Week 1 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, & Must-Starts (Ep. 1684)

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, friends, and welcome into Fantasy pros. This is
the Fantasy Football Podcast, and this is Week one Ranks.
I'm Chris Welsh and we are jumping in to all
of the beauty that is setting your lineups. Finally, today
we've got wide receiver ranks and joining me is the
illustrious Pat fitz Morris and brand new to the rank

(00:21):
show this year, the one the only Andrew ericson the
crowd goes wild. Andrew Rickson in the house, freshly coming
off by the way of a fifth overall draft season
accuracy rank, Pat finishing twentieth in the in season ranks
last year, we got kind of a powerhouse. So Ericson,

(00:43):
let's start with you. Welcome to being the regular on
this show this year with Pat and I. You had
a great draft season. So now you're gonna have to
take that top fifth, top five draft finish and put
it to your in season ranks. How are we going
to do it?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah? The draft season rank definitely show that I have
the potential to be a top in season ranker. Not
at the level of Fitzy quite yet, but hopefully week
after week some of his talent. Can you know, rub
Off on me and will be good to go. So
very excited. Week one, woke up, had the pumpkin spice
and the coffee ready to go.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
Well, your Jedi master, you can be his paddaw on.
Pat Fitzmorre's top twenty in the end season ranks last year.
We are back for I don't know, this might be
season three or at least season two for Pat and
I doing this. Pat, are you ready to finally get
into this. We're out of the draft stuff. We are
solely focused from week to week and we've got our
We've got a regular crew here this year as well,

(01:38):
which will be nice.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
Time to slam the door on the draft rankings and
turn our attention to the every week rankings and you know,
help people set lineups and maybe steer people in certain directions.
So we'll see if we can do that with any success. Well, well,
all there forward to looking forward to doing this with Ericson.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, it's going to be. It's Eric, It's going to be.

Speaker 4 (02:01):
Ericson is just super sharp and I always like getting
his player takes because they do steer me in certain
directions and I know that you know, we'll get into
arguments and later on I'll realize maybe he had some
valid points and have to change m of my rankings
one way or the other.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well, the structure of the episodes, because these will come
out as three different episodes. We have wide receivers, we
have a running back, and then we're gonna have our
quarterback tight end. We're gonna be looking at the big
boards of Fantasy Pros. We're gonna look at what the
ECR rank is, the Expert Consensus rank of all the
rankers that are ranking week to week. We're gonna look
at the top twelve review that the thirteenth through twenty four.

(02:37):
We've got highlighted names, differences, or just like really interesting
guys for that week that are creating a conversation. And
that is the structure of what we are going to
be doing and going through. Before we jump into this
very first set here on the wide receiver ranks, we
want to give you guys an opportunity to win an
autograph item from a pretty awesome wide receiver. This is

(02:58):
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(03:21):
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(03:42):
nine my friends, very cool and your clear number one
wide receiver in draft and Week one ranks before we
get into the big board. Just want to mind everybody
that you can follow along with this by going to
fantasypros dot com slash rankings. That is where you're going
to see the expert consensus rankings. They're gonna chain like
on the minute. You know, you're gonna have other experts

(04:03):
that are going to be dropping names in so as
we even talk about this, you could see some slight changes.
Maybe we'll even move some markets. You never know, so
you can see players go up and down. So let's
jump into it, boys, and let's get to our top
twelve board wide receiver first time for the year. Aforementioned
Jamar Chase is coming in at number one see the
lam Att two. Justin Jefferson at three. So Chok Chok Chalk,

(04:26):
Nico Collins, Malik Neighbors, that's your top five. Coming in
at six is Brian Thomas, Drake Glendon and Monroe Saint Brown, Pukinakua,
AJ Brown, Mike Evans, and Lad McConkie. Gentlemen, that is
as chalky as chalky can get. Those are the guys,
and you're kind of happy to see it. By the way,
I always find it odd when you spend so much
time in draft season you're drafting. You know, you get

(04:47):
this guy here, this is gonna be my number one,
and then all of a sudden, the guy is not startable,
you know, and or he's not into the ones or
the twos and the ranks, and it's like, well, shouldn't
we have maybe figured that out for our draft season
if we're gonna plumbt a guy in Week one? So
the big thing to take away from this is what's
the conversation to be had of these guys. You guys
might have slight differences, but I think these are going

(05:10):
to stay the same. So we're going to flip the
very first question a little bit because these guys are
so set in that I would like a wide receiver
that you did not make this top twelve that you
think either A should be or B could be a
wide receiver one by the end of this week. That
pretty much can be the same, but you could find

(05:30):
the nuances a little bit, so someone that can break
this list, because like this looks like a draft list.
Maybe outside of Mike Evans, he's the one that kind
of jumps in here. FITZI, why don't you show Ericson
how it's done here and let's see a wide receiver
that should be on this list for week one.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
You could make a reasonable case for Jackson Smith and
Jigba slipping into the top twelve. He's in line for
heavy target volume all season long, and he is a
home date with the forty nine ers. The last time
he played San Francisco, he had ten catches for one
hundred and ten yards.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
Ericson, you have the same thing you're going to be
picking out a player that jumps into this list. Who's
your name?

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Mine is Xavier Worthy. And I think that's a good
point you made about Mike Evans. Why is Mike Evans
so much higher up in Week one versus the redraft rankings?
Wells because he's benefiting from Chris Godwin not being there.
That's not going to be the case all season long,
but for Week one he's teed up to be the
number one wide receiver. That's the same case with Xavier Worthy,
where Rashie Rice he's suspended, he's not going to be

(06:32):
round for the next six weeks. So I think that
we're going to see what happened with Xavier Worthy in
the second half of his rookie year, where he finished
his last three regular season games wide receiver sixteen, wide
receiver twelve, Wide receiver fifteen. We obviously saw him even
take another step in those playoff games to the Kansas
City Chiefs. Everything about Kansas City and their offense this

(06:53):
offseason has been we're bringing back the deep ball, we
want unlock Mahomes downfield. Don't be surprised if Week one
think it's the Chargers. They're launching bombs. Sue Xavier Worthy
to get him going. So with that in mind, I
think he could easily finish as a top twelve receiver
in Week one.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, he was one of those that I was looking
at where I was like, he definitely jumped up the ranks,
like where he was being drafted in draft season versus
where he's being ranked. He's up. I kind of thought
he could be up a little bit higher, knowing Rashid
Rice's out is going to be out. But there's also
potential for Hollywood Brown slow starts Xavier Worthy up this list.
But that's the pick Jason and Worthy. So let me

(07:29):
flip one more that you guys were not prepared for,
and Ericson will start with you, if there was one
wide receiver on that top twelve that you think might
have a little bit more of a struggle. I don't know.
I think it's probably safe to say there isn't a
scenario where we're going to suggest not starting any of
these players, like you know, in any of the Q
and a's. We're not going to say, yep, you're gonna

(07:49):
not want to play Nico Collins this week. Of course
you are. But is there any wide receiver one on
that list that you might potentially think has a little
bumpy road into Week one, because I see a couple
names that maybe could be that.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
I think for me, Jefferson probably just because he's missed
so much time in training camp with his hamstring injury,
and he's playing with a brand new quarterback and I
don't know IF's in there. Loved the spot for McCarthy
on the Road Primetime Monday Night at the Chicago Bears.
Don't think the Bears defense. I mean last year they struggled.
I think that was more because of systematic reasons where

(08:23):
the coaching staff was a mess. But I think the
personnel is not that bad. So I think Jefferson, is
he going to be a top three receiver week one?
I'm not necessarily sold on that. Again, you're obviously starting him,
but he's someone that if he disappoints in Week one,
I wouldn't necessarily be super I wouldn't think that was
like the weirdest thing to happen.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
FITZI, is there somebody when you look at that list
and they're just like, hmm, smells a little bit like
there could be a rough week. I Mean, the bottom
is I'm proud of Erickson for picking at the very
tippy top, because I feel like the bottom of this
Top twelve has a couple names that could probably be
ones that potentially struggle. Yeah, not really.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
I mean, if I wanted to make manufacture a ghost story,
I could probably do it with Puka Nakua since Matthew
Stafford has had the back issues and he's going to
be facing a Texans defense that can just rain hell
fire off the edges with Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter.
So you know, that makes me a little nervous about

(09:19):
any Texans pass catcher, even though Nico is in line
for a massive target share and is a fantastic player.
It's just, you know, how is Stafford going to hold
up under duress.

Speaker 1 (09:29):
Telling ghost stories? Here we're just sitting around the campfire
just trying to tell some stories. Look at us. We
were able to make the Top twelve wide receivers a
relevant conversation because it really is. It's like I can't
foresee when we're doing like the Sunday Q and as
how we're going to be like, sit this player that's
in that grouping, but you know, maybe there's gonna be
some underperformances. Maybe it plays a little bit to dfs

(09:50):
here that is your top twelve. Let's get to where
the top, the talk and the conversation really goes Wide
receivers thirteen through twenty four. So bringing up that big board,
Jsin is said player who we said who could be
a wide receiver one. He's number thirteen on the list
in ECR. T Higgins at fourteen, DeVante Adams at fifteen,
followed by Tyreek Hile, Xavier Worthy, Marvin Harrison, Terry McLaurin,

(10:12):
Garrett Wilson, and then the bottom four twenty one through
twenty four is Teteroa, McMillan, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Judy, and
DeVante Smith. Now we're going to start digging in where
you guys have got some differences, and you guys have
a pretty significant difference between ECR Wide receiver twenty Garrett
Wilson fits you've got him at wide receiver seventeen. You're

(10:33):
Hire Ericson you've got him at twenty three, So you
both have him as a wide receiver two. The ECR
splits the difference. But you guys are over six wide
receiver spots apart from each other. So, Fitz, why are
you on the positive for Garrett Wilson this week.

Speaker 4 (10:48):
I just think target volume is never going to be
an issue for Garrett Wilson this year. Even though Justin
Fields has averaged twenty five point one pass attempts per
game over forty four career starts, we know Wilson is
to get an enormous slice of that small pie. So
like Garrett Wilson could potentially lead the league in target share,
there's just no other proven commodity among the Jets pass catchers.

(11:12):
And some people might see a matchup with Pittsburgh and
maybe an individual matchup with Joey Porter Junior, as a
negative for Garrett Wilson, but I don't know should we.
PFF had Porter graded ninety eighth out of the one
hundred and eighteen cornerbacks to whom it assigned grades last season,
so I don't actually think Joey Porter Junior is a

(11:33):
bad cover man, as that grade would suggest. But he
did give up forty eight catches for six hundred and
nineteen yards last season according to PFF's numbers, so it's
not like he completely blankets everyone he faces. I just
don't think it's a matchup to be feared.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
We have like the star ratings we have on ECR
next to players. There's some pretty cool data there. It'll
like give you a physical grade of the matchup for
the week. There's projected points versus like you know, the
last sixteen games or some stuff like that, and then
there's the overall ratings. Garrett Wilson of these wide receivers
thirteen through twenty four is given the worst matchup rating.

(12:08):
To what you were talking about here and Ericson, you've
got him lower, You've got him almost touching outside of
a wide receiver two at twenty three. So is the
negative purely just about that matchup or is there any
like Jets Offensive Warriors as well.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
I think it's a combination of the two. And I
actually moved him outside my top twenty four wide receivers.
I'm trying to get away from Garrett Wilson where I can.
I think that he's more of a flex play and
a floor flex pay that because of the reasons fits
alluded to, where he's going to see some volume, like
he's never going to get completely blanketed and give you
a zero in your lineup. But is this the upside

(12:41):
shot for Garrett Wilson in Week one in the game
with the lowest total on the slate three eight and
a half points. Guys, we had preseason games with higher
game totals than the Steelers and Jets. In Week one,
the market is telling us this game is going to
be seventeen to ten. Not exactly that, but that's what
this game projects to me. Both teams, what do they
want to do? They want to run the football, they

(13:03):
want to play defense. Aaron Rodgers, we know he likes
to slow down the play clock. I don't think they're
gonna run the hurry up offense with Justin Fields in
his first start with the New York Jets. You look
at the Steelers defensive line, they're missing Garrek Carmen Can
New Benton's not gonna play. I think they're gonna run
the football up between the tackles with Bryce Hall, with
Braylan Allen. So I think it's not necessarily looking at

(13:23):
the Joey Porter Garrett Wilson matchup that has me concerned.
It's this game environment. It's disgusting.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
I don't think that.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
You're going to regret being lower on a Jets or
Steeler this week, because I think after week when we're like, man,
is this offense gonna suck all year long, and that
probably won't be the case. We're gonna get overreaction to
Jets Steelers heading into week two. Maybe that's an opportunity
to buy a certain player, But for a week one,
I just don't think this is a fun matchup, and
I don't think that you're gonna get burned by maybe

(13:51):
sitting Wilson for someone else, maybe more flex upside. So
that's kind of the way I'm seeing it.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I had such an excitement for the Jets like
a month ago, and that just started going down a clip.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
When you look at the week of one match, You're like, oh, gross,
this looks absolutely terrible.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
I'm like, oh, I love me some Justin Fields, and
I'm like, oh Steelers week one, whoops. I don't know. Yeah,
it's pretty messy. It's a little bit dirty. But you know,
he is wide receiver twenty on this list. You guys
are kind of split. That's a fun one. Here's another one,
wide receiver twenty three on that list, Jerry Judy, pretty
high rank, but I mean, I think it's more about
the Bengals defense just being atrocious. Here Wide receiver twenty three,

(14:28):
Fitch you are in agreement. You've got him at the
exact same rank. But oh, Andrew Erickson bink kick him down.
You have him down at wide receiver thirty five. So
let's talk about why you hate Jerry Judy against that
Bengals defense this week? You are you're almost out on him.

Speaker 2 (14:46):
Well, he played the Bengals twice last year. He did
surpass twenty receiving yurds in either game. So you know,
why was that the case with Judy? You know why
were other guys being featured in the Browns offense more
against the Cincinnati Bengals defense that we know it can
be beat through multiple of ways. Really, it was Cedric
Tillman and David and Joku that had these monster games
against the Cincinnati Bengals. So when you look at who

(15:07):
actually has in game experience with Joe Flacco, it's not
Jerry Judy. Like Flackhouse played more in real games with
David and JOEU and Cedric Tillman. So I'm just not
convinced that Jerry Judy is the by far runaway as
the number one wide receiver in this office, especially for
Week one. So that's why I'm a little bit lower
and a little bit higher on some of the other
Browns players, specifically Cedric Tillman, because I think that maybe

(15:30):
it's a little bit more of an even split and
not just Jerry Judy as the clear cut number one.
Also you have to consider Harold Fan and Junior the
rookie tight end. He's going to be involved as well.
So yeah, I think that Judy has more upside than
a guy like Garrett Wilson this week because you look
at the circumstantial of the matchup where Bengals Browns like
this is a game I would pound the over for,
like this game could be a lot of fun. So

(15:51):
I think an upside case is the one that I
think fits is hitting on more with Judy's rank. But
I just have a little bit more reservations about him
just being the clear cut number one in week one.

Speaker 1 (16:01):
I don't know if that sounded like you need to
bring Judy up or you need to bring Garrett Wilson
way down if you're making the case that Judy might
be a little bit more fun in there I have.
I think I also have Judy a little bit lower
than ECR. I'm a little bit more in the en
Joker range. But what do you think pat about Judy here?
You've got him right at ECR. Actually, if I just
blanketly would have looked and been like, oh, Judy top

(16:22):
twenty four, I thought it might have been a little
bit high. But I know this is like very much
based off of the Bengals not really being able to
stop anybody. But I feel like the Browns offense is
just kind of a big question mark right now.

Speaker 4 (16:33):
It is, and it's partly because the Bengals defense is
not one we're gonna fear, but it's also in the
seven games that James Winston started for the Browns last season,
Jerry Judy averaged seven catches a game, one hundred and
twelve point three yards per game. And Jameis Winston is
a hyper aggressive passer who likes to sling it downfield.

(16:56):
You know who else is a hyper aggressive passer who
likes to sling it downfield, Joe Flacco. And I feel
like if Joe Flacco were thirty years old and entrenched
as the brown starter and not forty years old and
a placeholder for whoever comes next for the Browns at quarterback,
we would have been drafting Jerry Judy in wide receiver
two range somewhere, and as long as Flacco is quarterbacking

(17:18):
the Browns, I think Judy is must start.

Speaker 1 (17:21):
It's a good point, especially with Flacco at quarterback. If
you know, if it was Shador really anybody else, you
just would be like, I'm not really sure how the
distribution is going to end up looking, but Judy definitely
moving up versus where he was being ranked as a
top twenty four the final one on this list. And
by the way, I would throw out to people if
you're like, hey, why are you not talking about Sutton
or Adams or something like that, usually because there's not

(17:44):
like a discent between these two guys, or you guys
are not are not far off of ECR, So just
you know, behind the scenes, if you're like, why are
you not talking about this player, it's probably a general
sense of agreement on what ECR is looking at. This
one is still not necessarily but this is another one
of these where this is fits with ECR for the
most part, and Ericson is going rogue. So I love it,

(18:06):
but we are going to start with fits with Devonte Smith.
DeVante Smith is ECR twenty four on this list, going
up against Dallas it's a three star rating. You've got
him one spot lower, So I guess technically the technical
side of it is, you don't have him as a
wide receiver two fits. You've got him at twenty five,
so it's the top of wide receiver three. But you're
pretty much on consensus. So where are you at? And

(18:26):
why don't you talk to us about Deavante Smith before
Ericson just bulldozes all of your takes.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
I think you want to start DeVante Smith wherever you
have him, and he scored six touchdowns in his last
six games against the Cowboys. I know the thinking is
that maybe we should fade DeVante a little win AJ
Brown and Dallas Goddard are both healthy, but I'm just
not fading one of the best route runners in the
league against a defense that just traded away Micah Parsons.

Speaker 1 (18:52):
Ericson, is this one of those you don't actually hate
Davante Smith, but the rank it just ended up working
this way where you're like, all right, I'm kind of
lower because you've got him at ECR thirty, so you've
got him as a mid pack wide receiver three, where
he's ranking as a wide receiver two.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Yeah, I mean When you look at the projections on
Fantasy Bros, he wide receiver thirty one, and that's when
you're considering, well, when Dallas got her and AJ Brown
are healthy in the lineup. Last year when those guys
were playing, he averaged eight point three Fantasy points per game.
That was wide receiver fifty one. Like that's what he does,
And yes, he definitely benefits. He he destroys when one

(19:27):
of these guys, he basically turns into a wide receiver one,
which is a credit to how talented of a player
he is. And I agree with Fitzwaar against Dallas again,
they don't have a good secondary. It's a good matchup.
But if he just gets four targets and doesn't score,
then he's gonna be a bust in your lineup. So
that's why I'm kind of hedging a little bit. He's
a wide receiver three. Again, more upside than Garrett Wilson,
who I don't think has a lot of upside this week,

(19:48):
but I don't think his floor is nearly as secure
as someone that I who's gonna see more volume, who's
gonna see more targets. I would bet kar Wilson's he's
more targets, but those targets and receptions may turn into
two completely different things when dad in Devalda Smith versus
Justin Fields and Garrett Wilson. So yeah, that's why I've
seen it. That's why I hadn't ranked wide receiver thirty.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
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Speaker 1 (21:34):
Wide receiver threes Gentlemen the Big Board. DJ Moore comes
in at wide receiver number twenty five, followed by Jalen Waddle,
oh Yes, Zay Flowers, Jamison Williams, DK Metcalf Coming in
at thirty is George Pickens, A Mecca Agbuca, Ricky Piarsaw
thirty two, Chris Olave Calvin Ridley, Deebo, Samuel and Travis Hunter.
That is your twenty five through thirty six. Let's start. Ericson,

(21:59):
I want you to look at me with a wattle.
I'm waddling for you. We're going to start with the
Jalen Waddle. Whether we're squad riding on betting pros or not.
We couldn't. We couldn't have any episode with me and
Ericson and not talk Jalen Wattle here. He is a
wide receiver twenty seven, is that correct? Twenty six? He
actually moved up once when we did this. He's continuously
moving up as Ericson's ranks become active. This is a

(22:21):
big difference. We've got Fitzi at wide receiver twenty six,
which is now the new consensus CCR. But Rickson, you're
coming in at eighteen. You're coming in hot. I was
going to ask you a Tyreek Hill question, but this
is an opportunity for you guys to also kind of
mention Tyreek Hill, who I believe was wide receiver seventeen
on this or sixteen on this list. So eighteen for
Jalen Waddle. It's Jalen Wattle.

Speaker 2 (22:43):
Sison, Yes, it is Jalen Waddle sison against the Colts
in the Dome and with two pass funnel defenses. Yes,
please give it to me all day. I think that
when you're looking at how the Dolphins are trying to
build their game plan for this week, well, you know,
look at their starters. Who's banged up up? Kyrk Kill's
a little bit bangdub a chance, a little bit banged up.
But Wattle is one hundred percent or ready to go.

(23:05):
So why can't he be the featured piece in this
offense In a post John Wi Smith life, I think
that this is where he can hit the ground running.
They'll use him a lot, and you look at the
end of last year, Wattle had nine plus targets in
the final three of his four games played. So I
think this is a great spot for Jayla Walla to
hit the ground running. We've seen him pop in week

(23:26):
ones in past seasons. I looked at the game logs.
I checked he does pop off before he ends up
getting hurt later down the line. So I think there's
an opportunity to take advantage of Jaylen Wattle.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
How do you think he before we go to pat
how do you think he ranks against Tyreek Kill, though, Like,
do you have Wattle over Hill or do you have
Hill slightly higher?

Speaker 2 (23:44):
I have Wattle ahead of Hill. I think Hill you
can start too. I think I have them both inside
my top twenty. But I again, I was ranking Wattle
ahead and redraft season and for week one, I mean,
no one'll be surprised if one guy out produces another guy.
We're gonna see that with a lot of these receivers,
where the number two maybe outproduces the number one, And
I think that's going to be the case here in Miami.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
All right, Pat, same thing on Waddle. You've got him
right around consensus, so you're you know, my head is
also going to be spending like ericson, I'm going to
be way too high on Wattle this week. You're going
to be our sane one here. What do you think
about Wattle this week? And also how does that compare
against where you're ranking Tyreek Hill?

Speaker 4 (24:18):
Yeah, I mean I've got Hill ranked higher. So I've
got Wattle twenty six and I have Tyree ranked Sorry,
this is bad radio. Let me just check my rankings.
I've got him wide receiver fifteen. So but I like,
I kind of want to validate your viewpoints on Jalen Waddle.
I like him too. I think he's a terrific player

(24:39):
and as long as two is healthy, I think Waddle
is someone you play every week. Like I think people
have forgotten that Waddle was drafted sixth overall in twenty
twenty one, and that he was a thousand yard receiver
in each of his first three NFL seasons. And I
mean as a rookie, he did it as this low
a Dots possession guy, and in his second third seasons

(25:00):
he did it as more of a vertical receiver, like
he can fill different roles. He's just a really good player.
And yeah, no fear about starting him this week.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
And I like it. Ericson you locked in too, where
you've got Wattle over Garrett Wilson, So that Garret Wilson
has been a big theme here and Waddle over him.
Just keep rolling with it. This is a wide receiver
you guys are both lower on than consensus. Maybe a
little bit of a surprise because this is somebody that
I think the narrative was wherever you have George Pickens,

(25:30):
you're too low on him. But week one that doesn't
seem to be the case because ECR he is still
wide receiver thirty. You both do not have George Pickens
as even a wide receiver three. He's in the flex spot.
So FITZI, you've got him at thirty seven, Ericson you've
got him at forty. So you guys are both pretty
low on him comparative to ECR fits. Let's talk through

(25:52):
what's got you maybe fading George Pickens this week.

Speaker 4 (25:55):
I'm just not loving the matchup with the Eagles. I mean,
Pickens is probably gonna see some of Quinn Mitchell, who's
an excellent cover man, although you'll probably see some of
adri Jackson too, And it might take time for Pickens
and Dak Prescott to a stemish establish chemistry in season.
So yeah, there's like certainly a boom outcome in the

(26:17):
range of possibility for Pickens. Like there's a good chance
the Cowboys are in a negative game scripted as a
nine point underdog against the defending chance they might have
to throw it a lot, But I don't know. I'm
not seeing a high volume game for Pickens, and he's
probably gonna have to make a big player too to
make his quota for Fantasy.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
Well, I mean that's what he does. That's all that
he does. He does make a big player too, that's
where he lives. That's actually kind of why I press
this a little bit because you would think, I mean,
obviously really tough defense, but you would think defensive script
is going to have a hyper focus on Lamb. They're
playing from behind, they're throwing the ball more. Pickens is
a big deep threat. I guess it's maybe not a

(26:57):
surprise that he could go a little bit lower, but
I mean ericson is this strictly just about like it's
a really bad defensive matchup and those other things of
them playing from behind, major focus on Lamb just doesn't
come into play for Pickens or something else.

Speaker 2 (27:10):
I think it's still a lot of the points that
fits made where I mean, we haven't seen Dak and
George Pickens played in an NFL game before together, So
why is it this is the I mean, the optics
of the matchup. This is not the great spot for
George Pickens. You're on the road, hostile environment. You're hoping
that George Pickens can come down with a big play
against the defense. That was one of the best limiting
explosive plays last season right. I mean, look, he's a

(27:31):
wide receiver that isn't necessarily going to see steady volume
every single week. I mean, will be surprised if Jake
Ferguson out targets him in week one? Probably not. So
I just don't think this is the week for Pickens.
It does it mean that he's the worst pick you
made in your fantasy, like no, if anything. Again, going
back to buying low on these receivers at bomb in
week one that we know are still good is a

(27:51):
really good strategy. So I think, yeah, just be patient
with Pickens. But I just don't think this is the
week for him.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
Coming in at ECR thirty two. I think this one
is a really interesting one to talk about outside of
my nin er fandom or anything like that. It's Ricky
piersaw So thirty two. That's probably you know about the
general like overarching range of where he moved up to,
but we've seen him go into the twenties. You guys
both have him lower. Ericson you have him outside kind
of like Pickings you have him out, so you have

(28:18):
him one spot ahead of Pickings at thirty nine. Fitch
you've got him at thirty five and I've already seen
a ton of questions about him this week because people
are curious can he be a number one? And Juwan
Jennings is back, so ericson, I want to get your
take on it. The low rank on pear Saw, it
seemed like all, you know, steam ahead for Ricky Pearsaw,
and then Juwan Jennings looks like he's going to play,

(28:39):
and I feel like people have taken a backtrack. Is
the low rank relative to Juwan Jennings being active or
is this something about the offense that is just not
going to move through Ricky Piersol.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
I think at the beginning of the week, when I
was first doing this, I was trying to consider what
Juwan Jennings impact would be.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
But then I thought.

Speaker 2 (28:57):
About it more and I don't really care if he
plays or not. Obviously you prefer that he doesn't play,
just do you can kind of consolidate targets towards Rickey Pearsall.
But I mean, if he does play, is he give
me one hundred percent? I mean, Kyle Shannon can say
that he is, say that he's not, and we can
take it with the grain of salt, especially when it
comes to these calf injuries. He also could go out
there and tweak his calf and then he's out for
the rest of the game, and then the forty Niners

(29:18):
don't have any other receivers that they can rely on
besides Pearsall and George Kittles as really the top two guys,
So I think that the Jennings thing probably doesn't matter
as much. So I actually have moved Pearsaw up since
we threw these in the show sheets, so he's closer
to the thirties for me now that the low thirties,
and I think that you have to consider Seattle's a
good defense it is on the road. I don't think

(29:40):
that the Seahawks are a slouch of a defensive unit.
But we did also see brock Purdy go to Seattle
last year throve for over two hundred and fifty passing
yards in three touchdowns. So there is an upside case
with Pearsall just because of the forty nine ers offense
being attached to brock Purdy and them building off that
chemistry that they've been working all summer on. Whereas Jennings
has missed so much time. So I think that he's

(30:02):
a strong wide receiver three in flex play.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
It's an interesting term fits or he says there's the upside,
the still the upside play for Pearsall, do you think
that still exists? I mean, if Jennings didn't play, Piersol
is still the third option on that team, it's going
to go McCaffrey and then it's going to go Kittle.
So I think that can maybe subdue some of the
values and ranks. But what do you think about this
road Jennings, Like, what's the movement of you barely having

(30:27):
him as a wide receiver three here?

Speaker 4 (30:29):
Well, Jennings's presence does make for some uncertain targets distribution.
Pearsall could get ten targets or he could get four
or five. And but like it is a pretty tough
matchup on the road against the Seahawks. The Seahawks have
an excellent pair of corners with Devon Witherspoon and Riek Wollen,
So that that's kind of it. I just don't know

(30:49):
how many targets he's going to get and the matchups
are a little tricky.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
All right, Fringing, he's becoming kind of a fringe play
probably going to be a very popular question. A couple
of these guys be frank guys like Picking and Pisil.
They're gonna be very popular questions as the week moves on.
For you guys that only start two wide receivers in
a flex or even as a flex option. The other
wide receiver we're going to talk about is ECR thirty
three Chris O. Lava. Because ECR has split you two,

(31:16):
they are the average between because you guys are on
opposite spectrum. This is the biggest differentially you guys have
Chris Olave for Ericson is forty one, FITZI twenty four,
So he is a wide receiver two for you this week.
So Fitz, let's go right into it. What has got
you excited about chrysal Lava. It's not quarterback, so it's
gotta be something else.

Speaker 4 (31:37):
It's not quarterback. The reason Chris A. Lave was being
drafted as a low end wide receiver three, well, part
of it was because the quarterback situation is so messy,
but mainly because of the concussion history. Like it was
not about any questions about whether a Lave is good,
Like he's good. He's averaged two point twenty one yards
per rout run over his first three NFL seasons. That's

(31:59):
just a shade below the career yards per route run
for Ceed Lamb who's a two point two eight and
Jamar Chase, who's a two point twenty five. Like Chris
o'lavey is freaking good. And yes, Spencer Ratler is a concern.
I'm not here to argue that Spencer Ratler is a
dark horse MVP candidate, But as long as Chris alave
is healthy, you play him. I will say this, the

(32:23):
Cardinals do have one of the best slot cornerbacks in
the league, and Garrett Wilson and Kellen Moore has been
using a Lave as a slot receiver quite a bit.
I'm kind of hoping Kellen Moore lets a Lave lineup
outside for most of his snaps this week so that
he doesn't have to deal with Garrett Wilson because uh,
Garrett Williams, because Williams doesn't really leave the slot that often.

(32:43):
But man, I'm just I'm betting on the good player,
who right now is healthy.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Erickson, you are not betting on the good player. You
have him as like a maybe mid flex. I don't
seem excited to be able to start him. What was
a wide receiver four for one this week, so you're
kind of out. You're kind of out on Chris Olava.
So is it about the quarterback? Is that a I.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
Think that has a lot to do with it For
o Lave, Yes, he's always been very efficient on a
per route run basis. But the guy doesn't put up
spike weeks of fantasy production. He has barely has scratched
one top twelve finish over the last three seasons. So
if I don't start him, what's the worst kit scenario? Okay,
Like I miss out on a decent outing where you know,

(33:30):
maybe he gets eight rds, maybe he scores a touchdown,
But I don't think that. I'm in a situation where
man I benched a LoVa, he scored thirty five Fantasy points,
Like what was I think? Like, I just don't see
that happening, especially with Spencer Rattler as the quarterback. And
the best case scenario is, oh my god, I just
douched a landmine, like like this is a disaster, Like
that's what I'm like. The cost, like the benefit analysis

(33:53):
I'm trying to do here with him is like I
just don't think the positive outcome outweighs the negative outcome,
which could be, oh my god, this is offense can't
function like Spencer, like Tyler Schuck is in there in
the second half, Like that's in the range of outcomes
for this game. And I also think the Cardinals defense overall,
I think is underrated, like not even just pointing specifically
at the slot quarterback. All they did in the draft

(34:13):
was draft defensive players. So yes, last year they were
really up and down, but they were also really injured,
and I get that. You know, backing the Cardinals as
heavy favorites on the road seems like a trap. I
think the Cardinals defense is legit. I think it's gonna
be a reason why they win a lot of games
this season. So I think it's gonna be tough slating
for Spencer Raler and Slash or Tyler Shuck for the Saints.
And Kellen Moore is gonna be going back to the

(34:36):
drawing board after Week one trying to figure out what's
you on offense for week two?

Speaker 1 (34:40):
Juice not worth the squeeze Ericson says, all right, final
thing here we're gonna do. We've given you the top
thirty six board over on Fantasy pros. The ECR. Who's
a wide receiver that did not make these boards that
should have fits. Let's start with you one wide receiver
that you think should be much higher on these ECR
ranks than you think is someone need to pay attent
people to pay attention to this week.

Speaker 4 (35:01):
Stefan Diggs. He is just outside wide receiver three range
at an ECR. I believe wide receiver thirty seven. Last
I checked, I've got him at wide receiver thirty. Diggs
is healthy, He's going to play without limitation. He's going
to be Drake May's top target, his best body, and
the Raiders have one of the weaker groups of cornerbacks
in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
I think the word was today they said, as of
right now, he's playing. So unless there's something that changes,
he is playing. And you've got him over some significant
names Pickens Pear, saw ericson a wide receiver. This is
a good name, this is a fun name. A wide
receiver that's not in the top thirty six that people
need to be paying attention to this week, and that
should be in that thirty six.

Speaker 2 (35:40):
Bringing all the dusty veterans to the table here that
are going to surprising Week one Keenan Allen for me,
I just think that the last time we saw Keenan
Allen with Justin Herbert, the guy was catching eight balls
a game. It's absolutely insane the numbers that he was
putting up. Now it's not going to be that extent.
The offense is different's a new play caller. But everything
has been so positive Keenan Allen since he's arrived in LA.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
He was named, he was voted at team captain after being.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
On the team for a month. Like he's gonna get
Pepper with targets. His receptions line Welsh three and a half.
He averaged that last year in a broken Bears offense.
Come on, so Keenan own for me, easy top thirty
six receiver. I think that he's gonna score this Week two.

Speaker 1 (36:22):
You guys want to see more of it, go to
fantasypros dot com Slash Rankings check out. As ECR keeps adjusting,
Week one is always kind of crazy, so you might
see some guys flowing up. I mean, honestly, I think
Stephan Diggs might have already started moving right before we
started the show. So some of these guys might be
moving just as more rankers get in and like I said,
maybe these two fine gentlemen might be some market movers

(36:43):
and get some players going up. Also want to remind
you the not forget about our weekly start and sit
live stream We've got right here on the YouTube channel
where you can come and ask specific start and sit questions.
We'll be with you every Thursday at three pm Eastern.
So those listening on the podcast go to YouTube dot
com slash Fantasy prosbscribe, click to be notified, and you
will get that weekly live stream hit in your notifications.

(37:06):
I guess it would be Thursday's at three pm Eastern.
Answering more questions. That's going to do it for the
wide receiver ranks for fits and ericson I'm Welsh. We'll
talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.

Speaker 3 (37:16):
Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football podcast.
If you love the show, the best freeway to support
us is by leaving a positive review on Apple podcasts
at Fantasypros dot com, slash review, or on Spotify.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Follow us on x

Speaker 3 (37:30):
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Episode Transcript

Hosts And Creators

Andrew Erickson

Joe Pisapia

Derek Brown

Thor Nystrom

Ryan Wormeli

Pat Fitzmaurice

Matthew Freedman

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Week 1 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, & Must-Starts (Ep. 1684)