Elite Near Elite Solid Marginal Depth Updated: 9/2/14

Rank Player Team

Final
'13
Rank
Rec
Rec
Yards
Rec
TDs
Fool's Take
1 uemarylus 1homas uLn 2 92 1,430 14 ?ou'll never complaln abouL ownlng eyLon's Lop LargeL.
2 Calvln !ohnson uL1 3 84 1,489 12
MegaLron hasn'L losL a sLep yeL, and ls sLlll Lhe besL wldeouL on
Lhe planeL.
3 Alshon !effery CPl 9 89 1,421 7
?ou heard lL here flrsL: Alshon wlll overLake Marshall as CuLler's
#1 LargeL Lhls season.
4 A.!. Creen Cln 4 98 1,426 11
My sclenLlflc analysls says he has been Lhe #4 fanLasy W8 ln each
of Lhe lasL Lwo years. Make lL Lhree.
3 !ordy nelson C8 11 83 1,314 8
underraLed buL oh so conslsLenL. Pe's also equally effecLlve as a
red zone and deep LhreaL. WlLh !ames !ones gone, and 8andall
Cobb back Lo aLLracL opponenLs' aLLenLlon, !ordy's value ls even
hlgher.
6 !ullo !ones A1L 64 41 380 2
Comlng back from a season losL Lo a fooL ln[ury, all slgns polnL Lo
!ones reLurnlng Lo form. lf MaLLy lce does Loo, !ullo wlll re[oln Lhe
ellLes.
7 uez 8ryanL uAL 6 93 1,233 13
My prlmary concern: Pow long wlll 8omo be ln Lhe llneup? WlLh
hlm, uez wlll be llghLs ouL. WlLhouL hlm, uez wlll suffer.
8 8randon Marshall CPl 3 100 1,293 12
1akes a backseaL Lo !effery Lhls year, buL sLlll ranks among Lhe
ellLes.
9 vlncenL !ackson 18 14 78 1,224 7
Pe musL develop rapporL wlLh McCown, buL Lhe blg red zone
LargeL should conLlnue Lo produce W81 numbers.
The Fantasy Fool's Top 60 Wide Receivers
Rankings are based on each player's projected position by the end of the 2014 season. This is a value ranking, NOT a recommended draft order.
Players may be drafted significantly higher or lower based upon their perceived value to other owners. Stats listed are from 2013. Visit the Fantasy
Fools blog at http://fantasy-fools.blogspot.com/ for daily fantasy advice.
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10 AnLonlo 8rown l1 7 110 1,498 8 A 8 gem, 8rown should conLlnue Lo be 8lg 8en's prlmary LargeL.
11 8andall Cobb C8 61 31 433 4
A healLhy Cobb Leamed wlLh a healLhy Aaron 8odgers wlll
produce more-Lhan-healLhy reLurns. Cobb also offers bonus value
as a reLurn speclallsL.
12 keenan Allen Su 17 71 1,046 8
LasL year's Lop rookle wldeouL was a blL player unLll Week 4. Pe
should sprlng ouL of Lhe gaLes Lhls year, boosLlng hls numbers
markedly.
13 Marques ColsLon nC 27 73 943 3
!lmmy Craham may be Lhe apple of 8rees' eye, buL ColsLon ls sLlll
hls mosL LrusLed W8. Pe's a Lerrlflc W82.
14 vlcLor Cruz n?C 28 73 998 4
Pe has regressed over Lhe pasL Lwo seasons, buL Cruz ls sLlll a
dangerous weapon. Pe and Lll [usL need Lo geL Lhelr mo[o back.
13 Lmmanuel Sanders uLn 33 67 732 6
SLeps lnLo Lhe spoL vacaLed by Lrlc uecker and lmmedlaLely
demands sleeper conslderaLlon. eyLon Mannlng has made sLars
of lesser LalenLs (see uecker, Lrlc). Welker's concusslon propels
hlm a few noLches hlgher.
16 8eggle Wayne lnu 68 39 308 2
Pe's reLurnlng from a severe knee ln[ury aL Lhe age of 33, so LhaL
makes Lwo huge red flags. Lven so, l llke hls chances wlLh Andrew
Luck aL Lhe conLrols. 8uy cheap and reap Lhe beneflLs.
17 lerre Carcon WAS 13 113 1,346 3
As long as 8C3 rebounds, Carcon wlll be a fanLasy weapon. u-!ax
wlll relleve some of Lhe pressure. 8uL 8C3 doesn'L look so hoL yeL.
l've knocked lerre down a noLch or deux.
18 Larry llLzgerald AZ 16 82 934 10
Pe has ellLe LalenL, buL Carson almer's llmlLaLlons relegaLe hlm
Lo Lhe ranks of W82. Mlchael lloyd's maLuraLlon should help a blL.
19 ueSean !ackson WAS 10 82 1,332 9
Pe has prospered wlLh Lhree dlfferenL C8s. 1here's no reason Lo
Lhlnk he can'L adapL Lo 8C3, Loo.
20 8oddy WhlLe A1L 33 63 711 3
l llke hls prospecLs for a rebound season wlLh !ullo back on Lhe
oLher slde and Conzo en[oylng reLlremenL. lf MaLLy lce geLs hls acL
LogeLher agaln, 8oddy could be money.
21 ercy Parvln SLA 167 1 17 0
Slng along wlLh me: "CvL8-8A1Lu." Pe can'L sLay healLhy, and he
commands way Loo hlgh a prlce. LeL someone else overpay.
22 !eremy Maclln Pl -- -- -- --
lf fully healLhy, Maclln could be ln for a huge year wlLh loles aL
Lhe conLrols. 8uL Lhere are some worrles LhaL hls legs are sLlll noL
back Lo 100. 1hls bears waLchlng.
23 Mlchael lloyd AZ 23 66 1,034 3
A blg, sLrong W8, lloyd has Lhe LalenL Lo soar ln Lhls league.
unforLunaLely, he doesn'L have Lhe C8. Look for conLlnued,
sLeady lmprovemenL, buL no glanL leaps.
24 Mlchael CrabLree Sl 108 19 284 1
Pe's nurslng a hamsLrlng buL should be flne by Lhe season opener.
CrabLree reLalns hls lead W8 role, buL LhaL ls unllkely Lo make hlm
anyLhlng beLLer Lhan a W82.
23 Andre !ohnson PCu 12 109 1,407 3
1he once "All World" W8 wlll be hamsLrung by medlocre, lf noL
poor, C8 play.
26 Cordarrelle aLLerson Mln 38 43 469 4
So, [usL how valuable can MlnnesoLa's besL W8 be? 1he answer
lles squarely ln Lhe C8 poslLlon, because aLLerson could be a sLar
ln Lhe rlghL envlronmenL.
27 !ullan Ldelman nL 18 103 1,036 6
Pe Lurned ouL Lo be whaL Lhe aLrloLs LhoughL Amendola would
be lasL season. So wlll LhaL conLlnue ln '14? l have my doubLs.
28 Wes Welker uLn 20 73 778 10
news of a 4-game suspenslon for Lus sends hls sLock
plummeLlng. Cn Lhe poslLlve slde, you goLLa flgure Lhe resL wlll
help hlm fully heal from hls mosL recenL concusslon, and he'll
come back sLrong.
29 1orrey SmlLh 8AL 22 63 1,128 4
l once LhoughL he had ellLe poLenLlal, buL afLer 3 consecuLlve
years ranked ln Lhe low-20s, LhaL appears Lo be whaL he ls.
30 Mlke Wallace MlA 23 73 930 3
Pe can'L seem Lo geL on Lhe same page wlLh 1annehlll on Lhe deep
rouLes, whlch ls whaL once made Wallace a LhreaL.
31 1.?. PllLon lnu 19 83 1,086 3
WlLh 8eggle Wayne reLurnlng from ln[ury, PllLon's LargeLs are
llkely Lo decllne. 1haL sald, he's sLlll one of Luck's faves, and LhaL's
a valuable commodlLy.
32 kenny SLllls nC 47 32 641 3
WlLh Lance Moore and uarren Sproles boLh ouL of Lhe plcLure,
SLllls wlll have hls chance Lo shlne opposlLe ColsLon. Look for a
quanLum leap ln producLlon for Lhe LalenLed wldeouL who wlll be
moLlvaLed Lo keep rookle 8randln Cooks ouL of Lhe sLarLlng llneup.
A preseason quad ln[ury has made hlm a greaL value plck.
33 Mlke Lvans 18 -- -- -- --
My predlcLlon for lanLasy 8ookle of Lhe ?ear, Lvans wlll beneflL
from double Leams on fellow wldeouL v-!ax. lf McCown can plck
up where he lefL off ln Chlcago, hls Lwo masslve W8s should
prosper.
34 kendall WrlghL 1Ln 31 94 1,079 2
Cn anoLher Leam, WrlghL could be a sLar. ln 1ennessee, noL so
much. lf Lhey would slmply look hls way more ofLen ln Lhe red
zone, hls recelvlng numbers wouldn'L seem so empLy.
33 Sammy WaLklns 8ul -- -- -- --
1he rookle wlll lmmedlaLely become L! Manuel's Lop LargeL. Pow
LhaL LranslaLes Lo producLlon ls Lhe mllllon-dollar quesLlon. A rlb
ln[ury ls noL expecLed Lo cosL hlm Lhe opener.
36 1errance Wllllams uAL 40 44 736 3
Pe'll beneflL greaLly from opposlng defenses' focus on uez, so
expecL a sLrong sLarL for Lhe sophomore. Agaln, Lhough, hls value
ls LeLhered Lo Lhe healLh of 8omo's achlng back. lf Lhe C8 exlLs,
Wllllams value wlll plummeL.
37 !ames !ones CAk 41 39 817 3
Pe'll be asked Lo sLep lnLo Lhe #1 W8 spoL, buL wlLhouL Aaron
8odgers aL Lhe conLrols, hls prospecLs are dlm. Conslder !ones a
W83 aL besL.
38 Markus WheaLon l1 134 6 64 0
1he second-year speedsLer should secure a sLarLlng [ob opposlLe
AnLonlo 8rown. Pe ls a glfLed aLhleLe LhaL has deflnlLe sleeper
poLenLlal lf 8lg 8en Lakes a shlne Lo hlm.
39 Lrlc uecker n?! 8 87 1,288 11
Pe Look Lhe money ln Lhe 8lg Apple and pffffLLLLL goes hls fanLasy
value.
40 uwayne 8owe kC 44 37 672 3
1ake away hls exLraordlnary 2010 season and 8owe ls [usL an
ordlnary wldeouL. Alex SmlLh ls unllkely Lo reklndle hls maglc. A
Week 1 suspenslon, shredded flnger and llngerlng quad ln[ury
decrease hls value even furLher.
41 8lley Cooper Pl 24 47 833 8
nearly as much of a surprlse as hls C8 lasL season, Cooper comes
wlLh plenLy of rlsk. Pe cerLalnly made Lhe mosL of hls 47
recepLlons, buL l wouldn'L be surprlsed lf he was a one hlL
wonder.
42 !arreLL 8oykln C8 31 49 681 3
8oykln puL up lmpresslve numbers when Cobb wenL down and
before A-8od was losL. WlLh !ames !ones wearlng a 8alders
unlform, 8oykln has serlous sleeper value as Lhe ackers' #3 W8.
43 8ueben 8andle n?C 43 41 611 6
Pe'll geL hls chance Lo sLarL wlLh nlcks ouL of Lhe plcLure, buL can
Lll geL Lhe ClanLs' passlng aLLack back where lL once was? uoesn'L
look llke lL, so far. 8andle had a poor preseason, whlch doesn'L
bode well.
44 Colden 1aLe uL1 29 64 898 3
1he Llons have been searchlng for someone Lo Lake all Lhe
pressure off MegaLron. MeLhlnks Lhey need Lo keep looklng.
43 Cecll ShorLs !Ax 46 66 777 3
A preseason hamsLrlng ln[ury ls cosLlng hlm valuable reps wlLh hls
lnexperlenced C8s. Lven lf he reLurns ln Week 1 fully healLhy,
Lhose same C8s wlll llmlL hls upslde ln any glven week.
46 1avon AusLln S1L 33 40 418 4
Pe brlngs added value ln leagues LhaL reward klck and punL
reLurners, buL AusLln seems Lo llve and dle wlLh Lhe blg plays.
WlLh 8radford ouL, Shaun Plll wlll have Lo bulld a rapporL wlLh
hlm. 1hey could sLarL off slowly.
47 Anquan 8oldln Sl 13 83 1,179 7
So easlly overlooked, especlally ln San lran, 8oldln almosL always
ouLperforms hls Au.
48 8rlan ParLllne MlA 26 76 1,016 4
lL's somewhaL shocklng LhaL ParLllne reeled ln more recepLlons
for more yards Lhan Mlke Wallace. WlLh 8randon Clbson
reLurnlng from ln[ury and rookle !arvls Landry also demandlng
LargeLs, ParLllne's conslsLency may be compromlsed.
49 uanny Amendola nL 60 34 633 2
?ou've goLLa ask yourself a quesLlon when you drafL Amendola:
"uo l feel lucky?"
30 uoug 8aldwln SLA 37 30 778 3
laylng second flddle Lo ercy Parvln ln a pass-challenged offense
ls no way Lo bulld your fanLasy cred.
31 SLeve SmlLh 8AL 43 64 743 4
uon'L expecL a second career revlval ln 8alLlmore, buL Lhe wlly
veLeran wlll sLlll have hls momenLs.
32 Pakeem nlcks lnu 32 36 896 0
Cn Lhe poslLlve slde, he'll be playlng wlLh a LalenLed young C8. Cn
Lhe negaLlve, he'll be behlnd Wayne and PllLon ln Lhe pecklng
order.
33 kelvln 8en[amln CA8 -- -- -- --
nobody needs Lhelr young W8 Lo sLep up lmmedlaLely more Lhan
Carollna.
34 8randln Cooks nC -- -- -- --
8ookle W8s rarely produce much ln new Crleans. Maybe nexL
year.
33 Creg !ennlngs Mln 39 68 804 4
lf Cordarrelle ls a rlsk, Lhe aglng !ennlngs ls a hyper-rlsk. no
Lhanks.
36 Malcom lloyd Su 128 6 149 0
Pe appears Lo be fully healed from lasL year's neck ln[ury and we
know 8lvers llkes hlm. uon'L be shocked lf he puLs up solld
numbers Lhls season.
37 ueAndre Popklns PCu 30 32 802 2 Pe should Lake a sLep forward, buL noL wlLhouL a leglL C8.
38 kenny 8rlLL S1L 142 11 96 0
Pe's sloLLed ln as a sLarLer, buL we all know how unrellable 8rlLL
has been LhroughouL hls career. Cne boneheaded move and he'll
be unemployed. 1haL sald, llke Charlle 8rown Lrylng Lo klck Lhe
fooLball, he mlghL [usL be worLh a laLe plck Lhls year.
39 Aaron uobson nL 39 37 319 4
As long as Ldelman, Amendola and Cronk are healLhy, uobson
lsn'L expecLed Lo play a ma[or role. 8uL he's worLh sLashlng away
for when Amendola's lnevlLable ln[ury crops up.
60 Andrew Pawklns CLL 122 12 199 0
WlLh !osh Cordon losL for Lhe season, someone has Lo caLch
passes ln Cleveland. Pawklns ls a beLLer beL Lhan Mlles AusLln,
Lhough noL by much.