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2014 Fantasy Football Daily Fix: Week 1 Wide Receivers

Daily Fantasy Baseball Fix

Welcome to Wide Receiver Wednesday at the Daily Fix! Each Wednesday of the NFL regular season I’ll provide you with several receiving options that are strong plays that week at DraftKings. Monday through Friday the Fix writers will provide you with a Daily Fix that covers each position, with a weekly roundup on Friday.

Not into the ‘Daily‘ thing yet? Let’s talk. It’s a ton of fun, you get to start new each week and pick your squad, and DraftKings has a great promo going right now where they’ll match your initial deposit up to $600. Do it. Oh, and you get a free year’s subscription to our premium content as well in the #FrontOffice.

The Wide Receiver position is loaded with options in this new, ever-prolific passing era of the NFL, so options abound. I’ll break it up into tiers, essentially, WR1’s, 2’s, 3’s and FLEX/deep options.

Your WR1 and WR2’s are no-brainer starts in your normal fantasy leagues. I’ll highlight them if they have an exceptional matchup or price. We’re likely going to find some inexpensive plays here week in a week out as well, due to the depth at the position. Scoring and other settings can be found here.WR1

Demaryius Thomas – DEN vs. IND ($8,100)

As if you needed another reason to feel good about Demaryius Thomas this week, the Wes Welker ‘Molly at The Derby’ news (allegedly, cough cough) means Thomas should see plenty of targets per usual Broncos game. A double-digit reception game with at least a score or 100+ yards feels pretty safe to assume here.

Brandon Marshall – CHI @ BUF ($7,600)

Did he just say he’s going to have a ‘Michael Jackson in his Thriller year’ type of season? There’s so much to like about that comment. I love Marshall this year, and you can expect to see him here in my Wide Receiver piece often. The Cutler-to-Marshall narrative is well known, yet based on reality. The Bears offense under Marc Trestman is elite, plain and simple, and that defense is anything but. It’ll keep the high octane Bears on the field, needing to outscore their opponents week in a week out to compete.

WR2

Michael Crabtree – SF @ DAL (6,100)

Perhaps the best route runner in the league, Michael Crabtree wakes up on September 7th and thinks it’s Christmas Day. What did Santa bring you, Michael? He brought you the Cowboys! Yes, the 49ers love to run the football, and they’ll continue to do so this season. But this guy here thinks they lean into their franchise quarterback a bit more this season. Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin are still around, but Crabtree is ready for a top 20 season at the position. His chemistry with Kaepernick is strong, and the two were able to work together this off-season, the first healthy one for Crabtree in quite some time. Look out, Dallas.

Eric Decker – NYJ vs. OAK ($5,200)

Eric Decker can play, people. The Jets new and perhaps only, offensive weapon will get his 2014 season up and running against the Raiders at home on Sunday. Decker is a force inside the red zone; he’s big, physical and a strong route runner, all of which serve him well in the end zone. I really like the price here, and suspect he’ll be closer to or above $6,000 for most of the season.

WR3

Emmanuel Sanders – DEN vs IND ($4,800)

Really, he’s a no-brainer, just like his teammate. The main beneficiary of the Welker suspension, Emmanuel Sanders won’t be a discount like this for long. He’s a must-play this week at this price. We know that Manning loves to spread it around, but there’s no doubt here, Sanders will eat.

Brandin Cooks – NO @ ATL ($4,500)

I’m all in on Brandin Cooks. It’s all the late night Pac-10 games I watched with him dominating every week that I can’t shake from my memory. He landed in the absolutely best spot he could have (though he’d look good in New England or Green Bay), and I think the Saints dialed it back in the preseason with Cooks. Sunday in Atlanta is the coming out party. 

FLEX

Mohamed Sanu – CIN @ BAL ($3,200)

My Fix colleague Gerard Martin and I discussed Sanu on the podcast this week, so don’t forget to check it out. I don’t love the player here, but I love the opportunity. With Marvin Jones lost for at least a month, Sanu steps in and should likely stay on the field for the majority of the snaps. He’ll face single coverage and the weak side of zones, and should get quite a few targets playing opposite of A.J. Green. At nearly basement bargain pricing, he’s an interesting play if you’ve loaded up elsewhere.

Allen Hurns – JAX @ PHI ($3,000)

My lottery ticket this week is Allen Hurns. This athletic freak had a great preseason and needs to build on the positive momentum if he’s going to carve out a serious role here this season. I like the chances of Jacksonville playing from behind, increasing the likelihood of Hurns getting some burn.

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