Fantasy Football Week 2: Top 5 wide receivers to start

Week 2 of the NFL season is here. Many of you are probably putting the final touches on your fantasy lineup for the weekend. But, before you do that, take a look at the top 5 wide receivers to start this week.

When it comes to fantasy football, the largest inconsistencies usually come from the wide receiver position. Well, unless you have your hands on some the league’s best wideouts.

However, even those can’t miss guys like Antonio Brown or DeAndre Hopkins will have games where you can’t believe how bad they did. Last week’s edition of “top five wide receivers to start” is a perfect example of that.

Only one player that was mentioned in that article finished as a top-five fantasy receiver in ESPN PPR standard leagues in Week 1, Michael Thomas. Brown and Keenan Allen finished top 10, while Hopkins and A.J. Green finished outside of the top 15.

Picking which wide receivers to go with is highly dependent upon matchups. So, scroll through and read to see who lands in this week’s top five wide receivers to start in fantasy football.

5. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

Two words: Big and Play. Yes, Tyreek Hill is undoubtedly the most dangerous big playmaker in the NFL. That exact reason may also be why so many fantasy team owners may be wary of this explosive star.

Hill isn’t necessarily a player who will rack up a lot of catches. Rather, he will catch 3-8 balls, but for a ton of yards.

In Week 1, Hill had himself a massive Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers. He caught seven passes for 169 yards and two scores, which resulted in 42.3 fantasy points. He was the highest-scoring wide receiver in ESPN PPR standard scoring leagues.

While Hill has success from the wide receiver position, he also adds to his fantasy value due to his special teams play. He is a major threat in the return game and that can be seen with his punt return for a TD against the Chargers.

Next: 4. Julio Jones

4. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

Fans all over the country saw Julio Jones have a big game when the Atlanta Falcons opened up the NFL regular season in Philadelphia against the Eagles. He hauled in 10 catches for 169 yards.

Per usual, Jones was Matt Ryan‘s most popular target in that Falcons’ loss to the reigning Super Bowl champs. Jones was targeted a whopping 19 times, which is a lot considering he was only on the field for just a little bit more than 81 percent of snaps.

However, that above point is the one reason that Jones didn’t have a bigger day. The Falcons left fantasy owners perplexed because the team consistently would take the superstar wide receiver out of the game while in the red zone. Therefore, Jones didn’t have the opportunity to get fantasy owners more points via touchdowns, as he was only targeted in these situations three times.

Jones will almost certainly have to be featured in the red zone in Week 2 for two reasons. One, the Falcons looked awful in the red zone. Two, fans will lose their minds if Jones continues to be brought to the sideline in red zone packages.

Next: 3. Michael Thomas

3. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints may have lost their Week 1 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But, they did supply fantasy owners with some huge days.

Both Drew Brees and Michael Thomas finished the second highest fantasy scorers for their respective positions. Brees finished behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, while Thomas’ 38 points was second to Tyreek Hill.

Regardless, Thomas had one of the biggest days we have seen. He caught 16 balls for 180 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Week 2 is lining up to look like another big day for the Brees to Thomas connection. The Saints don’t want to fall to 0-2, so Thomas will look to be a handful for the Cleveland Browns secondary in Week 2.

Next: 2. Antonio Brown

2. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Antonio Brown comes in at number two because the Pittsburgh Steelers looked out of sync in Week 1. Of course, that may be expected in the first game of the season. However, Ben Roethlisberger looked less than motivated during the Steelers tie to the Browns.

Brown still had a steady day. He accumulated 24.3 fantasy points and caught nine catches for 93 yards and a score on 16 targets.

The Steelers have a favorable matchup in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs allowed Chargers’ wide receives to catch 16 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

While that isn’t an incredible amount, it sets Brown up well. If Big Ben can limit the turnovers, then Brown will have a big Sunday against the Chiefs.

Next: 1. Odell Beckham Jr

1. Odell Beckham Jr, New York Giants

On Sunday, Odell Beckham Jr. laced his cleats up for the first time since his sseason-endinginjury last year. Boy, did he look good.

OBJ didn’t skip a beat during his first game action in months. Oh, yeah, he also went for 100+ receiving yards against one of, if not the best defense in the NFL.

Beckham went for 111 receiving yards, caught 11 passes and scored 22 fantasy points. While he wasn’t primarily matched up against Jalen Ramsey, he still did well against a top tier defensive secondary.

The New York Giant gets set to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, which means the Cowboys defensive backs will need to step up mightily if they hope to contain Beckham. While the Cowboys played a nice defensive game in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, trying to hold Beckham and the Giants offensive weapons in check is a much harder task.