2012 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 1
By: Athlon Sports | 9/5/12, 2:03 PM EDT
It's been seven long months, but fantasy football and our fantasy football positional rankings are back!
Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.
The good news for fantasy owners was that Hakeem Nicks, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, each of whom dealt with different injuries during the preseason, all played on Wednesday night. The bad news, unfortunately, is that all three of them were out-performed by Kevin Ogletree, who didn't even make our wide receiver rankings (below).
With the Cowboys-Giants opener now in the rear-view mirror, the focus shifts to Sunday's and Monday's games. To that end, Calvin Johnson, who led the league in receiving yards and finished third in touchdowns last season, should get off to another strong start in Week 1 as his Lions host St. Louis. Will other top pass-catchers like Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Julio Jones, Brandon Marshall, Roddy White, Wes Welker, Greg Jennings and others follow suit, or will another "unknown" like Ogletree steal the spotlight?
2012 NFL Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings — Wide Receivers
| Rk | Player | Team | OPPONENT |
| 1 | Calvin Johnson | DET | vs. STL |
| 2 | Andre Johnson | HOU | vs. MIA |
| 3 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | vs. SEA |
| 4 | Julio Jones | ATL | at KC |
| 5 | Brandon Marshall | CHI | vs. IND |
| 6 | Victor Cruz | NYG | vs. DAL (Wed.) |
| 7 | Roddy White | ATL | at KC |
| 8 | Wes Welker | NE | at TEN |
| 9 | Greg Jennings | GB | vs. SF |
| 10 | Dez Bryant | DAL | at NYG (Wed.) |
| 11 | A.J. Green | CIN | at BAL (Mon.) |
| 12 | Percy Harvin | MIN | vs. JAC |
| 13 | Antonio Brown | PIT | at DEN |
| 14 | Steve Smith | CAR | at TB |
| 15 | Marques Colston | NO | vs. WAS |
| 16 | Hakeem Nicks | NYG | vs. DAL (Wed.) |
| 17 | Jordy Nelson | GB | vs. SF |
| 18 | Vincent Jackson | TB | vs. CAR |
| 19 | Jeremy Maclin | PHI | at CLE |
| 20 | Dwayne Bowe | KC | vs. ATL |
| 21 | Stevie Johnson | BUF | at NYJ |
| 22 | Torrey Smith | BAL | vs. CIN (Mon.) |
| 23 | Miles Austin | DAL | at NYG (Wed.) |
| 24 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | at NO |
| 25 | Mike Wallace | PIT | at DEN |
| 26 | Eric Decker | DEN | vs. PIT |
| 27 | Reggie Wayne | IND | at CHI |
| 28 | Nate Washington | TEN | vs. NE |
| 29 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | vs. PIT |
| 30 | DeSean Jackson | PHI | at CLE |
| 31 | Brandon Lloyd | NE | at TEN |
| 32 | Malcom Floyd | SD | at OAK (Mon.) |
| 33 | Santonio Holmes | NYJ | vs. BUF |
| 34 | Robert Meachem | SD | at OAK (Mon.) |
| 35 | Lance Moore | NO | vs. WAS |
| 36 | Michael Crabtree | SF | at GB |
| 37 | Darrius Heyward-Bey | OAK | vs. SD (Mon.) |
| 38 | Justin Blackmon | JAC | at MIN |
| 39 | Titus Young | DET | vs. STL |
| 40 | Danny Amendola | STL | at DET |
| 41 | Denarius Moore | OAK | vs. SD (Mon.) |
| 42 | Kendall Wright | TEN | vs. NE |
| 43 | Sidney Rice | SEA | at ARI |
| 44 | Anquan Boldin | BAL | vs. CIN (Mon.) |
| 45 | Brandon LaFell | CAR | at TB |
| 46 | Greg Little | CLE | vs. PHI |
| 47 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | at ARI |
| 48 | Mike Williams | TB | vs. CAR |
| 49 | Randy Moss | SF | at GB |
| 50 | Laurent Robinson | JAC | at MIN |
| 51 | Randall Cobb | GB | vs. SF |
| 52 | Mario Manningham | SF | at GB |
| 53 | Davone Bess | MIA | at HOU |
| 54 | Jon Baldwin | KC | vs. ATL |
| 55 | Leonard Hankerson | WAS | at NO |
| 56 | Nate Burleson | DET | vs. STL |
| 57 | Rueben Randle | NYG | vs. DAL (Wed.) |
| 58 | Austin Collie | IND | at CHI |
| 59 | Eddie Royal | SD | at OAK (Mon.) |
| 60 | Kevin Walter | HOU | vs. MIA |
| 61 | David Nelson | BUF | at NYJ |
| 62 | Andre Roberts | ARI | vs. SEA |
| 63 | Santana Moss | WAS | at NO |
| 64 | Braylon Edwards | SEA | at ARI |
Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:
OFFENSIVE SCORING
All touchdowns are 6 points
1 point for 25 yards passing
1 point for 10 yards rushing/receiving
Receptions are .5 points
Interceptions/fumbles are minus-2 points
Additional Week 1 Positional Rankings
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Tight Ends
Kickers
Defense/Special Teams
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