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When the Chiefs and Packers got rid of Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams without replacing them with viable No. 1 options this past offseason, there was a lot of talk in the Fantasy community about things like "vacated targets," and a lot written about the "opportunity" guys like Mecole Hardman, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, and JuJu Smith-Schuster (among others) had to step in become must-start Fantasy options because of those absences.

So far, none of those players have managed it yet, and we got some more examples in Week 2 of why vacated targets and opportunity don't necessarily matter all that much at wide receiver. The Colts were missing Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, and they had one player reach even 40 receiving yards against the Jaguars this week. Similarly, the Buccaneers were missing Chris Godwin and Julio Jones, and Mike Evans had 61 yards before being ejected from the game. Russell Gage stepped up for 28 yards, while Breshad Perriman had 45 – at least he had a touchdown. 

The point? Unlike at running back, where simply being on the field means you've got a pretty good chance of literally being handed the ball a bunch of times, wide receivers have to be good enough to get open often enough for their quarterback to find them and then do something with the targets they inevitably earn. Sometimes, guys really do step up when the opportunity becomes available and emerge as breakouts, but when that's the primary – let alone the only – case for a player's Fantasy appeal, you should be pretty skeptical of them.

For what it's worth, I think Smith-Schuster can still become a viable Fantasy option, and I don't want to write off Gage entirely – he was one of those players who actually did take advantage of an opportunity for a bigger target share with Atlanta last season. But, it's worth keeping in mind that, while "opportunity" can be a viable tie-breaker when setting your lineup, you shouldn't just automatically start a player because his better teammates are out. Lazard, Gage and Smith-Schuster are decent starting options this week, but none of them are owed a spot in your lineup. They've still gotta earn it, and none have so far. 

Here are my top-60 rankings for wide receiver in Week 3 help you make those decisions. 

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