Fantasy Football- Early Season WR Rankings

Dec 16, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts (84) is ruled out of bounds after a review of this catch against the Miami Dolphins in the fourth quarter at Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins won 24-3. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

This week I look at the upper echelon of the Wide Receivers. Calvin Johnson should be the only one to target in your first round. Offenses will continue to be pass happy, causing another year of wide receiver depth. I only put my top 25 in here. There’s at least half a dozen receivers I wanted to squeeze in here but didn’t. As always, these will change as the seasons gets closer. Feel free to weigh in.

1. Calvin Johnson – Lions – There’s nothing to be said. He’s the best. Hands down.

2. Dez Bryant – Cowboys – There’s a new sheriff in town. He’s finally getting his $#!+ together. Thank you Michael Jordan for chiming in.

3. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona – WHAT! Some may think I’m crazy, but Arians’ high octane aerial attack and Palmer’s first legitimate weapon since #85 will give Fitz his best year since Warner was there. Let people be afraid to pick him up.

4. A.J. Green – Bengals – Green would be higher if they didn’t go and make their skill position roster even better with the addition of Eifert and Bernard.

5. Julio Jones – Falcons – Ryan is gong to get paid this year. Jones is going to help him. He’s so damned good.

6. Brandon Marshall – Bears – Him and Cutler will continue were they left off last year. The addition of Bennett will force secondaries to spread out and not focus solely on Marshall.

7. Vincent Jackson – Buccaneers – Freeman needs to step up and get paid or step out. He’ll be out to sling it this year. Jackson will benefit greatly. V-Jax is the Captain America of WRs.

8. Demaryius Thomas –Broncos- You could throw a dart and land on any Denver receiver and be successful. Thomas is a special talent.

9. Percy Harvin – Seattle – They’ll continue to have one of the highest scoring offenses in the league. If your league counts return yards as well, then he should be registered as an illegal weapon.

10. Randle Cobb – Green Bay – He has one of the best QBs in the league. The only issue is Rodgers passes to the open man, and doesn’t play favorites.

11. Mike Wallace – Miami – He’ll be the only legitimate pass catching threat in South Beach. To much talent to not be a WR1. Plus, Tannehill can sling it down field. Which is precisely where Wallace will be.

12. Marques Colston – Saints – He kind of mirrors the situation that Randle Cobb is in. By that, he plays for an Elite QB. Notice how the Elite QBs make everyone on the team better and just don’t have that one guy they dump off to.

13. Reggie Wayne – Colts – The offensive outlook will change in Indy. It shouldn’t affect Wayne much. Much.

14. Danny Amendola – Patriots – He’ll be the number three receiving threat in the beginning. This will change with chemistry. He should be taken in the top ten in PPR leagues. Handle with care though. He’s very fragile.

15. Duane Bowe – Chiefs – With a decent QB, he should have a year to prove his worth.

16. Wes Welker – Broncos – Welker goes from one Hall of Fame QB to another. He’ll lose PPR value due to a stacked WR corps in Denver. Expect another great year from one of the best.

17. Antonio Brown – Steelers – He becomes Big Ben’s primary target. Now, if only their O line can keep him on the field.

18. Victor Cruz – Giants – In reality Cruz should be a lot higher. If both sides can reach an agreement before it gets ugly, he’ll move up. If not, we’ve seen how these stories end up. Jigga What?

19. Roddy White – Falcons – He’ll have decent games and then he’ll have great games. There’s just to many good players on this team to have them all in the top.

20. Steve Smith – Panthers – The Newton/Smith combo will continue to put points on the board. They’ll just have to get a quicker start than last year.

21. Torrey Smith – Ravens – He’s the man now that Boldin is in San Fran.

22. Cecil Shorts III – Jaguars – Shorts busted out of  nowhere last season. He’ll be the #1 receiver till Blackmon can get it together (and get back on the field). It’s a great sign that he recently stated that he wasn’t satisfied with all he accomplished last year. AND he did all that without a solid option behind Center. Lets all pour a little sizzurp out for Gene Smith for this one.

23. Andre Johnson – Texans – He’s going down hill, but DeAndre Hopkins will take off some of the pressure. He’s still good, but this isn’t 2009.

24. Pierre Garçon – Washington – As long as RGIII and Garçon can stay healthy he could finish in the top 10. My guess is it won’t happen.

25. Anquan Boldin – 49rs – Once the chemistry is there, he’ll have a great year. All due to the unfortunate situation with Crabtree.

– Jason Abarca