Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Last-Minute Outlook for Flex Players

The flex spot offers fantasy football players some welcome versatility, but it also presents the week's toughest lineup calls.

Invented to include another skill player onto the starting squad, the flex position instead can feel like a cruel trick composed to torment fantasy managers. Here are eight leftover running backs, wide receivers and tight ends on your team. Now pick one.

It's the area most likely to make owners use their noggin when assembling their weekly lineup. If a player is worth using week in and week out, he's too good for your flex spot anyway, especially before you can steal unassuming studs off the waiver wire.

For these flex rankings, I'm going to exclude the top 20 running backs and top 20 wideouts, based on FantasyPros' Week 1 rankings. Chances are everyone in that group is owned and started at his actual position, so no need examining their flex appeal.

Also, if you have a tight end worth starting, you're starting him at tight end. With all due apologies to the one person who drafted Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, they were not considered for these rankings.

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Cordarrelle Patterson	at St. Louis Rams
2	Rashad Jennings	at Detroit Lions
3	Jeremy Maclin	Jacksonville Jaguars
4	Emmanuel Sanders	Indianapolis Colts
5	Joique Bell	New York Giants
6	Ryan Matthews	at Arizona Cardinals
7	Chris Johnson	Oakland Raiders
8	Fred Jackson	at Chicago Bears
9	Kendall Wright	at Kansas City Chiefs
10	Eric Decker	Oakland Raiders
11	Steven Jackson	New Orleans Saints
12	Mike Wallace	New England Patriots
13	T.Y. Hilton	at Denver Broncos
14	Reggie Wayne	at Denver Broncos
15	Bernard Pierce	Cincinnati Bengals
16	Torrey Smith	Cincinnati Bengals
17	Julian Edelman	at Miami Dolphins
18	Golden Tate	New York Giants
19	Pierre Thomas	at Atlanta Falcons
20	DeSean Jackson	at Houston Texans

Bernard Pierce, RB, Baltimore Ravens (vs. Cincinnati Bengals)

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With Ray Rice suspended for the opening two games, Bernard Pierce gets an opportunity to showcase himself as a starting running back. Unfortunately for the third-year rusher, he must prove his worth against the stifling Cincinnati Bengals.

Per ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley, Pierce is ready to steal the spotlight with a full slate of carries.

"I'm excited as I can be," Pierce said. "At the end of the day, I can't really overthink it. I have to make sure I stay mentally locked in and focused because this could possibly be my only shot. I got to make it count." 

If only he received an easier foe against whom he could pad his numbers. One of the league's stingiest rushing defenses, the Bengals ranked fifth with 96.5 yards allowed per game last year. Opponents accumulated just six rushing touchdowns against them, a mark below which only three squads slid.

While Rice is vulnerable to losing touches after a bad year, Pierce played just as poorly behind a troubled offensive line last season. After both figured prominently into Baltimore's Super Bowl run, neither provided any fantasy value in 2013.

Player	Carries	Rushing Yards	YPC	TDs
Ray Rice	214	660	3.1	4
Bernard Pierce	152	436	2.9	2

For may fantasy owners, getting a chance is enough to warrant consideration at running back. Kyle Elfrink made that argument on SiriusXM Fantasy's channel.

Owners will need an alternative with a lucrative matchup to sit a featured back, but those starting Pierce will need him to get a goal-line score to wring out Week 1 value.

Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans (at Kansas City Chiefs)

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Only 14 wide receivers were targeted more than Kendall Wright last season. Just six amassed more than his 94 catches, and five of them are treated as fantasy royalty.

Rank	Player	Receptions
1	Pierre Garcon	113
2	Antonio Brown	110
3	Andre Johnson	109
4	Julian Edelman	105
5	Brandon Marshall	100
6	A.J. Green	98
7	Kendall Wright	94
8	Dez Bryant	93
9	Demaryius Thomas	92
10	Alshon Jeffery	89

So where's the love for Wright, a 24-year-old entering the mystical third season that analysts insist causes wideouts to develop magical powers?

Sure, he's only 5'10", so Justin Hunter makes for a much juicer source of touchdowns, but that source of production between the 20s makes Wright a luscious choice nonetheless, particularly in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues.

Right now, you may be thinking, "That's all well and dandy, but play him against last year's top fantasy defense? No thank you, my good sir." That's totally how you talk. Don't hide it.

To that, my fellow chum, I say take a closer look at last year's stats. The Kansas City Chiefs' 11-5 record and slew of defensive scores is a bit misleading, and they actually ranked No. 26 in passing defense.

They also kicked out Brandon Flowers, giving Wright and Jake Locker one less cornerback to worry about on Sunday. Don't be surprised when an intriguing Tennessee offense led by new play-caller Ken Whisenhunt exposes Kansas City to begin the season.

Reggie Wayne, WR, Indianapolis Colts (at Denver Broncos)

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Hey guys, remember Reggie Wayne? Anyone? You know, the guy who caught 106 passes two years ago and could have approached 100 receptions again had his 2013 campaign not ended after seven games?

Because he's 35 years old, Wayne gets typecast as a declining, boring choice not worth anyone's time. Then there's the injury concern, even though he hadn't missed a game since 2001 before tearing his ACL last October.

Of course we can't ignore a 35-year-old tearing his ACL, but a healthy Wayne could be a massive steal. Before his season went down, Wayne reeled in 38 catches for 503 receiving yards. Prorate those numbers to a full season, and you get 86 catches and 1,149 yards.

Denver's No. 27 passing defense should improve considerably after bringing Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward aboard. The former's arrival could particularly spark problems for Wayne if the two line up against one another. 

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Yet the Broncos' already stout rushing defense should only get better with DeMarcus Ware, and the Indianapolis Colts couldn't run the ball if their lives depended on it. (Their season might, though.) Andrew Luck will air it out early and often, which means Wayne should get his number called at least enough to play in PPR formats.