Fantasy owners hopefully don’t need to scrounge waiver wires for options this early in the season. However, deep leagues always need to get creative to capitalize on matchups. Upside’s the way to go in this case, so here are a few under-the-radar receivers who could have big games as the NFL calendar turns to Week 1.
Fantasy football sleepers: Week 1 wide receivers
Dan Ciarrocchi analyzes under-the-radar receivers who could win fantasy matchups for Week 1.
Rob Foldy
I'm sure the Jacksonville Jaguars would like to rely on the run game this week to stave off Chip Kelly's barn-burning offense. But I don't think the Jaguars will get to do what they like this week. Expect them to play some serious catch-up, and expect the rookie Lee to get lots of looks. Cecil Shorts is out with a hamstring issue again, and the runoff of targets could trickle down and accumulate on Lee's stat sheet. There's plenty of raw talent here, and even more room to capitalize versus a Philadelphia Eagles defense that allowed the most points to opposing wide receivers in 2013.
It may be difficult for Boldin to rack up fantasy points in most weeks, given how many mouths there are to feed in the San Francisco 49ers offense. But the Dallas Cowboys defense will make sure everyone eats. Even if Boldin ends up third in the pecking order, he'll be a valuable weapon to be deployed in the red zone versus a team with a non-existent pass rush and exploitable secondary. If Boldin's on the bench in favor of a slightly better receiver with a worse matchup, owners would be wise to swap him in.
Nothing but beaming positivity has been documented regarding Floyd this summer. And yet, no one has been talking about him. That could change this week with Patrick Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals occupying Keenan Allen, leaving plenty of room for guys like Floyd to flourish. Simply put, the Cardinals are shorthanded on defense, and it would surprise no one if they lose battles with the remainder of the Chargers' receiving corps. The concern with Floyd has always been his health, so while his long-term prospects are hazy at best, there's much more to be encouraged about in this juicy matchup.
Like Floyd, Wheaton is another receiver who could benefit from his opposite getting a shutdown-corner treatment. Antonio Brown will have his hands full with Joe Haden. Though Wheaton's looked a bit out of sync with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger so far this summer, he may be force-fed some targets out of necessity. Since being drafted, onlookers have raved about Wheaton's potential and this could be the week where things begin to click.
