Fantasy Football 2014 Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 1

Author:
Mark Ross
Publish date:
Sep 4, 2014

Calvin Johnson leads off Athlon Sports' Week 1 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings, but he's not the only dynamic target who could post big numbers in his season opener. Dez Bryant could be a busy Cowboy if for no other reason the likelihood his team will be playing catchup against the visiting 49ers. Demaryius Thomas also could see plenty of targets coming his way, as Denver hosts Indianapolis on Thursday night and Peyton Manning won't have Wes Welker (suspended) or Eric Decker (now with the Jets) to throw to. And Bryant and Thomas may not be the only ones on these two teams to thrive in Week 1 either. Dallas' Terrance Williams and Denver's Emmanuel Sanders also could benefit based on a combination of matchup (or game situation), offensive philosophy, quarterback play and the fact that their teammates are likely to draw plenty of attention from the opposition.

Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.

Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K

2014 NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings — Wide Receivers


Rank	Player	Team	Opp	Comments
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. NYG (Mon.)	Megatron thinking Super thoughts this season.
2	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	vs. IND	No Decker or Welker? No problem for Thomas.
3	Dez Bryant	DAL	vs. SF	Cowboys could be forced to throw a lot.
4	Brandon Marshall	CHI	vs. BUF	Still Cutler's favorite target.
5	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. NO	Looked awfully spry during preseason.
6	A.J. Green	CIN	at BAL	Ravens have held him in check in past.
7	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. CLE
8	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	vs. BUF	Plenty of targets for Jeffery and Marshall to thrive.
9	Andre Johnson	HOU	vs. WAS	All comes down to QB play.
10	Jordy Nelson	GB	at SEA (Thurs.)	"Legion of Boom" could limit production.
11	Randall Cobb	GB	at SEA (Thurs.)	Cobb and Harvin on same field should be fun.
12	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	vs. IND	Wes Welker's loss is Sanders' gain.
13	Keenan Allen	SD	at ARI (Mon.)	Cardinals have stout secondary.
14	Vincent Jackson	TB	vs. CAR	Josh McCown likes throwing to tall targets.
15	Michael Crabtree	SF	at DAL	49ers more of a running team under Harbaugh.
16	Victor Cruz	NYG	at DET (Mon.)	Could get off to slow start in new O.
17	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. SD (Mon.)	Don't forget about Fitz just yet.
18	Percy Harvin	SEA	vs. GB (Thurs.)	Healthy Harvin ready to explode?
19	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	at STL	How will Turner use Patterson in new O?
20	Pierre Garcon	WAS	at HOU	Has more experience w/ RG3 than DJax.
21	Roddy White	ATL	vs. NO	Another one whose health is paramount to success.
22	Marques Colston	NO	at ATL	Says he as healthy as he's been in some time.
23	Michael Floyd	ARI	vs. SD (Mon.)	is this his year to take over as No. 1 in ARI?
24	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. CIN	Expecting more versatile role this season.
25	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. JAC	If he can stay healthy, he could explode.
26	Reggie Wayne	IND	at DEN	Andrew Luck gets his favorite target back.
27	Mike Wallace	MIA	vs. NE	Appears to be a better fit in new O.
28	Julian Edelman	NE	at MIA	Gronk may not be much of a factor in Week 1.
29	DeSean Jackson	WAS	at HOU
30	Eric Decker	NYJ	vs. OAK	It's not Denver, but he's still a No. 1 WR.
31	Cecil Shorts	JAC	at PHI
32	Kendall Wright	TEN	at KC	Titans planning on taking more deep shots.
33	T.Y. Hilton	IND	at DEN	Role TBD w/ Wayne and Allen both back.
34	Golden Tate	DET	vs. NYG (Mon.)	DET more of a passing team than SEA ever was.
35	Brandin Cooks	NO	at ATL	How soon will rookie make an impact?
36	Terrance Williams	DAL	vs. SF	Will draw less attention in coverage than Bryant.
37	Anquan Boldin	SF	at DAL
38	Riley Cooper	PHI	vs. JAC
39	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	vs. WAS	Can he emerge in his second season?
40	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	at TB	Rookie could be Cam's go-to target immediately.
41	Sammy Watkins	BUF	at CHI	Rib injury hampered him towards end of preseason.
42	Greg Jennings	MIN	at STL	Has been productive with Cassel at QB.
43	Rueben Randle	NYG	at DET (Mon.)
44	Markus Wheaton	PIT	vs. CLE	Eager to prove himself after injury-plagued '13.
45	Danny Amendola	NE	at MIA	Could develop into reliable PPR option.
46	James Jones	OAK	at NYJ	His value tied to rookie QB's performance.
47	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	at PIT	De facto No. 1 WR w/ Gordon suspended.
48	Justin Hunter	TEN	at KC	Everyone's expecting him to break out in 2014.
49	Mike Evans	TB	vs. CAR	How soon will he and McCown click?
50	Malcom Floyd	SD	at ARI (Mon.)
51	Kenny Britt	STL	vs. MIN	Can he be a fantasy factor once again?
52	Aaron Dobson	NE	at MIA	Could emerge as legitimate deep threat for Brady.
53	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. GB (Thurs.)	Steps in to fill Tate's role as other starting WR.
54	Tavon Austin	STL	vs. MIN
55	Brian Hartline	MIA	vs.. NE
56	Hakeem Nicks	IND	at DEN
57	Donnie Avery	KC	vs. TEN	Alex Smith won't have Dwayne Bowe vs. Titans.
58	Cody Latimer	DEN	vs. IND	No. 3 spot open during Welker's suspension.
59	Steve Smith	BAL	vs. CIN	How will Rams use him this season?
60	Rod Streater	OAK	at NYJ
61	Mike Williams	BUF	at CHI
62	Nate Washington	TEN	at KC
63	Jarrett Boykin	GB	at SEA (Thurs.)
64	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	at BAL	Marvin Jones expected to be out until Week 5.