Fantasy Football! WIDE RECEIVER RANKINGS: THE ELITES

 

Andre Johnson has been crowned the #1 WR by the Spartan Nation fantasy guru!

This week we’ll continue our look at wide receivers. These players are the ones that I feel warrant consideration as number 1 wide receivers. I didn’t include any guys that I felt were borderline elite receivers, so that explains why this list contains a strange number of players. Make sure you draft one of these players in the first 4 rounds if you don’t want to worry about your WR position all year.

 

1. Andre Johnson, HOU: Johnson was an absolute beast last season. He exploded for 1,568 yards and 9 scores, not to mention an impressive 101 receptions. Johnson was last year’s top WR and I fully expect him to repeat as the best receiver in the game this year as well. He has incredible big play ability, and he isn’t afraid to go over the middle for the tough catch. It’s also important to keep in mind that Johnson was far and away the targets leader for 2009. This means that Matt Schaub is going to look to him early and often in 2010. If he’s healthy Johnson is a “can’t miss” type of player that will be necessary for you to win a championship.

 

2. Reggie Wayne, IND: Wayne is often overlooked because he isn’t as flashy as some other wide receivers. He may be boring, but all that he did last year was rack up more than 1,200 yards and 10 scores. Some may label Wayne “boring,” but I prefer to call him “steady.” He just goes out there and produces year, after year, after year. In fact, he has gone over 1,000 yards receiving for 6 straight years, and he’s still only 31 years old. Since 35 is when age tends to finally catch up with receivers (ask Marvin Harrison), Wayne looks like a solid bet to go over 1,000 yards and haul in double digit TD’s.

 

3. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI: The fact that Kurt Warner has retired may scare some people away from Fitzgerald, and rightfully so. But this guy is just plain too talented to not produce. I think he’d be able to go over 1,000 yards and rack up 10 TD’s if Ryan Leaf was throwing to him...OK, maybe he isn’t THAT good, but you get the point. Be warned, however, Fitzgerald has played in 13 of Matt Leinart’s starts and managed to get only 5 touchdowns. But remember that in that time, 2006 and 2007, Fitzgerald had yet to establish himself as a top receiver, so those numbers may not be that telling.

 

4. Brandon Marshall, MIA: Good news, everyone! He won’t be dealing with all the off-field distractions this year! Or at least I think he won’t. You have to be warned, though. He can be streaky at times. He followed up two straight games of over 100 yards with a game where he only managed 26 yards and 3 catches. However, his highs are just insane. Case in point: Marshall’s 21 catches, 200 yards, and 2 touchdowns that he pulled off against the Colts. I also have a feeling you won’t see him get suspended this year. He wanted out of Denver, and decided to be a pain all year to let that be known. I find it hard to believe that somebody could be unhappy in beautifully sunny Miami. Plus Chad Henne just looks like a better passer than Kyle Orton. Expect Marshall to improve upon his already stellar numbers from last year.

 

5. Randy Moss, NE: What a difference Tom Brady can make for this guy. After a very disappointing 2008, Moss was back to his old self again in 2009, going off for 1,264 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns. I fully expect Moss to at least come close to repeating those numbers. However, buyer beware, Moss fell off the edge of a cliff in the second half of last year, with there being some whispers that he had reverted to his selfish ways. That could pose a major problem since this is a contract year for Moss, and the Patriots aren’t exactly well known for paying top dollar for their players. If Moss feels slighted he may very well sulk and just ask the Raiders what that means for his production.

 

6. Roddy White, ATL: The guy may have questionable taste in friends, (a “Free Mike Vick” t-shirt after he was arrested for dog fighting, really?) but he clearly has talent. He’s gone over 1,000 yards each of the last 3 years, and finally was able to get into the end zone 11 times last season. He and Matt Ryan appear to have quite a bit of on-field chemistry, and I expect him to see just as many targets this year as he did last. I think having Tony Gonzalez back as the Falcons’ tight end helps White as well. It gives teams another receiving threat to worry about, and can’t devote as many defenders to solely stop White. The greatest thing about White may be that he’s still slightly under the radar. He may be available as late as the 4th or 5th round in some drafts because he isn’t the household name like Moss or Wayne.

 

7. Miles Austin, DAL: Is Miles Austin a one season wonder? Not a chance. Just because he seemed to come out of nowhere last year doesn’t mean he isn’t talented. The guy is 6’3”, 214 lbs., is blazing fast, and has a knack for making a big play. He comes into this season as the unquestioned number 1 in Dallas, and figures to see plenty of looks from Tony Romo. There is still the concern that Roy Williams and Jason Witten may steal some of his looks. But with Witten having lost a bit and Williams being so inconsistent, I don’t expect that to be too much of a problem for Austin. I think Austin is likely to go over 1,000 yards with somewhere around 8 to 10 touchdowns. That’s exactly the type of production you want from your top WR.

 

8. Calvin Johnson, DET: Injuries and inconsistent quarterback play have kept Johnson from fulfilling his potential. Johnson has the talent to be the best receiver in the league, but he just hasn’t quite gotten there yet. I expect some improvement from Stafford this year, so that weighs in Megatron’s favor. But you can never be sure about injuries, and Johnson has proven thus far that he is very injury prone. The best thing that may have happened to Johnson though is the Lions signing Nate Burleson. Although not a game breaker, teams will have to worry about Burleson more than any of the other Lions receivers last season. This will free up some space for Johnson, and we should see an improvement on his numbers this season. 

 

9. DeSean Jackson, PHI: Jackson is incredibly fast, and last year showed the maturity that he needed to become a star in the NFL. The only real concern here is whether or not Kevin Kolb will look to Jackson as often as Donovan McNabb did. But how could he not? He’s clearly the best big play threat on the Eagles, he lead the league in receptions over 40 yards with 10 of them. Just be careful, Jackson had a bit of a streaky nature, with 100+ yard weeks followed by weeks of under 50 yards receiving. He’ll be a solid number 1 option, and will likely be available later than many other receivers who he’ll out produce.

 

10. Marques Colston, NO: How was this guy a 7th round pick? He’s 6’4”, has fantastic hands, and can run away from a defense. I know he played for Hofstra, but 32 NFL GM’s really dropped the ball on that one. He’s been Drew Brees’ favorite target the last few years, and saw the third most red zone targets in the NFL. He does have some talented receivers around him, so they may cut into his looks. Even with that its very likely that Colston should eclipse 1,000 yards and get near 10 scores for a second year in a row.

 

11. Sidney Rice, MIN: This only holds if Brett Favre comes back, but lets face it, we all know he’ll be back. And that means you can expect another season like Rice had last year. He was clearly Favre’s favorite target, and he managed to snag almost 70% of the targets he saw last year. That translated into more than 1,300 yards and 8 touchdowns. Now if Favre pulls a...well, a Favre, and decides, against the conventional wisdom, that he doesn’t want to play this year Rice won’t be a number 1 receiver. But we all know Favre is coming back, and that means Rice would be a nice first option for your fantasy team.

 

12. Steve Smith, CAR: The broken arm could be a problem. But Smith is tough, and I fully expect him back for the regular season opener. Matt Moore looked really good at the end of the year, but that doesn’t even matter. Smith found a way to produce even with the disaster that was Jake Delhomme last season. Just be sure you don’t reach to high for him, he has a ton of name value, and that will unquestionably cause some people to reach into the second round for him. That is way too soon for Smith, and if you’re planning on having him as your number 1 WR make sure you’ve filled both of your RB slots as well as your quarterback.