Fantasy Football WR picks feat Christian Kirk, George Pickens and company

Wide receivers have always been the deepest position in fantasy football. With the emergence of the modern passing game, they have become even more valuable.

Their massive potential scores can often have a direct impact on the outcome of a fantasy matchup, making it more crucial than ever to start the right wide receivers. Determining who to target and fade each week is largely dependent upon their projected roles within their offense, as well as their direct weekly matchup, among many other factors.

Sportskeeda's Start/Sit Optimizer combines all of the variables and generates fantasy football projections for all players. The tool helped create a list of wide receivers to ideally start or sit in fantasy rosters for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.

Fantasy Football Week 1 Start 'Em: Wide receivers

Week 1 WR starts

#1 Mike Williams

Despite playing in a crowded Los Angeles Chargers' offense, Mike Williams makes for a solid wide receiver in fantasy lineups for Week 1. His matchup against the Miami Dolphins is projected to be the highest-scoring game of the week. Williams is a major red zone target, giving him a favorable situation in this enticing matchup.

#2 Christian Kirk

While the Jacksonville Jaguars added Calvin Ridley during the offseason, this shouldn't affect Christian Kirk's role too much. He played most of his offensive snaps in the slot last year and should continue to do so, with Ridley lining up on the outside. Kirk enjoyed a breakout season last year and could take another step forward in year two of his new system.

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#3 Courtland Sutton

With Jerry Jeudy expected to miss Week 1 with an injury, Courtland Sutton will likely serve as the Denver Broncos' WR1 in Sean Payton's favorable offensive system. The rest of their wide receivers have little experience, so Sutton could be in line for a massive target share.

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For managers looking to acquire any of these targets, make sure to use the fantasy football trade analyzer.

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Fantasy Football Week 1 Sit 'Em: Wide receivers

Week 1 WR sits

#1, George Pickens

While George Pickens appears to have a bright fantasy football outlook this year, Week 1 doesn't provide an ideal starting situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers' potential future star. His challenging matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, one of the NFL's best defenses, is one of the reasons why.

#2 Skyy Moore

With two of their top wide receivers departing during the offseason, there are plenty of additional targets available for the Kansas City Chiefs. The issue is that they have plenty of options to distribute them to. Skyy Moore is one of the best bets to emerge as their WR1 this year, but it's probably best to keep him as a bench stash in fantasy football for now.

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#3 Juju Smith-Schuster

Juju Smith-Schuster downgraded to a much less favorable offensive system during the offseason, going from the Kansas City Chiefs to the New England Patriots. While he will have less target competition, that may not matter on one of the NFL's worst passing teams . He can be avoided in Week 1, especially in a tough matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Week 1 WR rankings for 2023 fantasy football

1. Justin Jefferson
2. Tyreek Hill
3. Amon-Ra St. Brown
4. Ja'Marr Chase
5. CeeDee Lamb
6. Stefon Diggs
7. Chris Olave
8. Jaylen Waddle
9. Keenan Allen
10. Garrett Wilson
11. Davante Adams
12. AJ Brown
13. DK Metcalf
14. Calvin Ridley
15. DeVonta Smith
16. Chris Godwin
17. Tyler Lockett
18. Amari Cooper
19. Drake London
20. Tee Higgins
21. Christian Watson
22. DeAndre Hopkins
23. DJ Moore
24. Deebo Samuel
25. Diontae Johnson
26. Mike Williams
27. Brandon Aiyuk
28. Christian Kirk
29. Mike Evans
30. Courtland Sutton