Bengals Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Week 1 Outlook: Should You Start Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd With Joe Burrow Injured?
The Cincinnati Bengals boast arguably the best trio of receivers in the game with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. All are valuable fantasy assets, but that comes with the understanding that Joe Burrow is their quarterback.
Burrow has been dealing with a calf strain, but the latest news on the star QB is that he is trending toward playing on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
Burrow might not quite be at full strength if he plays, so does that hurt the value of any of the three receivers? All three are ranked inside the top 50 in our Week 1 receiver projections, but let's take a closer look at their outlooks.
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Ja’Marr Chase Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Chase is our third-ranked receiver in Week 1 of 2023 after a standout showing in 2022. He played in 12 games, hauling in 87 of his 134 targets for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns.
There’s no denying he is Burrow’s favorite target, with him drawing double-digit targets in all but three games last year. He played once against the Browns and was targeted 15 times, catching 10 passes for 119 yards and a score.
He’s being projected at nine targets, 6.1 catches, 73 yards and 0.6 touchdowns. He actually owns the highest touchdown projection total among receivers in Week 1, and is an obvious must-start in fantasy leagues with or without Burrow.
Tee Higgins Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Higgins also topped 1,000 receiving yards in 2022, finishing with 74 grabs on 109 targets for 1,029 yards and seven scores. He showed he could function as the team’s No. 1 option when Chase missed games.
Higgins does not draw as many targets as Chase does on a weekly basis, but he finished with anywhere from five to 13 targets when he played over 30% of the snaps. Higgins played in both games against the Browns in 2022, but only played one snap in the second matchup after sustaining an injury. In the first matchup, he tallied three catches on six targets for 49 yards. While it wasn’t a huge outing, he caught a touchdown in the game, something he did three times when he failed to reach 50 receiving yards.
Higgins is the 16th-rated receiver for Week 1, projected for six targets, 4.2 catches, 55 yards, and 0.4 touchdowns.
Tyler Boyd Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook
Boyd is our 47th-ranked receiver for Week 1 of the season. His production dipped a little bit in 2022, tallying 58 receptions for 762 yards and five touchdowns. Boyd was still targeted 82 times across 16 games, but his receiving yards were the lowest he has posted since 2017.
Boyd had four or more targets in all but two games, and in one of those games he played just two snaps. That game was Cincinnati’s second of the year against the Browns, so like Higgins, there’s really one game against Cleveland to draw on from 2022. Boyd caught three passes for 38 yards while being targeted five times in the first game. Fantasy managers that started him that week got bailed out when he caught a touchdown.
Boyd’s projection for Week 1 is four targets, 2.8 catches, 36 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Who Do I Start Week 1?
There probably isn’t a scenario out there in which you don’t start Chase if he’s healthy. Even with Burrow banged up, or out completely, you should be starting Chase. As mentioned before, Burrow likely isn’t going to be playing at full strength this coming weekend, and I think that bodes best for Chase. The best way to ensure Burrow’s health long term, along with giving the Bengals the best chance to perform well on offense and ultimately win, is to get the ball in the hands of Chase. That might mean some screens and shorter passes, but with as talented a playmaker Chase is, he’ll be able to turn some short receptions into big gains. The team might not throw as much as it usually does, but Chase is the most likely to score of any pass catcher on the team. Don’t overthink this, Chase should be starting.
Higgins is another guy you should be starting, regardless of the status of Burrow. Even if you drafted really well and have a couple of receivers ranked above him in the projections, at worst Higgins is worth your flex spot. Even if Burrow falls short of reaching 30 passing attempts, after averaging nearly 38 a game in 2022, there are still enough targets available for Higgins after Chase gets his.
Most weeks, I also think Boyd is a worthy starter for my fantasy team, but given Burrow’s injury and Boyd's trend downward in 2022, I’m staying away from Boyd if I can in Week 1. He’s going to be third in line for targets and unless the Bengals fall behind early and are forced to pass to get back into the game, I don’t think he’ll get enough catches to put up a big game. He could bail you out with a touchdown, but I’d try my luck with the No. 1 or No. 2 option on another team before turning to Boyd.
