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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide receivers for Week 2

Ranking the best wide receivers by matchup and opportunity for Week 2 of the 2019 NFL Season.

By Matias Wodner
NFL: Preseason-Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL season got off to a rocky start in regards to the divas at the wide receiver position. Before the weekend even arrived, Davante Adams had been shut down (four catches for 36 yards) by a wicked Bears defense and an inept Green Bay offensive plan, Antonio Brown had lost his mind and quit on his team, Odell Beckham Jr. reportedly couldn’t open up his hip and sprint, and Julio Jones was being vague about whether he’d play without a new contract.

Then came Sunday. Tyreek Hill injured his clavicle and now he may narrowly avoid an IR stint, Jamies Winston’s horrid quarterbacking ability capped Chris Godwin’s and Mike Evans’ insane playmaking ability, and the Vikings threw 10 passes the ENTIRE game and rendered Stefon Diggs useless, although Adam Thielen saved his own week with a sick touchdown.

All in all, it wasn’t a terrible first week for the wide receiver position, but can we just stick with the status quo for a week or two? Probably not!

WR Rankings - Week 2

Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
1 Odell Beckham Jr. CLE @NYJ Following a 14-target game and a respectable 7-71 stat line, OBJ gets a NYJ secondary that just got toasted by John Brown (7/123/1).
2 DeAndre Hopkins HOU JAX Nuk started out in prime form, going for 8/111/2. JAX gave up 9/198/3 to his college teammates Sammy Watkins last week.
3 Julio Jones ATL PHI PHI got smoked by rookie Terry McLaurin last week and gave up a receiving TD to Trey Quinn. Julio started out with a TD and will build on it.
4 Amari Cooper DAL @WAS WAS got eviscerated by WRs in Week 1, giving up 2 long TDs to D-Jax and another to Alshon. Amari put up 6/106/1 despite it being a blowout.
5 Michael Thomas NO @LAR Thomas went nuclear against LAR in the regular season last year, accumulating a 12/211/1 stat line in a 45-35 shootout.
6 JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT SEA Assuming JuJu won't be limited by a toe injury, he has an outstanding matchup. SEA's secondary gave up 395 passing yards in W1.
7 Keenan Allen LAC @DET DET gave up 8/113/1 to slot WR Larry Fitz last week, Allen went 8/123/1 last week and will avoid Slay on the outside.
8 Davante Adams GB MIN Matt LaFleur's offense got off to a horrid start and now they get another tough defense, but Adams went 8/64/1 and 5/69/1 vs. MIN last year.
9 Sammy Watkins KC @OAK With Tyreek Hill injured, Watkins will get all he can handle against a weak OAK secondary. Watkins looked quite healthy in W1 (9/198/3).
10 Tyler Lockett SEA @PIT PIT's secondary looks simply awful, getting burned at every level of the field. Lockett is going to run right by them a few times in this one.
11 Robert Woods LAR NO Woods still looks like LAR's #1 receiver, leading the team in targets and yards. NO's secondary looks like it might have regressed a bit.
12 Josh Gordon NE @MIA Deep threat Marquise Brown racked up 147 yards and 2 TDs vs. MIA last week. Gordon has lost a bit of speed, but is still a home run hitter.
13 Adam Thielen MIN @GB Thielen detonated GB last year with stat lines of 12/131/1 and 8/125/1, but GB's defense looks incredibly improved and MIN is going to run.
14 Tyrell Williams OAK KC Williams looked every bit like a real life WR1 against a much tougher DEN secondary. KC's secondary remains swiss cheese.
15 Julian Edelman NE @MIA MIA is tanking and giving up elite WR production in the process. Snead scored a TD and Andrews went off last week. NE doesn't have a TE.
16 Brandin Cooks LAR NO The revenge game narrative is in full effect here and Cooks went over 100 yards in 2 games vs. NO last year.
17 T.Y. Hilton IND @TEN Much better season debut with Brissett at the helm and T.Y. looked as good as ever. TEN's defense dominated in W1, but OBJ still got his.
18 Chris Godwin TB @CAR Salvaged his day with a TD last week, but should find more success this week as CAR is more attackable on the interior.
19 Allen Robinson CHI @DEN Week 1 was definitely a step in the right direction and DEN didn't look great in OAK, but Trubisky looks awful and on the road in DEN is scary.
20 Kenny Golladay DET LAC IND's #1 WR didn't exactly struggle vs. LAC last week (8/87/2) and now DET's #1 gets them at home in the dome.
21 Tyler Boyd CIN SF Ross made the big plays in W1, but Boyd was still the top dog, catching 8 of 11 targets for 60 yards. The yardage number should grow this week.
22 D.J. Moore CAR TB His biggest issue right now is fumbling the ball and Cam looking mediocre. But 7/76 on 10 targets is really promising and TB is an easier task.
23 DeSean Jackon PHI @ATL This has the makings of a shootout and D-Jax was completely in sync with Wentz in W1, particularly on a pair of deep touchdowns.
24 Cooper Kupp LAR NO Goff didn't play well against a tough CAR D, but now gets a NO defense that bled big plays through the air. Kupp should hit 10 targets again.
25 Mike Evans TB @CAR Jameis looks likely to hold Evans back and Evans had pitiful games against CAR last year.
26 Stefon Diggs MIN @GB Diggs has historically gone bonkers against GB, but the Vikings' severe committment to running the ball is a real cause for concern.
27 Michael Gallup DAL @WAS Second-year breakout got off to a good start against NYG, with 76 of his 158 yards coming after the catch. WAS's secondary is a sieve.
28 Calvin Ridley ATL PHI If he's going to keep finding the end zone, he won't be in the WR3 ranks for too much longer, but the catches and yards have to rise at some point.
29 Will Fuller HOU JAX Made a jaw-dropping catch on a deep ball on MNF, but wasn't heard from much again and Stills caught the final TD. Went 6/68 vs. JAX last year.
30 Corey Davis TEN IND A goose egg in W1 was shocking, but the Titans didn't have to throw the ball much. IND's run defense is solid and Davis should be featured more.
31 Curtis Samuel CAR TB Maybe the hype train didn't account for Cam not playing well. 4 targets is ridiculous, but a date against a weak TB secondary should double that.
32 Antonio Brown NE @MIA Being very conservative with this ranking and assuming AB will be eased into the offense. But the matchup is too perfect to bench confidently.
33 Alshon Jeffery PHI @ATL Should see a lot of Trufant in this one and probably won't be as productive as last week on just 6 targets, but this could be a shootout.
34 John Brown BUF @NYG 7/123/1 and supreme chemistry with Josh Allen was a sight to behold, but a road date against Janoris Jenkins isn't ideal.
35 Dede Westbrook JAX @HOU Should be counted on even more than usual with rookie Gardner Minshew at QB. Minshew will pepper him in the MOF.
36 Courtland Sutton DEN CHI Flacco against the CHI defense could be the mismatch of the century. We'll see if he can get the ball to Sutton, who looks like this year's Golladay.
37 D.K. Metcalf SEA @PIT Fresh off knee surgery, Metcalf was outstanding in his debut and has secured the WR2 spot in Seattle, which should breed 6-8 targets each week.
38 Marquise Brown BAL ARI We're gonna need more than an 18% snap rate going forward, but in an offense without a viable WR, Brown is tantalizing against bad ARI CBs.
39 Robby Anderson NYJ CLE Really disappointing production vs. BUF, but the 7 targets and 121 air yards should be a sign of better things to come.
40 Terry McLaurin WAS DAL Played 93% of his team's snaps and showed off his trademark speed while burning PHI. DAL is a tougher test, but star CB Byron Jones is limited.
41 John Ross CIN SF I'd like to see him perform consistently before ranking him above a WR4/5, but he looked great in W1. The matchup isn't daunting either in W2.
42 Emmanuel Sanders DEN CHI Sanders got a lot of garbage time points in W1, but slipped on a couple of plays that could've produced more. Flacco against CHI is frightening.
43 James Washington PIT SEA SEA got smoked by speedster John Ross in W1 and now gets burner James Washington, who had the 2nd-most air yards of any WR in W1 (169).
44 Larry Fitzgerald ARI @BAL Fitz went off in W1, but a bunch of his production came in catch-up mode and against a weak defense. BAL is a brutal task for Kyler and Co.
45 A.J. Brown TEN IND Brown looked like a stud on limited touches, creating 100 yards of offense on just 3 catches. He should find success against a mediocre IND D.
46 Marvin Jones Jr. DET LAC Ranked behind Golladay, Hockenson and Amendola in targets and now gets a much tougher test in LAC's underrated secondary.
47 Jamison Crowder NYJ CLE It's hard to ignore 17 targets and 14 receptions, but the 99 yards gained on those catches is disgusting. But you could do worse for a flex.
48 Adam Humphries TEN IND This feels like a game where TEN will look to exploit the MOF and Humphries could capitalize if Delanie Walker draws some extra attention.
49 Marquez Valdes-Scantling GB MIN Apparently Geronimo Allison retired and MVS is the clear-cut #2 in GB's offense, which admittedly looked like may not matter much in W1.
50 Danny Amendola DET LAC Among the most shocking stat lines of Week 1 was Amendola exploding for 7/104/1. If it happens two weeks in a row, I quit fantasy football.

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