Week 1 WR Rankings - Standard Leagues

The first week of the NFL season is going to start tomorrow night, so it is time to prepare your lineups to start out with a win. Each week I will be providing WR rankings for standard leagues. For the first week here, and the next few, matchups won't play a big factor. This is because we need a little bit of a sample size to get a good indication of which defenses have improved, and which have gotten worse from last year. Once the season continues on though, the rankings will start to change more based on matchups. Now to the rankings and some commentary on a few guys.

Sammy Watkins - We saw how big of a tear he ended last season on. Over the last 9 games in 2015, he put up 900 yards and 7 TD's. Now you get a matchup against a subpar Ravens secondary, and I expect that connection we saw with Tyrod Taylor and Watkins to continue going in week one.

Mike Evans - I believe in Evans for the 2016 season, but knocked him down a little bit for week 1. The Falcons are a team that may not appear to be good on the surface, but the secondary is suprisingly good, especially Desmond Trufant. While Evans is someone I think will be matchup proof this season, I need to see a little bit of it first.

Kelvin Benjamin - Rivera has already come out and said that Benjamin will be on a snap count limit for the first week. He is going to be seeing somewhere from 30-35 snaps on Thursday night. Normally this would mean dropping a receiver farther, but because of the threat Benjamin is in the redzone, he only took a slight hit for week one.

Stefon Diggs - It may seem surprising to see Diggs was up at 33 after everything that has happened in Minnesota, but there is value here. Diggs will presumably have Shaun Hill as his QB for week one, which is actually good news for Diggs. Hill has been known to force the ball to his top receivers, and it is clear that player is Diggs on Minnesota. Then you factor in the matchup against the Titans not being a negative, and Diggs places right near where I feel his season long value is.

DeVante Parker - Well once again Parker has an injury to start the season. This year it is that always nagging hamstring injury we dread with receivers. Now add in a hamstring injury on top of facing the Seahawks and Richard Sherman and you have a guy you should avoid in week one. I still believe in his talent, but this matchup and injury have me staying away right now.

Tavon Austin - I already know this ranking could be the one that bites me in week one. Austin was a guy who you never felt comfortable starting last year, but in the end he seemed to produce solid numbers. Again heading into week one I don't feel comfortable starting him, yet I recognize he could end the game with 2 TD's. Use him in tournament play for DFS, but I still can't quite trust consistency to start him in season long leagues.