Wide Receiver Rankings (Part I)
Last year, we saw wide receivers emerge as crucial cogs in a well oiled fantasy football team. For the first time since the Rocky took down the evil Russian Drago, a wide receiver finished in the top 5 overall in scoring. Now, that receiver happened to be Randy Moss in a record breaking season that may never be seen again, but still, it happened. Wide Receivers are not as important as running backs or quarterbacks, but you’re going to be hard pressed to win your fantasy league without some solid ones. So with that, let’s get into the rankings:
1. Randy Moss (New England Patriots)- Randy Moss as the #1 ranked receiver for fantasy is more obvious than the fact that Peanut Butter & Jelly is the best lunctime meal as a kid (anyone who says otherwise is allergic to peanuts are a socialist). He had 10 games of more than 20 points last year! 10 games! That is unheard of from a receiver. He is the fifth grader in a touch football game of second graders and we all know what happens in those situations…the fifth grader dominates (he also gets deemed a tool by his peers which also applies to Moss).
2. Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts)- Critics will say that without a healthy Marvin Harrison, Wayne’s value is diminished. Those naysayers have been hanging out with Jay Mariotti (the ultimate hater) too much because in Harrison’s absence last year, Wayne produced 14 fantasy points a week. Now as the clear cut number one option, Wayne’s consistently solid numbers should only continue to improve.
3. Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns)- Last year Edwards was that quiet nerd that comes to your party and everyone gets a buzz kill because he’s so lame, but then after passing out on the lawn, emerges as the MVP of the night. No one say it coming mostly because no one saw the Browns being any good. Edwards was one of the most consistent fantasy threats last year. He was second amongst receivers (only behind Moss) with fewest games below double digit fantasy points and with an improving offense and youth on his side, should only continue to improve upon his fantasy numbers.
4. Terrell Owens (Dallas Cowboys)- Cowboy fans every where are surely rioting after seeing these rankings. But what they don’t realize is that the creator of the best selling video “How to Look Like a Complete Idiot in your Driveway” is old (he’s 34 right now) and showed signs of wearing down last year (he averaged 5 points a game during the fantasy playoffs). He was less clutch for his owners than Alex Rodriguez once the leaves change colors. He is wildly inconsistent and had four weeks where he got three points or fewer. Even Mel Gibson knows the “signs” point to TO being TKOed from the very top of the wide receivers this year (holy crap I’m turning into Gene Shalit!!!).
5. Andre Johnson (Houston Texans)- Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub only got to play 4 games together. In those four games they accumulated 419 yards and 4 touchdowns. Johnson also led the league (the one that even includes Randy Moss) in yards per game last year. Impressive! As long as the two stay healthy, this is a deadly combination that will make Johnson owners happier than 50 Cent when he realized that Americans were stupid enough to believe he was a good rapper.
6. Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals)- The most unassuming receiver in the league is anything but nice once he gets inside of the stadium. Although Anquan Boldin’s prescence hurts his value a bit, Fitzgerald still put up #1 wide receiver numbers last year despite an injury to his groin (ouch!). The even better news is that Fitz gets a ton of looks from the Quarterback spot. He was 3rd in the league last year in looks at 167 and the more chances you have, the more points you are going to score for your fantasy owner.
7. Marques Colston (New Orleans Saints)- The seventh round wonderboy is looking like a great pick going into this year. Like all the Saints last year, Colston struggled in the first 7 games of the year, only averaging 6 points a game. But once the Saints offense got going, Colston went off. In his final 9 games, Colston averaged 15.5 points/game while scoring double digit points in seven of those. I don’t expect the Saints to struggle so much at the start this year which means I expect Colston to be straight money.
8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cincinatti Bengals)- The man with the hardest name to spell in all of football (he also competes with Rumpelstiltskin for that title on the world stage) is a one man fantasy wrecking crew. He was second in the NFL in targets last year and caught a league leading 112 passes. Housh started off the year with a bang, scoring double digits in each of his first eight games, but faded down the stretch as he failed to reach this mark in any of his last six games. Still, I am about as concerned at this late season swoon as I am that Seinfeld will ever go off the air (how many channels carry this show now? 7? 8? It’s more universal than late night infomercials). Housh will deliver once again.
9. Torry Holt (St. Louis Rams)- Even with everything that could go wrong for the Rams last year going wrong (including the ghastly discover that Rams, in fact, do not exist in the great St. Louis area, thus rendering their nickname utterly useless) Holt still delivered 93 catches and seven scores. With Isaac “the” Bruce out of the picture, I expect Holt’s red zone targets to increase, possibly pushing him into double digit touchdowns. He isn’t a sexy pick, but he gets it done.
10. Plaxico Burress (New York Giants)- When healthy, the man produces. If it weren’t for his squabbles with the Giants this offseason, I would have him ranked higher. He gets a ton of red zone targets which have resulted in 22 touchdowns over the past two years. I love receivers that score touchdowns like I love Belgian waffles…and I love me some Belgian waffles.
11. Steve Smith (Carolina Panthers)- Yes, we all know he is going to miss the first two games for treating Ken Lucas like he had a pocket full of lunch money. And we all know that without Delhomme, Smith’s fantasy value declines. But when you put him on the field with a healthy Delhomme, he is a monster.
12. Chad Johnson (Cincinatti Bengals)- The fact that Chad Johnson has the mental fortitude of a seven year old is not why he worries me as a fantasy wide receiver. What scares me about Chad is his inconsistency from week to week. Last year he had 10 games where he scored under double digit fantasy points. I also worry what will happen if the Bengals start off the year poorly. Will Johnson continue to play hard from week to week? Regardless, Ocho Cinco is still an elite receiver who has the ability to win weeks for you all by himself.
13. Wes Welker (New England Patriots)- Talk about having your situation drastically change your fantasy value. When Welker went to the Pats last year, he emerged as the Robin to Moss’ Batman (but less ambiguously gay). He tied for the lead in receptions last year and as long as Randy Moss is drawing those double teams, he will be near the top this year as well.
14. Anquan Boldin (Arizona Cardinals)- Despite some quarrels with the Cardinals management, Boldin is still going to bring it harder than Kirsten Dunst this year. He had 13 red zone targets last year and caught 9 touchdown passes. While the Cardinals Quarterback situation is anything but certain, Boldin is still a upper echelon WR#2 in all scoring formats.
15. Rodddy White (Atlanta Falcons)- I have a confession. I have a huge Man Crush on Roddy White. Last year he in situation so terrible that even Britney Spears would have sneered at it, White had 1202 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He was catching passes from guys like Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich for chrissakes! Now with the Atlanta Falcons a little more stabalized as a franchise, Roddy White will be more like his final six weeks of last year, where he averaged almost 12 points a game.
16. Brandon Marshall (Denver Broncos)- If he weren’t missing the first two (or three if he refuses to go to counseling) games of the season, I would be pretty high on baby T.O. I would also be higher if he hadn’t put his arm through a TV this offseason (yes, you read that right) and suffered some nerve damage. Basically, I am afraid of Marshall because of his inability to stay out of trouble (three arrests the last 17 months). When he’s on the field, however, he is a fantasy beast. He has the talent to be a top 10 receiver but with all the problems, he’s probably safer as a WR #2.
17. Roy Williams (Detroit Lions)- Believe it or not, I expect Mike Martz’s departure to help Roy Williams. With a run/pass split a little less “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Williams will see fewer double teams as safeties will have to respect the run. As a result, Williams will be a much more consistent fantasy option.
18. Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers)- Santonio Holmes had a league-best 18.1 yards per catch last year and was the primary deep threat for Big Ben. The problem, however, is that the Steelers are still a run-first offense, leading to Holmes only getting two touchdowns the final seven weeks. Still, he is the #1 option on the Steelers and should be getting plenty of looks from Big Ben this year.
19. Greg Jennings (Green Bay Packers)- Here is what concerns me about Greg Jennings this year. Last year, he was incredibly touchdown dependent for his fantasy scoring. He only had 53 receptions, and 12 of those happened to be touchdowns. Now he enters this season without Brett Favre, and instead a quarterback who in his limited time, preferred Donald Driver, not Jennings, as his primary receiver. Jennings, however, did have tremendous YAC last year and will still find the end zone plenty to be a solid WR #2.
20. Dwayne Bowe (Kansas City Chiefs)- The perfect last name considering the franchise he plays for and to top it off he’s a pretty darn good receiver as well. The problem for Bowe is that Kansas City has very big question marks at the Quarterback postion, along the offensive line, and really has no one to divert attention away from him. Still, as a rookie last year, he hit the proverbial “rookie wall” in the final five weeks. Assuming he is a bit fresher this year, that would mean close to 80 catches, 1000 yards, and 7-9 scores, which would make him a legit second option on your fantasy squad.
Look for Part II of our Wide Receiver Rankings in the near future. In the meantime, let us know what you think of our rankings thus far.
Tags: Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards, Chad Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Rankings, Greg Jennings, Larry Fitzgerald, Marques Colston, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, Roddy White, Roy Williams, Santonio Holmes, Steve Smith, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Terrell Owens, Torry Holt, Wes Welker, Wide Receivers
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