Updated Fantasy Football WR Rankings Week 2: Who to start, best sleepers, injuries, waiver wire picks at wide receiver

After all of the drama heading into Week 1 with holdouts from Brandon Aiyuk, CeeDee Lamb, and Ja'Marr Chase (technically, this one was a hold-in), and then an injury to Tee Higgins and a Sunday morning arrest of Tyreek Hill (traffic violation), it would have been nice to have escaped Week 1 without any new fantasy dilemmas popping up, but sometimes this game just isn't nice. 

That was certainly the case for Puka Nacua and managers that were counting on him for Week 1 and maybe beyond. Nacua went down with a knee injury (the same knee that caused him to miss most of the preseason) and had to be carted off the field. He was ruled out for the remaining of the game, but his exact status is unclear. Even before the injury, it looked like all the rumors were true and Cooper Kupp was back as Matthew Stafford's No. 1 target. If Nacua is going to miss time, that will only further entrench him as the team's WR1. 

There were also some sky-high expectations on a pair of rookie wide receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers. While Nabers ended up compiling 66 yards on seven targets in a bad loss to the Vikings, Harrison was limited to one catch for 4 yards on just three targets. Nabers salvaged at least a mediocre day, but the expectations were much higher. Unfortunately, Daniel Jones looked just as bad as he ever has, and it will be tough to overcome quarterback play that bad. The Cardinals jumped out to a 17-3 lead on the Bills, but they failed to score another offensive touchdown the rest of the way. Maybe that's because Harrison had only three targets! This is just one week, so there's no need to panic, but we may have to temper expectations for a bit. 

These rankings take into account what really matters from Week 1's action, and we toss the other stats and stories that won't matter as much in the long run. We can't overreact to such a small sample size, but we can't ignore it either. 

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Fantasy WR Rankings Week 2: Who to start, sit at wide receiver

Rankings based on PPR scoring. These rankings were updated on Sept. 15 following the release of inactives. 

Italicized players have already played this week.

What are the notable WR rankings changes?

The biggest news we received Sunday morning regarding the wide receiver position was that A.J. Brown has officially been ruled out for Monday night against the Falcons. It was a concern that this might be a game-time decision, but now Brown managers can make the appropriate roster decisions. This also vaults Devonta Smith all the way up to WR9. Brown had to sit against the Bucs during the Wild Card Round of last season's playoffs, and Smith hauled in 8 of 12 targets for 148 yards. Philly should lean on him heavily, but expect increased usage from tight end Dallas Goedert, running back Saquon Barkley, and relatively new addition Jahan Dotson. 

While there have been some shifts in the rankings for Week 2, most of the changes were made after digging deeper into the stats and film. Given the continued uncertainty with Christian McCaffrey and the possibility that Brandon Aiyuk may still be shaking off some rust, Deebo Samuel jumped up seven spots to WR10. His versatility should come in very handy against a tricky Vikings defense coached by Brian Flores. 

Rashee Rice also rose up the charts as he jumped six spots to WR12. Rice had a stellar opening week racking up 103 yards on seven catches. Digging deeper, he caught five of those seven balls on slant routes for 94 yards. With a speedster like Xavier Worth outside (as well as Hollywood Brown when healthy), and Travis Kelce demanding plenty of attention, Rice could be the big beneficiary of a lot of open space to operate in on these slants. 

Long-term, we're not panicking on Marvin Harrison Jr., but we're still plenty concerned heading into his Week 2 matchup against the Rams. While the Rams' secondary was roasted by Jameson Williams, it did pretty successfully contain Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta, so it's not a given that Sunday's matchup will be an ideal bounceback for the rookie. It will be interesting to see if they run more plays designed specifically for him, but until we see some concrete evidence, he has dropped to WR17. 

Demarcus Robinson was the biggest mover, jumping 15 spots to WR45. Tyler Johnson surprisingly tallied 79 yards on 5 catches after Puka Nacua went down with a knee injury. But Demarcus Robinson is still the better bet with a week to prepare for this situation. Robinson was still on the field more and has been with Stafford and the system longer. Like Johnson, Robinson was targeted seven times, hauling in four catches for 42 yards. 

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Who are the best fantasy WRs Week 2?

We'll spotlight a couple of guys we mentioned in the introduction. Chase was probably the biggest question mark heading into the release of inactives Sunday morning. Despite barely getting in any practice time the entire preseason and recovering from an illness, Chase suited up and hauled in all six of his targets for 62 yards. With Tampa Bay on deck, we have Chase as our WR5 this week. It's unknown whether we'll see Tee Higgins after he sat out with a hamstring injury, but either way, Chase is in the conversation to be the top WR for the week. 

Tyreek Hill will be a fixture in the top-3 most of the season, but in what's expected to be a high-scoring affair, there's no one else we really considered as our WR1 this week. The Bills have historically held Hill in check, but this Bills defense is weaker than it has been in a while, so we're not betting against the Cheetah. 

Despite struggling at times against the Rams, we think Amon-Ra St. Brown will bounce back in a big way against Tampa Bay. CeeDee Lamb is matchup-proof at this point, and despite the Saints shutting down the Panthers, this will be a different animal to defend. And Justin Jefferson rounds out the rest of the top-5, as Sam Darnold looked solid against a weak Giants squad. San Francisco will be a much tougher test, but Minnesota will likely be playing from behind, which should lead to more than just six targets in Week 2. 

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Who are the best fantasy WR waiver pickups Week 2?

While Malik Nabers may have underperformed expectations by a bit, Wan'Dale Robinson saw a whopping 12 targets. He hauled in six of them for 44 yards and added 14 more yards on a run. The Giants were trailing just about the entire game, so he may not always see this much volume, but it was encouraging enough to want to see more. Plus, he can contribute in the running game and could be used in gadget plays as well. 

With Puka Nacua going down, Demarcus Robinson becomes an option for the Rams as well. He was already locked in as their WR3, but he'll likely see more volume now if Nacua misses time. Tyler Johnson saw a lot of run in Nacua's absence as well, but Robinson is the better bet for consistent usage. 

Who are the best fantasy WR sleepers Week 2?

Not sure if many managers will be sleeping on him after going off for 100+ yards receiving and a touchdown, but Jameson Williams flew up the rankings compared to Week 1, and he's now the WR36. He gets another soft defensive matchup against the Buccaneers after torching the Rams. While many may have left him on the bench this week waiting to see his usage, he can confidently be played in 3WR leagues or as a Flex option. 

Ladd McConkey only tallied 39 receiving yards, but that did lead the Chargers. He also led the team in targets with 7 and receptions with 5. Antonio Pierce had the Raiders playing some solid defense, but next up for the Chargers are the lowly Panthers. If McConkey gets similar usage against Carolina, expect a much bigger day. 

What are the biggest WR injuries Week 2?

Puke Nacua was the biggest injury by far at the wide receiver position, and we're assuming he's out indefinitely until we hear more. 

Tee Higgins' hamstring injury is another one to closely monitor. We have him out of our rankings for now, but if he does get some favorable news this week and is able to start, he'll be back in the WR2 conversation. If he continues to sit, Andrei Iosivas is someone to keep an eye on.