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Week 1 Wide Receiver Rankings - PPR Leagues

Fantasy is back! Nick Petraccione breaks down PPR wide receivers to help you win your opening week.

By Nick Petraccione
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Ladies and gentleman, it's time to get serious. It's not just football season, it's fantasy football season. That means glory, bragging rights, trophies, and trying your hardest not to come in dead last are all on the line. So let's get down to business and win some games. I'm back on the old beat, PPR wide receivers. The most lucrative position in the game. These are your golden geese, some more golden than others but in PPR any given receiver can go off and single handedly win you the week. Now let's get to the rankings.

Rank Player Team Opponent
1 Antonio Brown PIT TB
2 Julio Jones ATL @WAS
3 Odell Beckham Jr. NYG @DAL
4 DeAndre Hopkins HOU CHI
5 Amari Cooper OAK @NO
6 Allen Robinson JAC GB
7 Mike Evans TB @ATL
8 Brandon Marshall NYJ CIN
9 Keenan Allen SD @KC
10 A.J. Green CIN @NYJ
11 Dez Bryant DAL NYG
12 Brandin Cooks NO OAK
13 Alshon Jeffery CHI @HOU
14 T.Y. Hilton IND DET
15 Demaryius Thomas DEN CAR
16 Jordy Nelson GB @JAC
17 Jarvis Landry MIA @SEA
18 Sammy Watkins BUF @BAL
19 Randall Cobb GB @JAC
20 Golden Tate DET @IND
21 Eric Decker NYJ CIN
22 Jordan Matthews PHI CLE
23 Jeremy Maclin KC SD
24 Julian Edelman NE @ARI
25 Donte Moncrief IND DET
26 Larry Fitzgerald ARI NE
27 Doug Baldwin SEA MIA
28 Marvin Jones DET @IND
29 Michael Crabtree OAK @NO
30 Michael Floyd ARI NE
31 Emmanuel Sanders DEN CAR
32 Tyler Lockett SEA MIA
33 Allen Hurns JAC GB
34 Willie Snead NO OAK
35 DeSean Jackson WAS PIT
36 Sterling Shepard NYG @DAL
37 Tavon Austin LA @SF
38 Corey Coleman CLE @PHI
39 Kamar Aiken BAL BUF
40 Markus Wheaton PIT TB
41 Vincent Jackson TB @PIT
42 Stefon Diggs MIN @TEN
43 John Brown ARI NE
44 Torrey Smith SF LA
45 Kevin White CHI HOU
46 Kelvin Benjamin CAR @DEN
47 Tajae Sharp TEN MIN
48 Mohamed Sanu ATL TB
49 Steve Smith BAL BUF
50 Travis Benjamin SD @KC

Sterling Shepard - It seems the Giants have finally found a solid WR2, not because he's practically the only other capable WR they have besides OBJ. Shepard is good. He is a great route runner and has glue on his hands. He is going to contribute a lot to this offense. Even though he is a rookie and didn't get too much action in the preseason, he is the only rookie I'd start this week. With OBJ attracting a lot of the attention, Shepard has flex appeal.

Kelvin Benjamin is the weapon the Panthers have been waiting for. He missed all last season with a torn ACL, but shined as a rookie with over 1,000 receiving and nine TDs. He's #46 on my list for a good reason. Benjamin is on a limited snap count. He will likely get around 30-35 snaps against the Broncos as opposed to the 58 snaps per game when he averaged as a rookie. It's not worth taking a risk on him in your lineup because he won't have many opportunities to shine.

Stefon Diggs... avoid him. Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford was brought onto the team just eight days before the beginning of the season. Do you think he knows the playbook? I don't. Do you think he has chemistry with his teammates? I don't. I do think that they are gonna ground and pound with AP as much as possible. Sure they will throw the ball, but not enough to make Diggs relevant.

Titans receivers (Tajae Sharp, Rishard Matthews) - A fifth-round draft pick from the MAC is their number one receiver. Don't get me wrong, I have been impressed with Sharp so far. He is proving that he is capable of playing at this level and after a very strong preseason has earned his place at the top of the depth chart. But against such a good Vikings defense I'm passing until I have a bigger sample size.