After a long wait, the NFL season is upon us! What a time to be alive! The wide receiver position, and really most of the Week 1 slate, features some good matchups, but there are a few spots where some notable offenses happen to be taking on some of the stouter defenses in the league. Ja'Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown are likely headliners in many Week 1 NFL DFS lineups, and honestly, I don’t blame anyone for paying up for those studs, as those two sit atop my NFL DFS WR rankings for Week 1. However, a tier or two beneath the elite pricing tier is where I believe DFS players will settle in. The Lions-Saints game figures to be high-scoring, and the Bucs-Bengals also has a total of 50+ points. There’s a lot to sort through, but don’t worry, we got you covered here at Fantasy Alarm! Not only will you get my top NFL DFS WR picks for Week 1, but I’ll also cover a receiver I’m fading, some intriguing stacks, and even a contrarian stack if you want to zig while others zag.

NFL DFS Week 1 WR Picks

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - DraftKings: $7,800 | FanDuel: $8,900

Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme last season saw the Bucs sitting in Cover 2 and Cover 3 a combined 50% of the time, with Cover 3 covering nearly 35% of the snaps. All Chase did last year against Cover 3 was post 3.21 yards per route run and 0.45 targets per route run, per FantasyPoints Data. The other key thing here is that the Bucs don’t play a ton of man coverage under Bowles, and that’s notable, because in 2025, Chase posted 1.57 yards per route run against man, compared to 2.63 yards per route run against zone, per FantasyPoints Data. That’s not a one-year thing for Chase either, as his 3.12 yards per route run against zone in 2024 far exceeded his 1.61 yards per route run mark against man. Shootout potential here, and Chase is arguably the best wideout in the game.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $7,700

Here are the players Collins is contending for targets with: Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel, Jared Wayne, Kayshon Boutte (who the team recently acquired, and Dalton Schultz. Collins is not facing elite target competition to say the least, and since C.J. Stroud has entered the league, the splits have been better at home for the Houston duo. I would love to see the Texans move Collins around, as it would behoove them to put their star wideout in more advantageous situations rather than just sticking him out wide and telling him to go win. Houston wants to run the ball, but could the Bills do just enough to force the Texans into airing it out a bit? I’m not entirely sure about that, but the one thing I am certain of is the fact that Collins is the straw that stirs the [Houston passing attack] drink.

Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $6,400 | FanDuel: $7,300

The Colts have two fine perimeter corners, but Justin Walley in the slot is likely the spot teams will attack early on. A torn ACL cost him his rookie season, and then he hardly played in the preseason. Only about one-third of his routes came from the slot last season, but he posted 3.39 yards per route run and a 23.7% explosive reception rate out of the slot, per FantasyPoints’ Data. I expect Baltimore to put up some points against this Indy secondary, and I’m a believer in Declan Doyle maximizing and unleashing this passing attack, headlined by Flowers.

 

 

 

Best NFL DFS WR Values for Week 1

Best DraftKings WR Value: Dontayvion Wicks - DraftKings: $4,100 | FanDuel: $5,500

With DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon both missing time in training camp and the preseason with injuries, it was Wicks who was constantly out there and building his presence in the offense. Amongst wideouts with at least 200 routes run last season, Wicks posted a 77th percentile separation score and a 75th percentile win rate, per FantasyPoints’ Data. This is such a soft matchup for the Philadelphia passing attack, and Wicks should be able to join the run, even if he isn’t the team’s WR1.

Best FanDuel WR Value: Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers - DraftKings: $4,600 | FanDuel: $5,400

It never feels great trusting Bryce Young, but this Chicago offense is going to push Carolina to have to try to keep up, and Dave Canales had Carolina operating at a top-10 pace last season, per FantasyPoints Data. The Bears seem content to trust rookie Malik Muhammad, and albeit a small-ish sample size in preseason, he allowed seven of nine targets in slot coverage to be caught, not to mention the third-highest yards per coverage snap amongst players with at least 30 slot coverage snaps in the preseason, per PFF. Under Dennis Allen, the Bears played man coverage above the league average, as well as Cover 2. Well, against man coverage last year, Coker posted 0.25 targets per route run and a team-high 2.63 yards per route run, per FantasyPoints Data.

Best NFL DFS WR Stacks for Week 1

Best QB/WR Stack

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions - DraftKings: $7,500 | FanDuel: $8,600

Stack with:

Brandon Staley had the Saints sitting in zone over three-fourths of the time last season, and only the Browns and Ravens played single-high safety looks more than the Saints last season. Well, isn’t that just music to Amon-Ra St. Brown’s ears. In 2025, St. Brown posted 2.67 yards per route run versus zone and 2.34 yards per route run against single-high safety looks, per FantasyPoints Data. This game has shootout potential, and just might be the highest scoring game overall on the slate. Detroit’s defense has some serious warts, particularly in the secondary, but this offense can score at will.

Best WR/WR Stack

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $6,700 | FanDuel: $7,400

Stack with: 

This is such a good spot for the Saints' top two wide receivers, and that might be an understatement. Detroit will be without starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and their primary corners outside of D.J. Reed are lackluster at best. Roger McCreary has allowed a 100+ passer rating when targeted in three of the last four seasons, and rookie Keith Abney posted the sixth-lowest coverage grade amongst corners with at least 50 coverage snaps in the preseason. This game has a 50+ point total, and the Saints are underdogs, which should benefit the New Orleans’ passing attack.

Best Contrarian Stack

Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars - DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $6,600

Stack with:

If people zig to Brian Thomas, which I won’t be doing, then we zag to Parker Washington, which is exactly where we want to be. Cleveland’s corners are stronger on the corners than in the slot, and the slot is exactly where Washington will crush in Week 1, and all season long. The Browns should remain stout against the run in 2026, and if Jacksonville is going to move the ball through the air, Washington stands to benefit going up against Myles Harden, who posted the fourth-lowest coverage grade amongst qualified corners in 2025, per PFF.

 

 

 

NFL DFS WR Fade for Week 1

Drake London - DraftKings: $6,500 | FanDuel: $7,900

I’m out on Tua Tagovailoa, and therefore, that makes me out on London for the time being, starting in Week 1. It’s also not the easiest matchup, as Pittsburgh can get pressure on the QB. Tagovailoa isn’t great under pressure, and Pittsburgh has two solid perimeter corners in Jamel Dean and Joey Porter Jr. When pressured last season, Tagovailoa had a 58.4 passer rating and 6:7 TD/INT ratio, per FantasyPoints Data.

NFL DFS Week 1 WR Play of the Week

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $7,500

After allowing the third-worst EPA/Pass last season, the Commanders will hope that Amik Robertson and Rasul Douglas can help fix a leaky secondary. I’m not convinced that those two can do that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington is a secondary we target a bunch in 2026. I envision that they’ll continue to play a bunch of zone under Dan Quinn, and in 2025, DeVonta Smith posted a healthy 2.27 yards per route run against zone coverage. With no A.J. Brown, Smith is the clear-cut alpha in this passing attack, and he should be treated as such. Smash spot here in Week 1.

DraftKings vs. FanDuel WR Picks for Week 1

Scoring on the two sites is different, so it’s not always an apples-to-apples comparison when looking at the sites and seeing Player A is priced above Player B on one site, but it’s flipped on the other. However, it’s still worth noting nonetheless. Drake London is the fourth-highest-priced receiver on FanDuel, but he’s seventh over on DraftKings. Emeka Egbuka is priced lower than Ladd McConkey and Parker Washington on FanDuel, but more than both of them on DraftKings. If you’re looking to stack the Bucs-Bengals game, both Cincy receivers are quite pricy, but the Tampa Bay receivers come in at solid values, especially on DraftKings (Chris Godwin: $5,200). Week 1 pricing is usually as soft as it gets, especially at the top, and on DraftKings, this is the first time we get a sub-$8K Ja'Marr Chase since Week 6 of last season.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 1 WR Rankings

  1. Ja'Marr Chase
  2. Amon-Ra St. Brown
  3. DeVonta Smith
  4. Chris Olave
  5. Emeka Egbuka (possible later-week addition to the DFS WR Coach)
  6. Nico Collins
  7. Justin Jefferson
  8. Garrett Wilson
  9. Tee Higgins
  10. Ladd McConkey
  11. Zay Flowers
  12. Luther Burden
  13. Jameson Williams
  14. Drake London
  15. Rome Odunze
  16. Parker Washington
  17. Quentin Johnston
  18. Terry McLaurin
  19. Chris Godwin
  20. DK Metcalf