Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings: Predicting the 3 Top Wide Receivers

Heaven help you if your first fantasy matchup comes down to the performance of a single wide receiver. They are a tricky and oftentimes frustrating breed, as you just never really know what you're going to get from them on a weekly basis.

Then again, there are exceptions to the rule.

While most wide receivers are going to be hit-or-miss from week to week, there are a couple every week who are pretty much locks for studly performances.

Let it be known right here and now that I'm no fortune-teller. I am, however, a guy with a couple of educated guesses about which three receivers are going to be fantasy goldmines in Week 1 of the NFL season.

3. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

I'm not so sure Fitzgerald is worth the money the Cardinals are going to be paying him going forward, but I do think it's a testament to his skill that he managed to notch 1,000 yards receiving last season despite having passes thrown to him by Curly, Larry and Moe.

Those three are gone now. In their place is Kevin Kolb, and he made it abundantly clear during the preseason that he's going to try to get the ball to Fitzgerald before he does anything else. It's almost as if he had to learn a lesson the hard way.

But no matter. This is a trend that will continue on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, and I foresee Fitzgerald catching plenty of passes.

Prediction: eight catches, 135 yards, one touchdown.

2. Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers passed for over 4,700 yards last season. If he'd had Vincent Jackson to throw to for 16 games instead of five, he may have passed for over 5,000 yards.

Because Jackson is actually going to play this year, I guess that makes 5,000 yards Rivers' goal this year. And it will all start on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

I don't have a huge gripe with Minnesota's defense, but it's pretty apparent that Jackson is a matchup problem. At 6'5," he's bigger than both of Minnesota's two top corners. Antoine Winfield is a mere 5'9" and Cedric Griffin is just 6'0."

That would be enough of an advantage for Jackson, but he also has Philip Rivers throwing to him.

Did I mention Jackson has Philip Rivers throwing to him?

Prediction: 10 catches, 120 yards, two touchdowns. 

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

He is Megatron! Fear him, foolish humans!

Especially if you're a foolish human who happens to play cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday, you're going to be going up against a guy who's 6'5" and nearly 240 pounds.

That would be hard enough, but Megatron is going to have a healthy Matthew Stafford throwing to him. The two of them form one of the deadliest quarterback-receiver tandems in the league.

Yes, I'm well aware that the Bucs have a pretty good secondary. That matters not when Megatron is on the field.

Prediction: 12 catches, 150 yards, two touchdowns.