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Football season is just around the corner and that means Fantasy Football Drafts are happening now.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 NFL wide receivers for the upcoming season based on an average of rankings from the top Fantasy Football writers in the business.
The rankings averaged are a combination of ESPN, Yahoo Sports , CBS Sports , Fox Sports , NFL.com‘s to create the most accurate list of WRs you want on your Fantasy team.
Here’s what you need to know about the wide receivers:
1. Calvin Johnson
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,492
TD- 12
AVG (yds per catch)- 17.8
REC (receptions)- 84
Career:
YDS- 9,328
TD- 66
AVG (yds per catch)- 16.3
REC (receptions)- 572
Megatron reigns above all receivers. With over 1,000 receiving yards more than anyone in the league despite knee and finger injuries he was plagued with last year. Luckily he had surgeries in the offseason and has since recovered, although that didn’t hold him back from scoring 12 touchdowns with 1,500 yards in the 2013 season.
Now that he’s healthy, he should be in a better place than ever with a new setup courtesy of Joe Lombardi, the Lions’ coordinator. Johnson is not only the leader of Detroit’s offense, but by far the No. 1 WR in the league.
Jerry Rice said of Johnson:
This guy is gifted but he also has the work ethic. A lot of guys are gifted but they don’t want to sacrifice and put the time in and he’s willing to do that. At the same time it doesn’t go to his head. That’s why I’m saying he’s only going to get better with that kind of attitude.”
2. Demaryius Thomas
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,430
TD- 14
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.5
REC (receptions)- 92
Career:
YDS- 3,698
TD- 30
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.4
REC (receptions)- 240
Demaryius Thomas has more raw skill than any WR in the league. With 96 fantasy points off vertical throws last season and his ability to gain a ton of yards off of short passes he has gotten a well earned reputation.
While playing with Peyton Manning for the past two seasons, he tallied 1,225 yards after catches for 115 fantasy points and nine of his fourteen touchdowns were made from dink-and-dunk throws. It doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon arguably the most solid pick there is.
Marty Gilton of CBS Sports said:
Thomas is coming off his second straight sensational season with 92 catches for 1,430 yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns.
3. Dez Bryant
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,233
TD- 13
AVG (yds per catch)- 13.3
REC (receptions)- 93
Career:
YDS- 4,104
TD- 40
AVG (yds per catch)- 14.0
REC (receptions)- 293
Dez Bryant finished in 19th place last season with 74 fantasy points in vertical throws after the Cowboys’ offense decreased their vertical throws from 194 to 167 in the 2013 season, forcing Bryant’s yards per catch average to drop by 11 percent. However, he tallied 111 fantasy points for short passes to make him one of only two players to make it into 3 figures.
What’s working in Bryant’s favor is that Scott Linehan will be the passing-game coordinator for this year which is bound to make plays longer and up the percentage of yards per catch for the wide receiver. Bryant will be a strong contender and is expected to have one of his best years yet.
WR Beasley of the Cowboys said:
He knows what he’s doing out there. Out here, he’s like on a different level … he would be like a mathematician, but like in football, a really good one, like Einstein.
4. A.J. Green
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,426
TD- 11
AVG (yds per catch)- 14.6
REC (receptions)- 98
Career:
YDS- 3,833
TD- 29
AVG (yds per catch)- 14.7
REC (receptions)- 260
A.J. Green won the league last year with 178 points to become the target champion. Green was top on the list for every mock fantasy draft h with 8 touchdowns on vertical throws last year to rank him top in the league along with the most fantasy points with vertical passes with 5.9.
In three NFL seasons, he only missed one game in 3 seasons in the NFL making him one of the most dependable players in the league although Jay Gruden who used to run a huge passing game is gone.
Chris Harris of ESPN said:
“…[Thomas] might be the most dangerous deep threat in the league.
5. Julio Jones
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 580
TD- 2
AVG (yds per catch)- 14.1
REC (receptions)- 41
Career:
YDS- 2,737
TD- 20
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.7
REC (receptions)- 174
It’s obvious what Julio Jones’ downside is obvious after he sat out for the last 11 games last season with a broken foot. As opposed to A.J. Green, Jones has missed 30 percent of his career games. However before that, he was on his way to scoring 6 TDs and 1856 years to tie Josh Gordon for the best year ever among fantasy receivers.
This year Jones will be Matt Ryan’s go to man Tony Gonzalez sent into retirement and Roddy White’s career on its way out.
Roddy White said of Jones after his injury:
Being with Julio for the last few years, I know how great of a player he is. I know how great of a player he can be. And I just want him to be the best he can be. That’s all I care about. If he’s the best he can be, we’re going to win. There’s no doubt about it.
6. Brandon Marshall
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,295
TD- 12
AVG (yds per catch)- 13.0
REC (receptions)- 100
Career:
YDS- 9,050
TD- 57
AVG (yds per catch)- 12.7
REC (receptions)- 712
Brandon Marshall is ranked second in vertical targets and PRR scoring with a third place standing in standard league scoring. Despite the fact that Alshon Jeffery is next to him on the field, Cutler has been splitting the passes pretty evenly. Marshall is also one of the most consistent players in the game and definitely a safe pick for WRs.
Marc Sessler of NFL.com said:
He’s an ideal foil for fellow Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery, with the duo operating as a pick-your-poison combination for opposing defenses. We’d argue that Jeffery was the more dangerous target down the stretch, but he’s aided by the constant attention given to Marshall.
7. Antonio Brown
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,499
TD- 8
AVG (yds per catch)- 13.6
REC (receptions)- 110
Career:
YDS- 3,561
TD- 15
AVG (yds per catch)- 13.6
REC (receptions)- 261
Instead of struggling with the absence of Mike Wallace, Brown went on to rank 4th in the league with 37 vertical receptions and 11 vertical receptions to tie for ninth last year. His short-pass fantasy points per game increased by 20 percent along with 110 receptions. With Emmanuel Sanders gone, Roethlisberger will be throwing it to Brown time after time.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazzette commented:
Two-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown, 26, is the constant, the star, and hopes to become their new leader.
8. Jordy Nelson
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,314
TD- 8
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.5
REC (receptions)- 85
Career:
YDS- 4,590
TD- 36
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.2
REC (receptions)- 302
Jordy Nelson’s short throw catch average is horrible and his vertical throws game is phenomenal. Last year he was ranked fourth in the league in fantasy points among wide receivers in vertical throws and 31st in the league in short passes. Now that Rodgers is recovered from his collarbone injury, Nelson’s production will increase exponentially after last years mishap.
When Rodgers was out, his fantasy points decreased by over 50 percent, but now that Rodgers is back and healthy, Nelson will be dynamite and rank among the top WRs.
Football Outsiders Innovative Statistics said:
Nelson, who was entering the final year of his contract, has quietly been one of the league’s best receivers; in 2013 he had 85 receptions for 1,314 yards and 8 touchdowns, and was the league’s No. 2 pass catcher.
9. Alshon Jeffery
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 1,421
TD- 7
AVG (yds per catch)- 16.0
REC (receptions)- 89
Career:
YDS- 1,788
TD- 10
AVG (yds per catch)- 15.8
REC (receptions)- 113
Jeffery’s production skyrocketed under Trestman’s offensive scheme. He has grown exponentially since his stalemate of a rookie season. After totaling just 367 yards in his first season, he went on to rank second in vertical yards with 933 and first in stretch vertical yards with 590. He scored 3 touchdowns that were at least 45 yards to tie for 5th in the NFL.
Jeffrey is coming up in a big way and has caught the eye of many. Unfortunately his drop pass rate puts him in last place among WRs at 7.6 percent and only 10.1 points per game for fantasy despite his impressive performances in the regular league.
Coach Marc Trestman said:
His catch radius is very evident out here. You can see it. He’s got big hands. He’s got long arms and he’s focused on making plays.”
10. Randall Cobb
RECEIVING STATS
2013 Regular Season:
YDS- 433
TD- 4
AVG (yds per catch)- 14.0
REC (receptions)- 31
Career:
YDS- 1,762
TD- 13
AVG (yds per catch)- 13.0
REC (receptions)- 136
Cobb is a clutch WR for Aaron Rodgers and luckily for fantasy owners, he is Rodger’s go-to slot guy allowing him to put up three two-figure numbers in his first four games for the fantasy league.
He was on a roll until he broke his leg in the 6th week, putting him on the sideline until the 17th week. This leaves a lot of guessing as to his performance next season, but if he is able to stay off of the IR, he could be deadly. He was ranked 9th in the league among WRs with 11.8 points per game. The question is how much time will he be spending on the field.
According to FOX Sports‘ Paul Imig:
Cobb is No. 6 on this list because there’s no reason to believe that 2014 won’t be the year that he does elevate up to “star” status. There are fewer trusted options for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to throw to than there have been in recent years, and Cobb will benefit from that.
To see the full list of wide receiver rankings from the cited sources, click the links below:
ESPN
Yahoo Sports
CBS Sports
Fox Sports
NFL.com
