Fantasy football preseason Week 1 review: Sleeper & bust candidates at WR

The first week of preseason has come and gone. While we shouldn’t draw too many conclusions from what were glorified scrimmages, some players showed better than others, and sometimes it’s just fun to read the tea leaves based on a handful of snaps.

So with the caveats out of the way, let’s take a look at some potential sleeper and bust candidates for fantasy football purposes, focusing on wide receiver this time. Most of the top-tier, entrenched starters played sparingly, if at all, so nothing has changed for them. We’ll instead look at some more fringe options and briefly examine their fantasy outlook as the regular season inches closer.

Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions — The Lions desperately needed another pair of hands after letting Anquan Boldin walk in free agency. Golladay certainly looked up to the task in his first preseason game, pulling down three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns on four targets. A big body at 6’4, 213 pounds, the third-round rookie made a statement with this performance. If he keeps it up, he’ll have legitimate fantasy upside in a pass-happy offense.

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams — The Rams’ acquisition of Sammy Watkins may have thrown a wrench into Kupp’s fantasy value, but the slot rookie still projects as a reliable underneath target for Jared Goff, who will likely check down as much as he can. Kupp had two catches on three targets for 35 yards, a decent showing for his first preseason game. At the moment, he’s behind Watkins and Robert Woods, but Kupp is a name to file away in the late rounds of fantasy drafts.

Taywan Taylor, Tennessee Titans — The Titans suddenly have a crowded receiver room with Eric Decker, Corey Davis, and Rishard Matthews, but Taylor impressed the most in the preseason opener. Filling in for an injured Davis, Taylor saw nine targets for four catches and 56 yards. There are probably too many mouths to feed here, especially in a run-first offense, but Taylor belongs on your dynasty roster, at the least.

Corey Coleman, Cleveland Browns — Coleman essentially had a lost rookie season thanks to a broken hand that cost him several games. He also missed most of the offseason with a hamstring injury and was quiet in the preseason opener, getting two catches for 11 yards on four targets. The Browns’ offense was miserable with Brock Osweiler under center, and unless DeShone Kizer makes quick progress, it’s hard to buy into this passing game from a fantasy perspective. Coleman should be left on dynasty benches at the moment.

Jordan Matthews, Buffalo Bills — Matthews goes from the Philadelphia Eagles’ slot receiver, to getting traded to the Bills, to getting a sternum injury that could cost him the rest of the preseason. Not a great week. It’s extra bad timing because we won’t get to see how he fits in Buffalo’s offense for a while, making him a gamble not worth taking right now.

Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams — By far the biggest loser of the Watkins trade. Woods now drops from the No. 1 receiver to No. 2, and could even fall to No. 3 depending on how Kupp develops. There’s also the matter of Goff, who hasn’t proven he can sustain more than one fantasy-relevant receiver. Woods was a pedestrian WR4 when he played with Watkins in Buffalo, and I don’t see that changing here.