2012 WR Ranks

Here is Michael Ferraro's WR Rankings for the upcoming season.  Come back tomorrow for the grand finale; Tight Ends!

Wide Receivers

1) Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson is near unstoppable as a receiver averaging 17.5 yards a reception and he had 96 last season with 16 touchdowns. While I don’t think Johnson will have as many touchdowns, expect him to have around 90 receptions and 1500 yards receiving. No one has been able to stop Megatron, not even the dreaded Madden curse.

2) Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals: Without an elite quarterback, Fitzgerald will still have 80-plus receptions and nearly 1400 receiving because like Johnson no one has been able to stop Fitzgerald since he has been a pro. He is a money in the bank receiver and will continue to be so even with Skelton as his quarterback.

3) Andre Johnson, Houston Texans: The real question with Johnson is if he can remain healthy because he only played in 7 games last season so his numbers should resemble Fitzgerald’s numbers as he is the main target of Schaub. As long as Johnson remains healthy which has been his biggest problem he will be a monster.

4) Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons: White had 100 receptions last season, only second to Wes Welker and you might want to take White ahead of Johnson in points per reception league. One of the few downsides to White is he drops way too many balls and will now have to deal with Julio Jones, who is another stud receiver.

5) Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers: Jennings had 67 receptions and 949 yards receiving last season without the benefit of playing the final month of the season with a sprained knee. Even with the rise of Jordy Nelson last season, Jennings should have 70-plus receptions and 1100 yards with close to 10 touchdowns, a definite fantasy starter.

6) Wes Welker, New England Patriots: Welker has been Tom Brady’s favorite target and hauled in a ridiculous 122 receptions with 1569 yards receiving yards. In PPR leagues Welker will be even higher than sixth on most fantasy draft boards because he is a receptions machine and even with the addition to Brandon Lloyd, Welker will still get his share and more.

7) Victor Cruz, New York Giants: Cruz was the breakout star last season for the Giants and was one of the main reasons had such an amazing run last season. He had almost as many receiving yards as Welker but did so with 40 less receptions, and to the fact he had better yards per reception than Calvin Johnson, which is no easy task.

8) A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals: Green is the clear No.1 receiver in Cincinnati and was top-10 in wide receiver targets last season and will be this season again. Expect Green to have 70-80 receptions with close to 1200 yards receiving, a definite fantasy starter. He has all the tools a wide receiver needs, speed, height, strong and big play receiver that averaged 16.3 yards a reception.

9) Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants: The problem with Nicks is that he is injury prone. If healthy he is a definite No.1 fantasy starter. It will take of a lot guts to pick him as your No.1 receiver as he is coming back from a broken foot.

10) Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears: Marshall had 80 receptions and with Matt Moore as his starting quarterback and Jay Cutler is hell of lot better quarterback than Moore. Marshall should have a breakout season and he is very strong No.2 fantasy receiver.

11) Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons: Julio Jones is just as solid a pick as Roddy White, you can’t go wrong with either one of these two. He should be good for 70-80 receptions with 1100-1200 yards receiving as long as he stays healthy because last season he averaged 17.8 yards a reception, Calvin Johnson type numbers.

12) Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers: Steve Smith has been energized by the emergence of Cam Newton last season, with 79 receptions and 1394 yards with 7 receiving touchdowns. I don’t think Smith will have as big of season last year but should get around 70 receptions with 1000-1100 yards receiving.

13) Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers: With Jennings being covered so much, most defenses forgot to cover Nelson who had 15 receiving touchdowns last season. His receptions and yardage should be about the same but don’t expect him to score 15 touchdowns, a more realistic number is 5-8 receiving touchdowns.

14) Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys: Austin has had hamstring problems the last two seasons but when he is healthy he is as deadly as receiver on this list. Austin missed six important games that could have difference in Dallas missing and making the playoffs.

15) Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers: You might think I’m crazy for having Wallace all the way down at No.15 but receivers ranked 7-15 are so close that you can’t go wrong picking up any of them as your No.1 or No.2 receiver in a non-keeper league. Wallace is the main target of Big Ben but Antonio Brown will also get a ton of targets

16) Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys: Last season Bryant never had more than 90 yards receiving yards or 15 fantasy points, but this season he could break out if he gets his head together. Bryant has only scratched the surface of his talent and high pick on him is a bit of gamble but could be a big payoff.

17) Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints: Colston is Brees’ favorite wide receiver target and should get around 80-plus receptions and over 1000 receiving yards. He is a primarily slot receiver and he is tall and has a tendency to catch whatever comes his way.

18) Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings really don’t have a good quarterback in Ponder but Harvin is just a beast. He should have 900-1000 yards receiving and 200-300 yards on the ground, and he is a threat to run a few kicks back during the year; the Vikings offense will be Peterson and Harvin and that’s about it.

19) Brandon Lloyd, New England Patriots: Brandon Lloyd should be a late wide receiver pick but will benefit greatly from having Tom Brady throwing him passes instead of Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow. He should around 60-70 receptions with a little under 1000 yards receiving.

20) Eric Decker, Denver Broncos: Decker and Demaryius Thomas will both be fantasy studs with the addition of Peyton Manning. The Broncos are going to be more pass heavy then they were last year when their passing game was one of the worst in the league last season. Decker should get around 80 receptions with over 1000 receiving yards this season.

By: Michael Ferraro