NFL DFS Week 1 WR Coach: Drake London, Nico Collins, Emeka Egbuka

The NFL season is here, and finally, Week 1 is upon us! The NFL DFS WR Coach aims to be your one-stop shop for all things wide receiver for your Week 1 daily fantasy football lineups. Each week, we’ll break down the wide receiver position to help you build smarter, sharper DFS lineups, regardless of whether your goal is to build bankroll through cash games each week or chase sky-high upside to take down a GPP. We’ll highlight the top-tier studs, the best value plays, and the mispriced players in the mid-tier to help gain an edge! Without further ado, let’s dive into the Week 1 DFS WR Coach, exclusively at Fantasy Alarm!

NFL DFS Week 1 WR Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

While our Week 1 slate features some likely boring games, a la Cardinals-Saints and Steelers-Jets, but I could see a few shootouts on the board, with the most likely candidates being Bengals-Browns, Bucs-Falcons, and maybe, just maybe, Panthers-Jaguars. When breaking down the wide receiver position this week, I really, really like some players in the mid-tier, because we have some soft Weak 1 pricing for many players, especially young guys. I will give you a sneak preview here, but the pricing on Ricky Pearsall and Emeka Egbuka is way, way, way, way off for Week 1!

NFL Week 1 Wide Receivers

Quick Notes on the slate:

• 4 games with a total of at least 46.5 points
• 3 games with a total of 42.5 points or fewer
• Highest implied team totals: Bengals (26.2), Commanders (24.94), Broncos (24.72), Packers (24.46), Jaguars (24.41)

This is a living, breathing resource, and it will be updated as the week goes on, based on injury news, practice reports, etc. By Sunday, you may see some players removed who were earlier featured, or perhaps some players added as the week goes on.

NFL DFS WR Top Tier Picks for Week 1

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - DraftKings: $8,100 | FanDuel: $9,200

Joe Burrow and the Bengals have been slow starters in the past, but we’re hoping they can get off to a hot start here in Week 1 against Cleveland. Burrow is averaging 248.8 passing yards per game against Cleveland for his career, alongside a 15:5 TD/INT ratio across eight games. Expect Cleveland to continue to play a ton of man coverage under Jim Schwartz, and against man coverage in 2024, Chase posted a 27.6% target share and 11.2 yards per reception, per Fantasy Points.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $7,900

Chris Shula is back again as the defensive coordinator for the Rams, and L.A. played zone defense at the seventh-highest rate in the NFL last season, per Fantasy Points. If the Rams are content to play a single-high safety, watch out, as Nico Collins posted a 3.67 yards per route run and 15.3 yards per reception against that last year, per Fantasy Points. Collins is the straw that stirs the drink for the Houston passing attack, and new Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley knows where the football needs to go. UPDATE: With Christian Kirk ruled out, rookie Jaylin Noel seems to be the biggest beneficiary for added snaps.

Malik Nabers, New York Giants - DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $7,800

Say what you want about Russell Wilson, but the quarterback play should be improved for Nabers this season, and I like his outlook for Week 1. Dan Quinn loves to play man defense, and Nabers posted a 2.70 yards per route run and 0.69 fantasy points per route run, per Fantasy Points, which ranked 18th and 7th, respectively, amongst WRs with at least 50 routes run against man coverage. The Giants playing from behind should help the overall passing volume, too.

NFL DFS WR Mid-Tier Picks for NFL Week 1

Marvin Harrison, Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $5,500 | FanDuel: $6,400

Folks may be down on Harrison after his rookie season, but he still had 116 targets, 885 yards, and eight touchdowns! Year 2 should be better for Harrison, and this New Orleans secondary is going to be pretty bad if you ask me, outside of Kool-Aid McKinstry. Harrison should see a good bit of Isaac Yiadom, who has been a below-average CB for most of his NFL career.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions - DraftKings: $5,500 | FanDuel: $6,000

I really like Green Bay’s front seven and their safeties, but I can’t say the same things about their corners. Williams logged 80 yards against the Packers in his lone contest against them last year, and the reports out of camp have been glowing for Williams, meaning the breakout begins straight away in Week 1. The Packers played zone defense at one of the highest rates in the NFL last season, sitting primarily in Cover 2 and Cover 3. In 2024, Williams put up 2.31 yards per route run, 17.6 yards per reception, and 3.3 yards per target over expectation against those two looks, per Fantasy Points.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $7,500

Atlanta’s perimeter corners are a bit more notable than what they’ll roll out in the slot, but Evans is Baker Mayfield’s WR1 in a game that should see some points scored. It has one of the highest game totals on the slate. The other big key here is no Chris Godwin, and Evans’ 2024 production skyrocketed once Godwin’s season ended.

Courtesy of FantasyPoints

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns - DraftKings: $5,400 | FanDuel: $6,200

Across the “primary Joe Flacco games” as I’m calling them, Jeudy registered a 26.8 percent target share, and this Cincinnati defense is hot trash! Yes, even with Trey Hendrickson back in the mix, the team’s secondary is bad, and Cincinnati figures to find itself in shootouts more often than not. Al Golden became the DC after a few seasons in college, and he was last with the Bengals as a linebackers coach in 2020-2021. If you want exposure to this game but can’t afford Jeudy, take a look at Cedric Tillman ($4,400 on DraftKings), who will start on the perimeter for Cleveland, and averaged 75.5 yards per game in the four contests where he played at least 80 percent of the snaps in 2024.

Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $5,700

At the price point on DraftKings, unless we get some report that Hunter will be used sparingly on offense, the juice is worth the squeeze. He’s the 1B in the Jacksonville passing attack, and if he gets ample reps in the slot, he will feast on Chau Smith-Wade, a fifth-round rookie out of Washington State. A Liam Coen offense has been known to sustain multiple notable fantasy assets at the same position, and if Coen can bring out the best in Trevor Lawrence, Hunter could get off to a fast start. UPDATE: Jacksonville has come out and said that Hunter will be an every down player on offense, and situation corner. For this price point today, we LOVE this news.

Tetaroia McMillan, Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $5,200 | FanDuel: $5,600

Jacksonville allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers last season, and despite a new defensive coordinator, a cornerback room of Tyson Campbell, Montaric Brown, and Jourdan Lewis isn’t the most inspiring. Lewis is fine in the slot, but McMillan should see a lot of Brown, who posted the 66th-best coverage grade last year (out of 116) per PFF. McMillan will have a size and speed mismatch against this secondary, and hopefully, another year in the Dave Canales offense will sustain some success for Bryce Young.

NFL Week 1 DFS WR Value Picks

Demario Douglas, New England Patriots - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $4,700

I don’t exactly believe Jeremy Chinn is an elite coverage guy, but he’s slated to be Las Vegas’ slot corner this season. In the eight games Douglas played at least 62 percent of the snaps, he received at least seven targets in five of them and five or more targets in seven of them. Reports out of camp have been positive for Douglas, and I don’t expect this Las Vegas secondary to be very good this season.

Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DraftKings: $4,600 | FanDuel: $5,000

Will Egbuka be one of the highest-owned WR2s in DFS this week? He just might be, all things considered. He’s incredibly affordable in a game that could push into the fifties, and a slew of injuries have thrust Egbuka into a prominent role in his NFL debut. Atlanta didn’t have great slot corner play last year, as Dee Alford was quite bad, potentially pushing rookie Billy Bowman into a starting nickel role.

Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers - DraftKings: $4,500 | FanDuel: $5,300

We’ll have to see what Jauan Jennings’ status looks like for this game, but San Fran is depleted at wide receiver, and Pearsall is dirt cheap for a guy that everyone was tabbing as a breakout player in seasonal drafts. In the four games he started last year, he posted a 19.3 percent target share, 2.57 yards per route run, and 19.2 fantasy points per game (13.2 expected), per Fantasy Points.

Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $4,000

How about a little Week 1 dart throw? With DK Metcalf battling with Sauce Gardner all afternoon, why not look to the guy that should serve as Pittsburgh’s WR2? This game has a lower total than other games on the slate, but if Aaron Rodgers wants to avoid Gardner, targeting Roman Wilson against the likes of Brandon Stephens and Michael Carter II is the way to go. Stephens struggled for Baltimore last year, allowing the second-most yards in coverage in the NFL and a 107.4 passer rating when targeted, per Pro Football Focus.

NFL DFS WR Fade for Week 1

DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $5,900 | $6,800

I’d expect Sauce Gardner to shadow Metcalf in his Pittsburgh debut, and this Jets-Steelers showdown has one of the lower totals on the entire slate. This game doesn’t exactly seem like an offensive showcase, as both teams will run the ball, control the clock, and rely on the defense. Metcalf’s first big game as a Steeler will have to wait until next week at the earliest.

NFL Week 1 WR Play of The Week

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $6,500 | FanDuel: $7,000

London figures to be popular on Sunday, but it’s hard not to love this spot for him. Points will be scored in this game, and the usage London saw in the final three games of the 2024 season with Michael Penix was astounding. He was the WR3 in fantasy football during the final three weeks of the season, posting the second-most fantasy points per route run amongst WRs with 80+ routes run, 50.6 percent share of the team’s air yards, and a massive 39 percent target share, per Fantasy Points. For what it’s worth, his average of 94.8 yards per game against the Bucs is the highest mark against any team he’s placed at least twice.

Check out the NFL DFS Week 1 projections table below to help build your NFL DFS Week 1 lineups. Be sure to also check out not just the NFL Week 1 DFS WR Coach, but the rest of our NFL DFS Coaches, Watch List and NFL DFS Playbook as you build those winning daily fantasy football lineups for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL regular season.