FFB Notebook: WR Rankings (7/22)

Training camps officially open this week, which means fantasy football season is back people! This is my first wide receiver rankings list of the season. The position has grown in importance over the last couple of seasons for 2 reasons. The first being that the NFL is evolving into more of a passing league. The second is a combination of decrease in value at the running back position and the lack of elite pass catchers across the league. With running back committees taking over across the board, you can find value at the running back position throughout the draft, but with so few quality receivers you'll want to target at least one towards the beginning of the draft.

1. Calvin Johnson - ALL HAIL MEGATRON! Whether you believe in the Madden Curse or not, Calvin Johnson has been a staple in the fantasy football community over the last few seasons averaging 80 receptions and over 1200 yards. He was called out by multiple defenses last season, most notably the Dallas Cowboys, and he delivered week in and week out. Johnson will be targeted during the first half of the first round.

2. Greg Jennings - Jennings might be getting long in the tooth, but as long as he is Batman's go to guy, he'll be a hot commodity on draft day.

3. Larry Fitzgerald - Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football, it's just a shame he doesn't have a quarterback to throw the ball to him. He has the best hands in the league being ranked in the top ten year in and year out with the fewest dropped passes, and he leads that category when you look at the drop per target ratio. With the addition of Michael Floyd, we should see teams start to focus on more than Fitzgerald in the defensive backfield. Floyd won't start immediately though, so don't expect a hot start from Fitzgerald.

4. Marques Colston - Similar to Greg Jenning's rank, as long as Colston remains Brees' favorite target he'll be targeted early in fantasy drafts. Now that both Colston's and Brees' contract situations have been resolved, it is time to go back to work. The two of them should light up the NFC south this season.

5. Brandon Marshall - Talk about a reunion. Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler used to tear up opponents when they were together in Denver. Now they will get a chance to do it all over again in the windy city. Marshall brings that big bodied possession receiving threat that the Bears have been missing for awhile now. Marshall is the last tier one WR, and will most likely be targeted at the top of the second round.





Rounding out the top 50:
6. Mike Wallace (Stock on the Rise)
7. Wes Welker
8. Victor Cruz
9. Andre Johnson (Sleeper)
10. Hakeem Nicks
11. Miles Austin
12. Dwayne Bowe
13. Roddy White
14. Julio Jones (Stock on the Rise)
15. Jordy Nelson (Sleeper)
16. Randy Moss (Stock on the Rise)
17. A.J. Green
18. Reggie Wayne
19. DeSean Jackson
20. Mike Williams
21. Dez Bryant
22. Vincent Jackson
23. Jeremy Maclin
24. Santonio Holmes
25. Steve Smith
26. Torrey Smith
27. Percy Harvin
28. Nate Washington
29. Mario Manningham
30. Eric Decker (Sleeper)
31. Robert Meachem
32. Pierre Garcon
33. Anquan Boldin
34. Brandon Lloyd
35. Steve Johnson
36. Santana Moss
37. James Jones
38. Michael Floyd
39. Chad Ochocinco
40. Lance Moore
41. Austin Collie
42. Demaryius Thomas (Sleeper)
43. Doug Baldwin
44. Malcolm Floyd
45. Denarius Moore
46. Michael Crabtree
47. Kenny Britt
48. Johnny Knox
49. Nate Burleson
50. Jabar Gaffney