Week 1 WR Rankings

As the NFL sets to kick off tomorrow night, I bring to you my Week 1 WR Rankings.  As has been the case with my RB and QB rankings, if you're dealing with a Sit/Start quandary, start the player ranked closest to #1.  As usual, I'll provide a little insight as to my selections at the bottom:

1) Calvin Johnson, Detroit

2) Julio Jones, Atlanta

3) Dez Bryant, Dallas

4) Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis

5) Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City

6) Brandon Marshall, Chicago

7) Marques Colston, New Orleans

8) Roddy White, Atlanta

9) Victor Cruz, NY Giants

10) Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona

11) Demaryius Thomas, Denver

12) Mike Williams, Tampa Bay

13) AJ Green, Cincinnati

14) Pierre Garcon, Washington

15) Danny Amendola, New England

16) Torrey Smith, Baltimore

17) Andre Johnson, Houston

18) DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia

19) Randall Cobb, Green Bay

20) Wes Welker, Denver

21) Miles Austin, Dallas

22) Mike Wallace, Miami

23) TY Hilton, Indianapolis

24) Anquan Boldin, San Francisco

25) Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh

26) James Jones, Green Bay

27) Jordy Nelson, Green Bay

28) Kenbrell Thompkins, New England

29) Hakeem Nicks, NY Giants

30) Stevie Johnson, Buffalo

31) Steve Smith, Carolina

32) Greg Jennings, Minnesota

33) Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay

34) Eric Decker, Denver

35) Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville

36) Chris Givens, St. Louis

37) Golden Tate, Seattle

38) Lance Moore, New Orleans

39) Mohamed Sanu, Cincinnati

40) Greg Little, Cleveland

41) Malcom Floyd, San Diego

42) Denarius Moore, Oakland

43) Michael Floyd, Arizona

44) Kenny Britt, Tennessee

45) Kendall Wright, Tennessee

46) Brian Hartline, Miami

47) Sidney Rice, Seattle

48) Tavon Austin, St. Louis

49) DeAndre Hopkins, Houston

50) Vincent Brown, San Diego

Deep Sleepers: Davone Bess, Cleveland; Alshon Jeffery, Chicago; Robert Meachem, New Orleans; Doug Baldwin, Seattle; Rueben Randle, NY Giants; Donnie Avery, Kansas City; Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh

It'll be tough to put anyone ahead of Calvin Johnson most of the season, so get used to it.

I like Julio Jones ahead of Dez Bryant this week because of Julio's trend of being more productive on the road.  In addition to the slightly more tasty match-up with New Orleans, I like Julio to be more effective stretching the field as well as over the middle.

I've been pretty generous in my rankings of Colts' players vs. the Raiders, and Reggie Wayne is about as safe a start as there is in the fantasy game this week.  Look for double digit targets and a strong possibility of 100 yards and a TD.

Mike Williams has been a prime target of mine during draft season because I feel he will out perform Vincent Jackson this season.  Week 1 is no exception.  Vincent Jackson figures to be blanketed by the Jets' top corner, Antonio Cromartie, and with a safety creeping into the box to control the Tampa running game, I look for Williams to see a lot of single coverage on the outside.  I've predicted 97 yards and a TD for Williams already, which will easily outdo the production I'm expecting from VJax.

I have AJ Green a lot lower than you will see on average because the Chicago Bears straight up shut down top WRs.  They were the only squad to truly shut down Calvin Johnson last season and Green's match-up with Peanut Tillman doesn't figure to be an easy one.  Green could easily score, but I look for a pedestrian yardage total.

I initially had Torrey Smith ranked in the late 20's and then I heard Champ Bailey was going to miss tomorrow night's game.  Immediate bump up.  I like Smith to be able to get free at will and control the entire field against the Broncos' beleaguered secondary.

As I mentioned in my initial preseason WR Rankings, WRs 20-40 were separated by less than 3.0 points per game.  If your favorite player happens to be ranked outside of the Top 20, it is merely because the position is so deep.  

Follow me on Twitter @BernacK6 to keep the debates lively.  I'll be handling Sit/Start Questions every week and I respond to everyone that asks a question.