2025 Fantasy Football Week 1 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em WR Picks ft. Xavier Worthy, Jayden Reed, and more

Week 1 of the 2025 fantasy football season is finally here, and managers should be working on their lineups. The wide receiver position has always been the deepest, but picking the right players to start and sit often has a major impact on the outcome of matchups.

Here are some of the best ones to target and fade this week.

Fantasy Football Week 1 WRs Start 'Em Picks

Week 1 starts (Source: Getty)

Managers should always start their top wide receivers that they selected early in their fantasy football drafts for Week 1 of any season. The most elite players deserve to overcome even the most difficult of matchups, but the same can;t be said for the next tier and beyond.

Deciding which players to target is largely based on weekly matchups and expected offensive roles based on their NFL team's situation. This helps managers narrow down their list of options to the most favorable wide receivers to use in fantasy football lineups each week.

Xavier Worthy is an excellent pick this week with Rashee Rice now suspended for the Kansas City Chiefs. His season-long outlook will depend upon Rice's workload when he eventually returns, but for now, he is fully expected to be the top target for Patrick Mahomes in a high-powered offense. He finished as the weekly WR16 or better in his final three games last year, giving Worthy plenty of upside.

Must Starts

• Ja'Marr Chase
• Justin Jefferson
• CeeDee Lamb
• Nico Collins
• Malik Nabers
• Drake London
• Puka Nacua
• AJ Brown
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Brian Thomas Jr.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• Ladd McConkey
• Tee Higgins
• Xavier Worthy
• Garrett Wilson
• Mike Evans
• Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Terry McLaurin
• DK Metcalf
• Courtland Sutton

DFS Picks

• Jayle Waddle
• Jerry Jeudy
• Ricky Pearsall
• Emeka Egbuka
• Rashid Shaheed

Fantasy Football Week 1 WRs Sit 'Em Picks

Week 1 sits (Source: Getty)

Determining fades in a given week of fantasy football is mostly associated with the risk factors that a player has in their weekly situation. This is especially true in Week 1 when expected workloads have yet to be defined.

Jayden Reed is an example of a wide receiver to avoid in the opening week of the 2025 season. The Green Bay Packers have a crowded offense, complicated even further by picking Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in the NFL draft. Reed's workload can't be trusted until a target hierarchy is established.

Must Sits

• Christian Kirk
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Jayden Reed
• Keenan Allen
• Tyler Lockett

DFS Fades

• Cooper Kupp
• Deebo Samuel
• Stefon Diggs
• Calvin Ridley
• Jakobi Meyers