Top 5 (Wide Receivers)

Wide Receivers

Top 5

Larry Fitzgerald- 2008 was a great season for Larry. He had 96 catches for 1,431 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. He gets a lot of help from Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin. Boldin helps a lot because he takes lots of attention off of Fitzgerald. There is one problem; Boldin might leave the Cardinals over a contract dispute. If he does, then opposing can solely focus on Larry and put 2 or 3 defenders on him. Larry is good enough that he can still be a force even when he is double teamed. But hopefully Boldin will return, for Larry’s sake. This year I think Larry is talented enough to get 101 receptions for 1,473 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is definitely a top 10 pick.

Andre Johnson- Last year Johnson put up phenomenal numbers. He led the NFL in receptions with 115 and receiving yards with 1,575. Andre is a very good receiver but there’s on problem, he only does well when Matt Schuab is throwing to him but he’s hurt often. In the 5 games that Schuab missed, Johnson caught 37 passes for 443 yards and only 2 touchdowns. These numbers aren’t horrible but compared to his numbers throughout the rest of the season they are way below average. But if Matt Schuab can stay healthy throughout the season, watch out because they can be a great 1-2 punch. I predict that Andre will get 105 receptions for 1,498 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Calvin Johnson- Last year Calvin “Megatron” Johnson couldn’t have been more spectacular. For a team with a gaping hole at Quarter Back, he was amazing. 33.4 percent of all passes went to him. He was thrown to 151 times and got it 78 times. He also caught 12 touchdowns. He is big, fast, tall, and will catch just about anything thrown his way. Calvin is going to be off the charts this year. If only he was on a team with a good Quarter Back then he would be the top receiver by far, but since he’s not, he is ranked 14^th on my Top 200. He should be taken in the second round.

Randy Moss- After a record setting 2007, Moss’s fantasy value took a big hit when Tom Brady went down in week 1. Here is the stat line for Moss in ’07: 98 receptions, 1,493 receiving yards, 15.2 yards receiving average, and 23 touchdowns. I’d say those are some pretty good numbers. But here is his stat line in ’08: 69 receptions, 1,008 yards receiving, 14.6 yards receiving average, and 11 touchdowns. These numbers aren’t bad, in fact, there really good. But compared to 2007, they aren’t very good. The main and really the only reason that his numbers were down was because Tom Brady was hurt. Matt Cassel never really mastered the deep ball which is Moss’s specialty. But Tom Brady is back and healthy again this year and no one throws a prettier deep ball than Brady. Moss’s numbers this year should be more like the ones he put up in ’07.

Steve Smith- Smith was very good last year considering he missed the first 2 games of the regular season. The reason why he missed the first 2 games was because he got in a fight with teammate Ken Lucas during training camp. Smith was suspended by the Panthers for 2 games. But despite missing 2 games, Smith put up great numbers, 1,421 yards on 78 receptions and 6 touchdowns. His touchdown total is a little low but you can blame some of that on the fact that he missed the first 2 games of the season. Smith has big play ability, he isn’t the biggest guy on the field but he is definitely one of the fastest. He has real game-breaking speed and skill. He will be a top receiver on any team. I project that he will get 1,397 yards on 87 receptions and 9 touchdowns. He is definitely a second or third round pick.