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Which wide receiver will shine in Week 2 for your fantasy football teams? We’ll take a look at all of them in our PPR rankings.
Week 2 is here and it’s time to take a look at Week 1 and how wide receivers were used across the NFL. One receiver, Jayden Reed, didn’t have a ton of usage, but still ended up being the No. 1 fantasy receiver to start off the season. We sure would like more than five touches for Reed, but 171 total yards and two touchdowns work. Those numbers aren’t likely repeatable on five touches, but we know what Reed can do when he gets his hands on the ball. Let’s just hope Jordan Love is himself after he misses time due to a knee injury.
We do know that someone who led the league with 21 targets in Week 1 is set up well heading into Week 2. That receiver was Cooper Kupp, who was a target magnet with Puka Nacua going down with an injury. He ended up as the No. 2 fantasy receiver for the week. Nacua went on I.R., so will miss at least four games, which means Kupp’s workload will remain high against the Cardinals this week.
No other receiver saw more than 12 targets in Week 1, and it was a down week for passing across the board. Overall, only nine receivers saw double-digit targets, while just one tight end hit that threshold. There are too many good receivers in the league and teams are going to continue to spread the ball around to make their offenses more diverse. Of course, as we’ve already seen with the Rams, one injury can change the whole dynamic and push the best players into even bigger roles.
Week 2 wide receiver injuries
Puka Nacua, Rams
Nacua has been put on I.R. with a PCL injury. He won’t have surgery, so the hope is that he’ll be ready after his four weeks off. His absence should help Tyler Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, and TE Colby Parkinson see more work, but Kupp remains the guy.
Hollywood Brown, Chiefs
Andy Reid told reporters Brown is “feeling better’ and “getting close,” but we’ll need to see him practice this week to have a shot to play against the Bengals. If he can’t go, Xavier Worthy should get another boost in usage.
Tee Higgins, Bengals
Higgins missed Week 1 with a hamstring injury and there’s a chance he isn’t able to play in Week 2 against the Chiefs, per Adam Schefter.
Josh Downs, Colts
Downs sat out Week 1 due to an ankle injury. At this point we wouldn’t want to rely on him for fantasy. Adonai Mitchell, Alec Pierce and Ashton Dulin all saw an uptick in work with Downs out.
Jordan Addison, Vikings
Addison hurt his ankle in Week 1 and will likely miss some practice time. His chances to play against the 49ers in Week 2 appear up in the air.
Rome Odunze, Bears
Odunze will undergo some tests on his knee injury on Monday and we’ll learn more from there. At this point there is no news other than his knee is hurt. D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen would likely see more concentrated targets.
Week 2 wide receiver sleepers
Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants vs. Commanders
Robinson didn’t have a big Week 1, but his underlying usage was great. He had one carry for 12 yards and caught 6-of-12 targets for 44 more yards. The hope is that the Giants offense will have a better time of things against the Commanders, who were just dismantled by Baker Mayfield and company.
We could see a shift to Malik Nabers here to help balance their usage, but I still see Robinson as a strong play in PPR this week, while Nabers is also a good play with more overall upside.
Tyler Johnson/Demarcus Robinson, Rams vs. Cardinals
With Nacua out, we should expect decent usage for Johnson and Robinson in a very good matchup against the Cardinals. Both saw seven targets in Week 1 and put up decent numbers. This week they should see more overall snaps with Nacua out for the whole game and maybe Cooper Kupp won’t see 22 targets again this week.
