Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs are two members of the young receiving quartet for the Green Bay Packers, and while they aren’t viewed highly in the fantasy football world, the combination of explosive potential and a superstar quarterback in Jordan Love means fantasy managers should not immediately dismiss either of these two in their lineups for this week.
Here is the fantasy outlook for both Wicks and Doubs heading into Week 1.
Week 1 Fantasy Outlook for Dontayvion Wicks
Wicks enters this season as the WR59 in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings.
Coming off a productive rookie season, Wicks still finds himself outside the three-receiver starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean he should be immediately dismissed as a potential pickup for fantasy managers.
And with one of the great unknowns surrounding the Packers’ wide receiver core being healthy, Wicks should be considered a candidate to crack WR3 in fantasy lineups. Last season he averaged 14.9 yards per reception, enjoying a catch percentage of 67.2% on 39 receptions.
While he finished last season fifth among Packers’ wide receivers in fantasy points per game — ppg — (8.0), Wicks had the third-highest fantasy point total among Green Bay wide receivers (119.8) because so many Packers missed time with injuries.
Wicks’ deep-ball capability cannot be overlooked, either. All five of his touchdown receptions last season — including the playoffs — were from 10 or more yards away, including three of his touchdowns covering 20 or more yards.
Week 1 Fantasy Outlook for Romeo Doubs
Doubs is the WR50 in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings. He is listed as questionable for Friday’s game with a hand injury and was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday.
Doubs is yet another in a long list of young, productive wide receivers for the Packers (Doubs is 24 years old).
READ MORE: Fantasy Injury Update — Doubs and MarShawn Lloyd Impacting Week 1 Rankings
On a team with injury issues all over the place at the wide receiver position, Doubs holds the distinction of being the only Green Bay wide receiver to play in all 17 games last season. In addition, his 16 starts led all Packers receivers.
And he had a productive season in 2023, finishing with 59 receptions for 674 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Doubs’ eight touchdown receptions were tied (with Jayden Reed) for the most on the Packers last season.
Doubs really showed off his talents in the playoffs, with 10 receptions for 234 yards combined in the two games, an average of 23.4 yards a reception. This included a 151-yard receiving effort in a win over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round, a game that saw Doubs finish with an impressive 27.1 fantasy points.
Who Should I Start in Week 1?
The Packers proved last season they do not mind spreading the ball around, with four different wide receivers finishing with at least 28 receptions and four touchdown catches.
The Philadelphia Eagles, their Week 1 opponent, ranked 29th in pass defense a season ago, allowing 252.7 pass yards per game, so filling up a fantasy lineup with Packers wide receivers is hardly an outlandish move.
The Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer projects Doubs as the better choice of these two receivers. Doubs is projected to finish with three receptions, 32 receiving yards, and 8.0 fantasy points.
Wicks, meanwhile, is projected to finish with two receptions for 33 receiving yards and 6.9 fantasy points.
Assuming he isn’t downgraded before Friday’s game, I would go with Doubs over Wicks in this matchup.