know he should at least come roaring back against the Bills from a usage perspective if Jakobi Meyers (concussion) is sidelined, as seems likely. There haven’t been any indications Adams’ Week 2 status is genuinely in doubt. … CeeDee Lamb was victimized by his team’s elite defense in Week 1. Now it’s the other team’s unit that’s the problem. It’s going to be a long day for Dak Prescott as Lamb deals with the Jets’ Sauce-ified coverage. … Out there for almost every route against the Titans, Chris Olave was still extremely efficient. It certainly looks like it is all coming together for Olave with Derek Carr, who despite his limitations does like to give his wideouts big-play opportunities. … In the battle of elite No. 2 receivers, I will give DeVonta Smith the Week 2 edge over Jaylen Waddle. The Eagles’ run game is banged up, and the Vikings are a considerably easier matchup than New England. … You can’t keep a good Keenan Allen down. For Week 2 he gets a Titans secondary that couldn’t contain Derek Carr last weekend.

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin remembered how to play football after all. It was against a poor Vikings defense, but the Bears’ 11 is even poorer. … Brandon Aiyuk’s dominant Week 1 box score looked even better on film. If there’s a caveat, it’s that Aiyuk is known as a man coverage dominator. The Steelers play man, the Rams typically feature zone. Week 2 is an interesting test for an ascending player. … DeAndre Hopkins is questionable with an ankle issue. He’s also questionable with a quarterback issue. The Chargers at least appear to be a good matchup after Sunday’s Dolphins-ing. … It was a quiet Week 1 for Tyler Lockett and company as the Seahawks’ offense imploded amidst offensive tackle injuries. At one point evaluated for a concussion, Lockett was out-targeted 5-4 by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Consider this situation developing. Lockett does have a long history of instantly coming back from the WR2 dead. … How bad is it for Garrett Wilson? Real bad. Zach Wilson is not an NFL starter, and should only remain one for the next 2-3 weeks. As the Jets wait for some kind of upgrade, Wilson is a bet-on-talent — see his insane Week 1 touchdown catch — low-end WR2.

Michael Pittman appears set to receive no shortage of “extension of the running game” short-area targets. … The only thing worse than overreacting to Puka Nacua’s 15-target Week 1 would be underreacting to it. No rookie wideout this century has commanded that many looks in their NFL debut. It is possible, if not likely, coach Sean McVay will end up doing something akin to “playing the hot hand” as he waits for Cooper Kupp’s return, but you have to take Nacua’s opening-weekend usage deadly serious and give him some WR2 benefit of the doubt. … Arthur Smith claimed Drake London “didn’t care” about catching zero passes against the Panthers. Here’s guessing the wideout might not have actually been so sanguine about the matter. Desmond Ridder is a benching waiting to happen, but London’s squeaky wheel is due some grease. … Sam Howell’s Week 1 pocket presence didn’t have him looking like a second-year starter who was about to start delivering consistent WR2 returns for Terry McLaurin. There is also the matter of … how many more weeks can McLaurin allow himself to be out-produced by Jahan Dotson?

Jerry Jeudy (hamstring) is on the right side of questionable vs. the Commanders’ tough defense. Week 1 made it abundantly clear how badly Jeudy is missed, and how likely he is to see big target counts in this shaky skill group. … Christian Watson (hamstring) is inching toward playing. If Watson does not go, we didn’t see enough from Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed in Week 1 to consider them legit WR3 options. … Zay Flowers was the Week 1 winner in the Ravens’ crowded receiver group. Despite the new offensive coordinator, it remains possible, if not probable, that the Ravens' passing remains conservative for the time being. That is a style of play for which Flowers is an ideal target. … I wish I knew what to tell you about D.J. Moore. I’ll try to take heart in the fact that Justin Fields acknowledged he has to be more aggressive in Week 2. … When it comes to George Pickens vs. Allen Robinson vs. Clavin Austin in Diontae Johnson’s absence, the answer is … who cares? Someone is going to see WR2-level usage. It will only amount to WR3 output if there is a big play involved. Pickens remains the best bet in that department.