Fantasy Football 2011: Wide Receiver Rankings

I list 60 receivers here. I’ve got Tier 1 with 5 receivers and Tier 2 with 4 more. I think Brandon Lloyd (ADP of WR18) is being undervalued similar to Peyton Hillis, despite finishing #1 last year. I wouldn’t take him top 10, but soon after, especially with all the news about Orton firmly grabbing the quarterback job. He doesn’t seem like a fluke to me, he’s shown tremendous athletic ability and makes great adjustments to the ball, and is the clear top target in Denver. Some other notes on the rankings below:

• Jeremy Maclin has dropped significantly with his health concerns that have kept him out, even though he’s returned to camp;
• Mario Manningham is the clear #2 option in a pretty good passing offense and is shooting up the boards, but still not quite as high as I have him here;
• It’s been asumed that Mike Sims-Walker is the top receiver in St. Louis, but Brandon Gibson has also been running with the first team throughout camp and looked good in preseason games. He can be had much cheaper than where I rank him here;
• How high you have Collie or low you have Garcon depends on your view of Collie’s health and relative quality. I think he’s much better and Garcon is just a filler that happens to play in a good offense, so I have a sizeable spread between the two;
• Lance Moore is a guy that can give you good bang for the buck, as he typically goes lower than where I rank him, though he can be a quality starting option in that offense, and with the news about Colston’s knee causing him to slide a little, Moore and Meachem should be moving up;
• The 2nd receiver in Green Bay is muddled. Driver slowed down last year, but neither Jones nor Nelson fully took advantage. I have a feeling one will outperform the ADP by a fair amount, but hard to say who. I have Nelson slightly higher though the veteran Driver is nominally the starter;
• I would have had Emmanuel Sanders higher and surpassing Ward in Pittsburgh, but the injury has slowed him in the preseason. Still, in a deep league, he’s the kind of late flier (high upside, productive passing offense, favorable schedule in 2011) that I would take a chance on.

On to all the rankings, with projected non-PPR points:

1. Andre Johnson, HOU (198)
2. Calvin Johnson, DET (194)
3. Roddy White, ATL (187)
4. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (185)
5. Hakeem Nicks, NYG (180)
6. Vincent Jackson, SD (172)
7. Greg Jennings, GB (170)
8. Mike Wallace, PIT (170)
9. Miles Austin, DAL (168)
10. Reggie Wayne, IND (162)
11. DeSean Jackson, PHI (159)
12. Brandon Lloyd, DEN (157)
13. Santonio Holmes, NYJ (155)
14. Dwayne Bowe, KC (151)
15. Brandon Marshall, MIA (149)
16. Mike Williams, TB (148)
17. Percy Harvin, MIN (147)
18. Dez Bryant, DAL (146)
19. Mario Manningham, NYG (144)
20. Marques Colston, NO (141)
21. Austin Collie, IND (140)
22. Stevie Johnson, BUF (140)
23. Wes Welker, NE (138)
24. Anquan Boldin, BAL (136)
25. Kenny Britt, TEN (135)
26. Santana Moss, WAS (130)
27. Sidney Rice, SEA (128)
28. Chad Ochocinco, NE (127)
29. Lance Moore, NO (126)
30. A.J. Green, CIN (124)
31. Mike Thomas, JAC (122)
32. Julio Jones, ATL (120)
33. Jacoby Ford, OAK (120)
34. Jeremy Maclin, PHI (118)
35. Lee Evans, BAL (118)
36. Steve Smith, CAR (117)
37. Braylon Edwards, SF (115)
38. Johnny Knox, CHI (111)
39. Greg Little, CLE (107)
40. Nate Burleson, DET (106)
41. Robert Meachem, NO (104)
42. Plaxico Burress, NYJ (102)
43. Brandon Gibson, STL (102)
44. Jordy Nelson, GB (101)
45. Mike Sims-Walker, STL (101)
46. Malcolm Floyd, SD (100)
47. Pierre Garcon, IND (99)
48. Andre Roberts, ARI (99)
49. Arrelious Benn, TB (98)
50. Deion Branch, NE (98)
51. Hines Ward, PIT (97)
52. Roy Williams, CHI (96)
53. James Jones, GB (96)
54. Davone Bess, MIA (95)
55. Mike Williams, SEA (94)
56. Jerome Simpson, CIN (93)
57. Donald Driver, GB (93)
58. Danny Amendola, STL (92)
59. Eddie Royal, DEN (91)
60. Emmanuel Sanders, PIT (90)

[photo via Getty]