UPDATED: Sunday, September 17th at 9:40am ET

By taking a look at projected game and team totals, as well as our NFL DFS Week 2 player projections, we’ll get a good look at how we can best optimize the wide receiver position in our NFL DFS lineups. From superstar receivers to top DFS stacks, the NFL DFS WR Coach will have multiple plays at various pricing tiers to help construct your lineups. Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s DFS WR Coach, highlighting the top plays, values, and fades at the wide receiver position to help build your NFL DFS lineups for the main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel

 

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NFL DFS WR Top Tier Picks

Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

Thirteen targets. Ten receptions. Diggs is the guy in Buffalo, and if there were any questions about that after this offseason, they should be nonexistent at this juncture. He racked up 102 yards and a touchdown in that contest against the Jets, and now gets to face a Raiders team that held the Denver receivers at bay in Week 1. However, Russell Wilson was content to spread the ball around, whereas Josh Allen will find his guy (Diggs) whenever he wants. Buffalo moved Diggs around a lot in its Week 1 contest, meaning he’ll get to feast on all of the Las Vegas corners, and don’t be surprised if a double-move allows Diggs to get behind Peters (or someone else in this secondary) for a long touchdown.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions 

New year, same story for St. Brown. He caught six of nine targets for 71 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. He now gets to face off against the Seattle Seahawks at home, and that’s fantasy gold for two reasons. First, the Rams receivers (Tutu Atwell, Puka Nacua, and Van Jefferson) caught eight of 10 targets for 91 yards out of the slot in Week 1 against Seattle. The Rams torched Seattle in the middle of the field, and St. Brown will make a living there in this one. Secondly, Jared Goff has drastic home/road splits, and not only did St. Brown score all six of his touchdowns at home last year, but he averaged 7.3 receptions for 83.8 yards per game at home last year, compared to six receptions for 61.4 yards per game on the road.

Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

Allen dominated the wide receiver targets in Week 1, and I don’t expect Los Angeles to run it as much against Tennessee as they did last week. If Allen gets 25+ percent of the targets this week against the Titans, he’s going for 15+ fantasy points EASY! Allen moved all around the formation in Week 1, and outside of Roger McCreary, the Tennessee corners were as advertised in Week 1… Bad. Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton allowed passer ratings of 144.8 and 116.7 when targeted, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), and as a whole, the Tennessee secondary allowed the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers in Week 1. Tennessee is a pass-funnel defense, and Kellen Moore should adapt early and let his star QB air it out all over this Tennessee secondary.

NFL DFS WR Mid-Tier Picks

Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars 

Certified alpha. If there were any questions about Ridley, those have easily been quelled after a dominant Week 1 performance that saw him catch eight balls for 101 yards and a touchdown. Ridley now gets to face off against the Chiefs, who allowed 70+ yards and a score to Detroit’s WR1 Amon-Ra St. Brown in the season opener. Ridley primarily lined up out wide in Week 1, and I didn’t come away overly impressed with Kansas City’s boundary corners from that Week 1 matchup. Ridley was dominant against Indy’s zone coverage last week, but against the Chiefs, I expect him to win a good bit against man, if the Chiefs decide to let their boundary corners try to man up Jacksonville’s star wideout.

Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens 

Not only did Zay Flowers lead the Ravens in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, but he also played 84 percent of the snaps and cemented himself as one of the two primary receivers for the Ravens. In this game against the Bengals, the pace should be relatively upbeat, and the injury to J.K. Dobbins could mean that screens to Flowers become a prominent part of the passing attack, as a de facto extension of the run game. Against a stout Houston secondary, Flowers did a great job creating separation, and his shiftiness and ability with the ball in his hands was on full display, as he posted an average of six yards after the catch per reception and four missed tackles forced, per PFF. Yes, some of those numbers are boosted by his catches on screens, but if Baltimore is going to feed him screen after screen, his floor on DraftKings becomes elevated, thanks to the full point per reception setup over there.

Sunday Add: DJ Moore, Chicago Bears

It was a quiet Week 1 for Moore, but against a familiar foe, I expect much bigger things from him this afternoon. Chicago will struggle to run the ball a bit against Tampa Bay, and when Fields slings it around, Moore is going to be his top guy. Do yourself a favor, and while it's somewhat like comparing apples to oranges, go look at Moore's history against the Bucs, and you'll see that he just has something on this team! Kirk Cousins threw for 344 yards and Justin Jefferson had 150 yards in Week 1 against this team, so there's no reason why Moore shouldn't be on our radar this week.

NFL DFS WR Value Picks

Sunday Add: Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers

Last week, Romeo Doubs got the touchdowns, but with Green Bay being banged up on offense, they could manufacture some touches for Reed, and he has the talent to put up fantasy numbers. In Week 1, he saw five targets and one rushing attempt, so with injuries to the Green Bay offense, why can't Reed get us 5+ targets and a couple of carries in this one against Atlanta? At just $3,400 on DraftKings, he's a great value option today, if you want to zig while others zag to Doubs.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans 

Robert Woods has a role with the Texans, but it seems like Nico Collins is C.J. Stroud’s guy, which is something we heard about all through the preseason. In Week 1, he caught six of 11 targets for 80 yards, commanded a 26 percent target share, and held a massive percentage of the team’s total air yards. I doubt the Texans ideally see Stroud throwing it 44 times every week, and I expect to see more Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity for Collins to shine on a weekly basis. He took more snaps in the slot in Week 1 than he did at any point in 2022, so Houston may be exploring ways to move him around to get him the rock. Indy’s corners were abused in Week 1 by Calvin Ridley and Co., as Dallis Flowers, Kenny Moore, and Darrell Baker Jr. all allowed at least 66 percent of their targets to be caught, per PFF, while Flowers and Baker both allowed a passer rating of 115 or higher when targeted.

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

After Kadarius Toney experience in the season opener, we have to strongly consider Rice if you are looking to get exposure to one of the Kansas City receivers. He was tied for the lead amongst the Chiefs’ receivers with five targets, but his three receptions led the way, and he also found the end zone in his regular season debut. He wasn’t used a ton downfield, so hopefully that can change a bit, but he seems to be the most “trustworthy” receiver for Mahomes right now. You could also look to MVS, as he has the big play ability, but Rice could see more snaps this week, and in turn, more production. However, just understand that if Travis Kelce is back in the fold, Rice may be looking at five to seven targets on a best-case scenario.
 

NFL DFS WR Fades

Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts

If you are a season long fantasy player, you have to be thrilled about Pittman following Week 1, seeing as he hauled in eight of 11 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown, commanding an elite 28 percent target share. The problem here is that he has a tough matchup against a Houston secondary that was solid in Week 1 against Baltimore, and is the strength of this defense. Derek Stingley looked great in Week 1, Steven Nelson is a quality corner, and Tavierre Thomas is one of the most underrated nickel corners in the league. Furthermore, DeMeco Ryans has this defense flying around, and they put a lot of pressure on Lamar Jackson. When under pressure in Week 1, Anthony Richardson completed just 50 percent of his passes, posting a 62.0 passer rating, per PFF. This is going to be an ugly game, on all sides, and there are far better options for your DFS lineups than Pittman.