With the NFL’s renewed emphasis on illegal contact, a growing number of fantasy football owners are taking a chance on wide receivers with the belief that teams this coming season will rely on the passing game more than ever.
Below, we check out how the experts at ESPN, Yahoo Sports and FantasyPros.com ranked the league’s top wide receivers this coming season. You can also check out their running back choices here.
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Fantasy Football Experts’ Wide Receiver Rankings
It’s Megatron’s world and we all just live in it. That certainly is the case as Calvin Johnson. The league’s best wide receiver is once again the unanimous choice of all media outlets as the number one pick among wideouts for this year’s fantasy draft.
ESPN
[sc:NFL240banner ]Matthew Berry, Christopher Harris and Eric Karabell of ESPN have installed Calvin Johnson as their unanimous number one pick for the wide receiver position for this year’s fantasy draft. Megatron had another solid season for the Detroit Lions last year as he recorded 1,492 receiving yards, in the process nabbing his fourth consecutive 1,000+ receiving-yard season.
The 28-year-old showed no signs of slowing down in his seventh year in the league as he gained a career- high 17.8 yards per catch last season. He also scored 12 touchdowns last season as he matched his second-best mark in the NFL with regards to that department. No wonder he is the favorite among wide receivers at +150 to score the most fantasy points this season.
Wide Receiver
Matthew Berry
Christopher Harris
Eric Karabell
Calvin Johnson
1
1
1
Demaryius Thomas
2
2
2
Dez Bryant
3
5
3
Brandon Marshall
4
6
5
A.J. Green
5
3
4
Jordy Nelson
6
7
10
Julio Jones
7
4
6
Alshon Jeffery
8
9
8
Antonio Brown
9
8
7
Randall Cobb
11
10
9
Yahoo Sports
For Yahoo Sports’ five-man team of fantasy football experts – namely Brandon Funston, Andy Behrens, Brad Evans, Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don, the clear consensus is that Johnson is the top choice for this year’s draft with four of the five experts agreeing with that opinion.
What caught the eye though was Brandon Fuston’s decision to go against the norm and select Broncos’ wide receiver Demaryius Thomas as his top choice this year.
Several factors played here. Although Johnson had a strong season last year, his numbers were significantly down from the career-high marks he set in 2012. His receiving yard numbers went down by 24 percent last season as he posted just 1,492 receiving yards last campaign, way below the 1,964 receiving yard total he set in 2012.
Thomas, on the other hand, basically posted similar numbers in his second year as quarterback Peyton Manning’s sidekick. He recorded 1,430 receiving yards last year, just four yards shy of his 2012 mark and grabbed a career-high 14 touchdowns as well. With Manning returning once again for the league’s top offensive team last season, there’s no doubting Thomas can put up the same or even greater numbers this year. He is pegged at +250 to top the fantasy points list among wide receivers this season.
Wide Receiver
Brandon Fuston
Andy Behrens
Brad Evans
Scott Pianowski
Dalton Del Don
Calvin Johnson
2
1
1
1
1
Demaryius Thomas
1
4
2
2
3
Dez Bryant
3
2
4
4
2
A.J. Green
5
3
5
3
5
Brandon Marshall
6
5
3
5
6
Julio Jones
4
10
9
7
4
Alshon Jeffery
7
8
7
8
8
Antonio Brown
9
6
6
9
10
Jordy Nelson
8
7
13
6
7
Keenan Allen
16
12
8
10
9
FantasyPros.com
FantasyPros.com, using the consensus of 52 experts, agreed that Detroit Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson should be the number one choice for fantasy football owners in this year’s draft. Throughout his seven-year career, he has consistently topped the receiving charts, accumulating a total of 9,328 receiving yards since entering the league back in 2007.
His continued success this season will greatly depend on quarterback Matthew Stafford and how quickly he grasps the new offensive schemes that were put in place by new head coach Jim Caldwell and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. This year, there is more emphasis on Stafford spreading the ball to different receivers and with the Lions getting prized recruit WR Golden Tate this offseason, life will definitely be much easier for Johnson.
Johnson is the odds-on favorite at +250 to have the most receiving yards at the end of the 2014 regular season.
Rank
Wide Receiver
Average Draft Position
1
Calvin Johnson
1.0
2
Demaryius Thomas
2.0
3
Dez Bryant
3.0
4
A.J. Green
4.0
5
Julio Jones
6.0
6
Brandon Marshall
5.0
7
Jordy Nelson
7.0
8
Alshon Jeffery
9.0
9
Antonio Brown
8.0
10
Randall Cobb
10.0
Top Bet
Here at Top Bet, we also believe that Calvin Johnson will generate the most number of fantasy points among all wide receivers this season. He has speed, power and size. He has immense leaping ability. He’s definitely a once-in-a-generation talent that fantasy football owners should not pass on in their respective drafts. Still, not all teams can acquire Megatron. So, we’ve compiled a list of our Top Five wide receivers this season along with their projected numbers.
1. Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions) – 250 points
1,620 receiving yards, 92 receptions, 14 total touchdowns
2. Demaryius Thomas (Denver Broncos) – 225 points
1,450 receiving yards, 95 receptions, 13 total touchdowns
3. A.J. Green (Cincinnati Bengals) – 210 points
1,380 receiving yards, 94 receptions, 12 total touchdowns
4. Dez Bryant (Dallas Cowboys) – 204 points
1,313 receiving yards, 96 receptions, 12 total touchdowns
5. Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons) – 198 points
1,305 receiving yards, 97 receptions, 11 total touchdowns
