Once again JMP will be doing weekly NFL picks, but this week he will also begin with his fantasy football position by position preview. Previews continue with Wide Receivers and will continue for the next few days.
There are a lot more viable WRs than there are QBs and TEs combined, so I’ll be brief with my opening remarks. I’m fairly bearish on the position this year. There are 3, maybe 4, in the top tier and then it’s pretty much a crapshoot. That’s why I don’t feel so bad that this list isn’t exactly complete. You’ll probably notice some omissions. Some were intentional, some weren’t. I simply don’t have the time to research the #1 WR in Tampa Bay and rank him accordingly, for example. Then there are the Jets WRs, whom I don’t think are worth owning, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Here we go!
Andre Johnson – the clear cut number 1, whether you’re in a PPR league or not.
Reggie Wayne – you could flip-flop Reggie and Randy and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I think Reggie benefits from having a stronger supporting cast around him, freeing him up to make more plays. But that’s just me.
Randy Moss – playing for a new contract, but with a recovering Wes Welker drawing some of the coverage.
Roddy White – hey, I’m just as surprised as you, but when I ran the numbers and realized that he excelled even during Matt Ryan’s ‘down year’.
Miles Austin – my one concern with keeping him this high is that Dallas’ O line has looked bad this pre-season.
Desean Jackson – Kolb hasn’t looked great, either, and DJax depends on him to throw him the ball in stride so he can run with it.
Calvin Johnson – Has Nate Burleson on the other side, Jahvid Best in the backfield and a Detroit D that will allow a lot of points. Still, Matt Stafford is in his 2nd year, so I can’t rank Megatron higher.
Brandon Marshall – may not catch 100 balls in a run-oriented offense, but he’ll probably catch 85 or so
Anquan Boldin – goes from being the #2 in Arizona to the #1 in Baltimore. Sometimes this jump doesn’t work, but he’ll still have Derrick Mason on the other side to keep opposing Ds honest. He’s also not afraid to go over the middle.
Marques Colston – originally ranked higher, but even when he’s not injured, he only puts up slightly above-average stats b/c Brees spreads the ball around so much.
Greg Jennings – another victim of a QB who spreads the ball around too much.
Steve Smith (NYG) – probably the highest, relative to every other position, I’ll rank a Giants player. That either shows you how much I think of him or what I think about those ranked behind him.
Larry Fitzgerald – drops all the way down to here b/c of the mess that is the Cardinals’ QB situation.
Malcolm Floyd – I think he’s ready to fill the void left behind by Vincent Jackson.
Johnny Knox – had a great repertoire with Jay Cutler before Mike Martz arrived and now I think he’s poised to be the Tory Holt of this latest incarnation of the Greatest Show on Turf.
Pierre Garcon –
James Jones / Jordy Nelson – the winner of this position battle will most likely unseat Donald Driver as the #2 in GB. Note that I haven’t ranked Driver; I think this is his “he lost it” year.
Bernard Berrian – the de facto #1 in Minnesota with the injury to Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin’s migraine issues. (ED: I like Berrian a little higher since he’ll be a #1 and has a history doing well as a #1)
Jabar Gaffney – another surprise, but he was catching everything in sight during the Broncos’ first two pre-season games.
Dwayne Bowe – attended Larry Fitzgerald’s camp over the summer and is in the best shape of his life. My one concern is Matt Cassel absorbing enough of Charlie Weis’ offense to make Bowe succeed.
Percy Harvin – can’t consider him the #1 in Minnesota but he’s still a highly touted #2.
Terrell Owens – seems to have more of a connection with Carson Palmer than Ochocinco does and TO just got there. Hmmmm….
Hines Ward – the departure of Santonio Holmes makes him the #1 again and he’s got Mike Wallace on the other side to stretch the field and open up the middle. The obvious issue is that Big Ben will miss 4 games.
Chad Ochocinco – will benefit from TO on the other side and Palmer’s resurgence.
Hakeem Nicks – can take a pass to the house from anywhere on the field and is tall enough to bring down those jump balls in the corner of the end zone.
Mike Sims-Walker – last year was the first year he’s been fully healthy and, also, David Garrard is his QB. There was a definite split between ‘MSW at home’ and ‘MSW on the road’.
Michael Crabtree – poised to become a true #1 in San Fran.
Legadu Naane – he’s the #2 WR and the #3 option in the O, but maybe, just maybe, Rivers likes him a bit better than Floyd, so he gets a bump.
Santana Moss – someone has to catch Donovan McNabb’s passes.
Jacoby Jones – #2b in Houston’s O to Kevin Walter’s #2a and is poised to be the only #2 if Walter gets hurt.
Jeremy Maclin – more valuable in PPR leagues, as Kolb will try to hit him in stride so he can get some YAC.
Robert Meachem – doesn’t get the targets, but has a penchant for a 50+ yard TD every game or so.
Chris Chambers – I think he actually outplayed Dwayne Bowe down the stretch last year.
Steve Smith (CAR) – if you can’t say something nice about his guy, or his quarterback, don’t say anything. (ED: He’s still a #1, I rate him a bit higher.)
Louis Murphy – benefits from having a real QB in Oakland this year.
Kevin Walter – as I hinted at, is kinda sorta close to losing the #2 gig to Jacoby Jones.
Devon Aromashadu – Cutler, at the very least, will look to him down near the goal-line
Dez Bryant – falling due to his injury. Should start rising once he actually sees the field.
Nate Burleson – Megatron on the other side will open up some things for Nate, who’s no slouch himself.
Mike Wallace – will have more value when Big Ben comes back.
Devin Hester – no list of WRs is complete without mentioning the fastest of the 3 WRs in Chicago. Unfortunately, he’s also the ‘worst’.
Laurent Robinson – has the #1 job all to himself with Donnie Avery’s injury. However, the job is in St. Louis.
Derrick Mason – will probably be unseated as Flacco’s favorite target by Anquan Boldin, but old habits die hard, so there’s a good chance the drop-off won’t be that great.