Dear Fantasy Doctor X.

2008 Fantasy Football rankings: WRs

By Wayne Lin. The official Maniaxs rankings are in and there are some mild surprises at the top of the list. Again, all Maniaxs staff participated in the rankings. A complete table/grid with 93 players is included as well as a downloadable PDF document for your draft/s at the very bottom of the article.

1 Randy Moss:  Moss should have another exciting year.  Look for Moss to continue his hot streak as long as Brady is his QB.  They have a rapport that very few wide receivers and quarterbacks have and that is essential in making plays in the league.  Moss caught a very terrifying 23 touchdowns and 1493 yards in 2007 and was signed long term in the offseason.  He’s not a bad option to pick number one overall. 

2 Terrell Owens:  Owens looks to reap the benefits of a fantastic year this season.  Even at this age, he still shows that he has it.  He was a terror against some of the better corners in the league last season so you know he has the ability to separate from corners if pressed in one-on-one coverage.  Further, Owens averaged 16.7 yards a catch.  If he stays healthy he’ll start to get double teamed, but if he’s the Owens of old, he’ll break away from the coverage.  Any receiver who breaks over the 1000 yard mark is incredible.  He had 1355 yards on 81 receptions.  He won’t last long in the draft and it is doubtful if he’ll slip past the first round.  Gobble him up while you can. 

3 Reggie Wayne:  With Marvin Harrison obsolete throughout last season, Reggie Wayne stepped in and played marvelously.  Wayne has terrific speed to get to the outside and he’s proven he can be the number one wide receiver.  He had more yards and receptions than Owens did last season, but Wayne isn’t a great WR in the red zone, only catching 3 passes for scores in 2007.  Because Manning likes to utilize his tight ends and fullbacks in the red zone it is very difficult for the receivers to get any play much less touchdowns, however, you still have to respect Wayne for his playmaking ability. His 1510 receiving yards weren’t a fluke.  If Harrison is able to wash himself clean of the club shooting, Wayne will be the obvious number 2 receiver, but he’s still worth picking high.  

4 Braylon Edwards:  For years Edwards struggled, but only because he didn’t have a quarterback to throw the ball to him.  Now that he has a good player in Anderson tossing balls in his direction, Edwards should rise on your draft board.  His tall frame is ideal and this past season has shown that he has the ability to go up and make a play on the ball.  He had 16 touchdown grabs in 2007 and that was with shaky quarterback play at the beginning of the season.  Now that the quarterback position is solidified, look for Edwards to improve on his 1289 yards and 16 TDs this season.

5 Andre Johnson: Don’t let his 851 receiving yards deceive you.  He missed 7 games last season, and will be a very good pick up in the 3-4 rounds if he’s there. If Schaub can stay protected long enough to make a play look for Johnson’s numbers to soar.  A consistent problem in the Texans’ organization is the fact that they’ve never protected their quarterback well, but now with Kubiak taking the reigns the focus has been on solidifying the line and they did that by drafting Duane Brown out of Virginia Tech.  Did I mention Johnson has 4.32 speed?  He’s a speedster and as such he’ll get some yards after the catch. 

6 Larry Fitzgerald:  He is the number one receiver on a not very good passing Arizona team.  Part of the problem is the Cardinals reluctance to choose a definite starting quarterback.  Warner and Leinert were inconsistent and it didn’t help them any that their running game only averaged 2 yards per play.  He only had 10 TD receptions in 2007 season, but he had 1409 yards receiving.  His counterpart, Boldin, had 9, but only had 893 yards.  Boldin is more of a red zone threat than Fitzgerald, but buyer beware on Fitzgerald.  He doesn’t have the speed to break away from zone coverage and he’s not very fast coming off the line of scrimmage, but he’ll be a great number 2 option with his size.

7 TJ Houshmandzadeh:  He proved to be better than Chad Johnson this season, and rightfully so.  This seventh year player shows no signs of slowing down.  He is the WR that is drama free, and may be the Bengals number one receiver this season again if Chad Johnson decides he wants to play.  The problem with Houshmandzadeh is that he doesn’t get a lot of yards after the catch.  That number isn’t evident with his 1143 reception yards, and 12 touchdowns.  That will need to be corrected if he is to be an elite receiver.

8 Marques Colston:  Colston started the season slowly, but picked it up after game 5.  He still ended the season with 1202 yards and 11 TDs.  This season the Saints look to add former 1^st round draft pick Robert Meachem to the line-up to play opposite Colston, but because Meachem is coming back from a knee surgery, he won’t get that many opportunities early.  Colston will still be the go-to person.  He scored 9 of his touchdowns in the redzone.  Colston could very well become a sleeper in his 3^rd year in the league, and has the possibility to become MVP.  

9 Chad Johnson:  Drama-filled Chad Johnson is playing alongside TJ Houshmandzadeh, but will be a non-factor if he keeps demanding trades.  Though he had 1400 yards receiving and 8 touchdowns, he may see significant bench time and may not be as effective as he once was.  Buyer beware.  He could be hit-or-miss this season so if you draft him, monitor his progress the first couple weeks.  Don’t be ashamed if you miss out on drafting him.  There are other wide receivers to pick up his slack. 

12 Anquan Boldin:  Playing alongside Larry Fitzgerald is no easy task, but Boldin has proven that he can.  Boldin had one more touchdown than Fitzgerald, but has significantly less yards in 853.  When Fitzgerald is getting the attention Boldin is often ignored, but so much the better for fantasy owners.  While he won’t get you points via yards, he certainly helps in the touchdown department.  Be patient with him.  He may not be the household receiver name, but he can quietly get you points. 

13 Plaxico Burress:  Burress’s years in the league are starting to catch up with him.  He only had 1025 yards receiving and that’s not bad, but it’s not great for a number one receiver on the team.  The number that should stick out is his touchdown total of 12.  He didn’t have a stellar year, and part if his inconsistency this season was due to the sporadic play of Eli Manning early in the year.

14 Tory Holt:  Holt only had 7 touchdowns and 1198 yards this past season and that was with 3 different quarterbacks.  Should Bulger come back healthy Holt will have a bigger year.  It helps his stock now that Issac Bruce is no longer with the team.  Holt is still Holt.  He’s tough, fast, and doesn’t get injured often, but he needs to play better in the red zone to get more touchdowns.  His downside is often blockers won’t block for him when he has the ball to help him get extra yards. 

15 Brandon Marshall:  Marshall came on the scene last season and made a good target for Jay Cutler.  He netted 1306 yards, but only 7 touchdowns.  Keep in mind Marshall will be coming off an offseason injury in which he suffered by “horsing around” with his brother.  The Broncos drafted a WR in Eddie Royal to help the anemic passing game, but Marshall still should be the front runner for the number 1 WR spot.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to draft him later especially if you have a 4 WR set in your league.  He doesn’t warrant a high draft pick, and the only reason he has the yards he has is only because there’s no one else to throw to in Denver. 

16 Greg Jennings:  Greg Jennings is a pleasant surprise.  He doesn’t have a 1000 yard season yet, but it was so close last season when he had 920 yards.  He also missed the first two games of the season.  What’s so surprising about Jennings is that he had 12 touchdowns.  Now that Favre is gone, Jennings will be the prime target for Rodgers (if he doesn’t get hurt).  Either way, the Packers will be relying on Jennings and Driver, but look for Jennings to get the nod.  Perhaps he will be a 3^rd year wonder and break out.  He and Colston look to be the prime targets for their respective teams and Jennings also has a chance to be considered in the MVP race.  

17 Roy Williams:  His numbers slipped in 2007, and he only amassed 836 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Though he didn’t play the last 4 games of the season, he showed how ineffective he can be.  He dropped a league-high 8 passes and can’t be relied on to provide a consistent outing each week.  It is shaky to have him in your line up, and injuries are mounting up on this young player. Draft him as a #2 option.

18 Santonio Holmes:  Holmes isn’t commanding much attention from defenses, but he’s shown that he can burn them.  He averaged 18 yards a reception last season.  That’s a very sick number when you consider he’s not that tall or fast for a receiver.  He was able to gain 942 yards and 8 touchdowns.  But he can get into the open lanes and has a quick first step off the line of scrimmage.  He’s not a bad pick up in the later rounds, but watch for him because he may go quicker than some expect.

19 Marvin Harrison:  This is a reach even this low, but you still have to respect Harrison for what he’s done in the past.  Barring he is cleared from the shooting incident and he stays healthy, he’ll be a bona fide wide receiver.  Last season he only 247 yards and 1 touchdown in 5 games. Age may be a factor this season.  He’ll be 36 when the season starts so it is risky to take a chance on him.  He’s good, but may not be as good this season. 

  Now some low-end WR1 and all of the WR2 below.

  To end these rankings, for deep leagues, all of the WR3 and a couple of WR4.