Be forewarned, you’re going to hear a lot about “explosive plays” in this article. Yes, I finally found a really good source for this stat, why do you ask? While you ideally should be starting the guys you drafted in your fantasy football drafts, maybe you’re feeling itchy about a wide receiver or two as you head into week one. If that’s the case, check out these three wide receiver sleepers available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues. To make life easier on our deep divers, we also include a wide receiver available in at least 90% of Yahoo! leagues!
Marquise Goodwin: Week One Wide Receiver Sleeper
at Tampa Bay, 26% Owned
The Bucs were one of four teams last season to allow an explosive play (20+ yards) on 10%+ of pass plays against them. The San Francisco 49ers are built to chunk you apart, with the notable exception of deep ball threat Marquise Goodwin. Extremely irresponsible reporting led to rumors that Marquise Goodwin was on the chopping block, but he maintained his role on the 49ers roster as the deep threat (because that role was never really in doubt).
The 49ers have a deep and diverse receiving corps for the first time in a long time. While that’s good for Jimmy G, trying to pin down a guy will prove difficult. Luckily, Kyle Shanahan is no slouch, and he knows that the Buccaneers have an extraordinarily suspect defense and secondary. They allowed the eleventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers last season, and most of that came through the deep ball. They allowed the fourth-highest rate of 20+ receiving yard plays last season, and that is Marquise Goodwin’s purview in the 49ers’ offense. He’ll get his first season off on the right foot, and you can reap the rewards.
DaeSean Hamilton: Week One Wide Receiver Sleeper
at Oakland, 17% Owned
Hamilton is Marquise Goodwin’s opposite, in that his value stems from his low average depth of target. Joe Flacco has always had a safety blanket player that he peppers with targets. It’s been Dennis Pitta, Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, and Derrick Mason. It had been incorrectly labeled a TE thing with Flacco when in actuality, it’s a dump-off receiver thing. The Broncos have three healthy wide receivers, and Hamilton is the good possession guy among them. Down the stretch last season, he had 38 targets in the last four games, playing on a 100 reception pace. Hamilton makes for a great PPR target to fill in early in the season if you ended up with someone like Golden Tate, and you’re in an exceptionally desperate spot.
Albert Wilson: Week One Wide Receiver Sleeper
vs Baltimore, 5% Owned
It’s almost time for Bert to get what the fantasy football community has tried to will into existence: a high target volume. The Dolphins are in full tank this season. They dumped Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills for a haul of picks, tanking their deep passing game. Their receiving corps is kind of a mess, and in the center of that mess stands Albert Wilson. He has the potential to be a free glue guy for your roster. Wilson has some exceptional advanced stats in his back pocket, including his 2018 limited campaign that saw him garnering the fourth-highest yards per route run since 2014.
Need some other sleeper advice for fantasy football week one? Check out our other weekly articles below (updated as they publish)
Wacko for Flacco (QB Sleepers)
…And Justice For Hill (RB Sleepers)
Waller, I Hardly Know ‘Er! (TE Sleepers)
(Header Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marquise_Goodwin_49ers.jpg under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)
