High-upside plays for Week 1 at wide receiver
KC Concepcion
The Cleveland Browns drafted a pair of rookies during the 2026 NFL Draft, but the one being discussed here is KC Concepcion for one very important reason. It is not often that a rookie gets the praise of his head coach, who says they are going to move him around and try getting Concepcion the ball in different ways on offense, and to his credit, that is exactly what happened during the preseason. With that in mind, although the quarterback situation in Cleveland is lackluster, getting fed the ball in different ways is a recipe for success in fantasy football at any position that the Browns may want to try him at.
Garrett Wilson
It is not often that you can call the team leader in receiving yards from a season ago a high-upside play in fantasy football, but when he is coming off of a season-ending injury and led the team with only 395 yards, it feels pseudo-appropriate to do so in a game that could be a defensive slugfest. Garrett Wilson is the top option for the New York Giants at wide receiver, and there are a lot of unknown players behind him. Given that his quarterback is Geno Smith, at least to begin the 2026 campaign, and he likes to pepper his top target, Wilson could be one of the only viable fantasy options in his game on Sunday.
Zavion Thomas
Zavion Thomas of the Chicago Bears is pretty much a dictionary definition of what a high-upside wide receiver play is in fantasy football. Thomas showed in the preseason that he is a gifted receiver who can break any play for a long touchdown. That alone is going to put him in the group of players that a fantasy owner could plug in any week.
However, there is something extra aiding that decision this week. Rome Odunze, a starting wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, is dealing with a calf injury and, while he is practicing at a limited capacity, could see less of a snap share than he otherwise would. The player who would most likely see an uptick in plays this week is Thomas, making him even more of a high-upside, boom-or-bust player.
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