2011 Fantasy Football Preseason Rankings: WR

Wide receiver is a position unlike any other in the NFL. Where else can a player who was all-world for the last decade explode on a food service worker? Or ride a bull? Or star in his very own reality show? To put it simply, if I were sitting in a restaurant/casino/strip club and a guy like Chad Ochocinco walked in, I know that I would be in for a helluva night. The same cannot be said for a guy like Peyton Manning. I’d have a story to tell, but the divas at wide receiver would make sure some crazy sh*t was going down. In terms of fantasy, they may be fickle, but landing a star wideout can pay huge dividends.

Rank	Player	Position	Pos. Rank
9	Andre Johnson	WR	1
13	Roddy White	WR	2
14	Calvin Johnson	WR	3
20	Greg Jennings	WR	4
22	Hakeem Nicks	WR	5
23	Reggie Wayne	WR	6
26	Mike Wallace	WR	7
27	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	8
29	Desean Jackson	WR	9
36	Dwayne Bowe	WR	10
37	Miles Austin	WR	11
39	Vincent Jackson	WR	12
42	Mike Williams (TB)	WR	13
44	Dez Bryant	WR	14
45	Marques Colston	WR	15
47	Jeremy Maclin	WR	16
51	Brandon Marshall	WR	17
52	Wes Welker	WR	18
56	Santonio Holmes	WR	19
59	Brandon Lloyd	WR	20
62	Steve Johnson	WR	21
66	Anquan Boldin	WR	22
68	Percy Harvin	WR	23
73	Kenny Britt	WR	24
74	Sidney Rice	WR	25
75	Austin Collie	WR	26
77	Mario Manningham	WR	27
78	Michael Crabtree	WR	28
81	Pierre Garcon	WR	29
85	Johnny Knox	WR	30
91	Santana Moss	WR	31
93	Mike Williams (SEA)	WR	33
94	Steve Smith (CAR)	WR	32
95	Deion Branch	WR	34
98	Braylon Edwards	WR	35
102	A.J. Green	WR	36
111	Jordy Nelson	WR	37
112	Malcom Floyd	WR	38
114	Mike Thomas	WR	39
120	Julio Jones	WR	40
123	Derrick Mason	WR	41
124	James Jones	WR	42
127	Robert Meachem	WR	43
128	Davone Bess	WR	44
129	Hines Ward	WR	45
131	Jerome Simpson	WR	46
134	Lance Moore	WR	47
135	Chad Ochocinco	WR	48
136	Terrell Owens	WR	49
139	Leonard Hankerson	WR	50
140	Randy Moss	WR	51
148	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	52
151	Jacoby Ford	WR	53
159	Steve Smith (NYG)	WR	54
170	Nate Burleson	WR	55
180	Mike Sims-Walker	WR	56
182	Anthony Armstrong	WR	57
187	Donald Driver	WR	58
193	Steve Breaston	WR	59
197	Jacoby Jones	WR	60
199	Jerricho Cotchery	WR	61

1. Andre Johnson, Texans- I firmly believe that Andre Johnson could have gotten 1,000 yards and 10 TDs with his gloves stuck together by super glue. The dude is just a supreme pass-catching being.

2. Roddy White, Falcons- The Matt Ryan-Roddy White connection will be a fixture for (at least) the next five years. That’s like 10 in baseball years. Or 20 in normal occupation years.

3. Calvin Johnson, Lions- Unless your fantasy league has some alien rule that connects your players to the movie franchise that their nickname comes from, Megatron should be a star. As long as Michael Bay doesn’t get his CGI-happy hands on him.

4. Greg Jennings, Packers- It pains me to say it, but I don’t know if Jennings will live up to his top 5 billing. As a Packer fan, I’m dedicated enough to trust him, but even if James Jones leaves in free agency, he’s a little too inconsistent for my sake.

5. Hakeem Nicks, Giants- Now, Nicks on the other hand was the definition of consistent in 2010. Sure his TDs came mainly from a few scoring outbursts, but even when he didn’t find paydirt he usually topped 100 yards. Now if only I didn’t hate Eli Manning…

6. Reggie Wayne, Colts- This could just as easily be the guy who owns the dry cleaner I go to. As long as Peyton Manning has a cannon for an arm and always stays healthy his number one option will be a top 10 fantasy threat every year.

7. Mike Wallace, Steelers- Out of the top 10, Wallace is the guy I would have picked last during my 2010 drafts. When your QB has to spend the first half of the season suspended, putting together a banner year like Wallace is harder than it seems.

8. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals- Remember that hilarious quip I made about Andre Johnson being able to put up elite fantasy numbers without use of his hands? Well that’s pretty much how Fitzgerad spent 2010 (and will conceivably spend 2011). The QB situation in Arizona was atrocious, to put it kindly, but any sort of improvement means Larry could be a major steal in this year’s drafts.

9. DeSean Jackson, Eagles- The title for most mercurial fantasy player definitely has to go to DJax. Any given game, he can go for 200 yards and a few scores or 20 yards if he and Vick can’t connect on the long ball. I prefer to take more evenly spaced production, but those kinds of guys can’t win a given week by themselves like Jackson can.

10. Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs- Last year was magical for Bowe. I see no reason why things won’t continue with the passing game opened up by Jamaal Charles (now that Tod Haley isn’t goofing around with the geriatric Thomas Jones.

12. Vincent Jackson, Chargers- I can’t believe that I just typed Chargers next to Vincent Jackson’s name. However, so goes the life of an indentured servant NFL player. After being thoroughly disrespected last year, Jackson has no choice but to suit up for San Diego. While he showed last year that he can put his differences aside and rack up top shelf numbers, I worry that A.J. Smith might lose his hold on VJax by the end of the year and mysterious “injuries” might creep in.

25. Sidney Rice, Vikings- Last year’s dud of a season coupled with the ushering in of the Chad Pennington 2.0 era means bad things for Rice, on paper. However, I’m a firm believer in the fact that the cream rises and Sidney Rice is like a Cadbury egg.

37. Jordy Nelson, Packers- Last I heard, it looked like James Jones was on his way out of Green Bay since a team can only afford 5 talented wideouts. With Driver slowly showing his age, I like the idea of a late Packer pickup. He might not be flashy (see: white) but as his playoff performances showed, Nelson can definitely benefit from being a teammate of Aaron Rodgers.

54. Steve Smith, Giants- Another guy who I think will bounce back from a semi-miserable 2010. Without going down for the last half of the season, Smith was on pace for a very respectable year. Many sites are downgrading Smith because of Mario Manningham’s surge late last year. My counterpoint: Smith caught over 100 balls in 2009, he obviously has a connection with Eli Manning. That’s not going away just because the guy got hurt for a while.

2011 Fantasy Football Preseason Rankings: RB

Now we move on to what has historically been the most important position in fantasy football, running back. Picking up a can't miss stud will cost you a first round pick. But if you want to win your championship, you are going to need to uncover the hidden gems and capitalize on the backs that you pick up later in the draft. Guys like Arian Foster are few and far between, but recognizing a late round steal can mean great things to come. As I did in the QB rankings, check out the full rankings below and a writeup on the top 10 and some choice picks directly after the list.

Overall Rank	Player	Position	Pos. Rank
1	Adrian Peterson	RB	1
2	Arian Foster	RB	2
3	Chris Johnson	RB	3
4	Jamaal Charles	RB	4
5	Ray Rice	RB	5
6	Maurice Jones-Drew	RB	6
7	LeSean McCoy	RB	7
11	Michael Turner	RB	8
12	Frank Gore	RB	9
15	Darren McFadden	RB	10
16	Steven Jackson	RB	11
17	Rashard Mendenhall	RB	12
24	Matt Forte	RB	13
28	Peyton Hillis	RB	14
30	Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	15
31	Ryan Mathews	RB	16
32	Jonathan Stewart	RB	17
33	Knowshon Moreno	RB	18
34	LaGarrette Blount	RB	19
41	Cedric Benson	RB	20
43	DeAngelo Williams	RB	21
46	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	RB	22
50	Shonn Greene	RB	23
53	Jahvid Best	RB	24
54	Daniel Thomas	RB	25
55	Mark Ingram	RB	26
58	Felix Jones	RB	27
63	Fred Jackson	RB	28
67	Marshawn Lynch	RB	29
69	Ryan Williams	RB	30
72	Ryan Grant	RB	31
76	Joseph Addai	RB	32
79	Mikel Leshoure	RB	33
82	Ryan Torain	RB	34
83	James Starks	RB	35
84	Mike Tolbert	RB	36
86	Pierre Thomas	RB	37
88	Brandon Jacobs	RB	38
89	Michael Bush	RB	39
96	C.J. Spiller	RB	40
97	Beanie Wells	RB	41
99	Roy Helu	RB	42
100	LaDanian Tomlinson	RB	43
105	Ronnie Brown	RB	44
106	Mike Goodson	RB	45
113	Montario Hardesty	RB	46
115	Thomas Jones	RB	47
117	Danny Woodhead	RB	48
121	Rashad Jennings	RB	49
133	Demarco Murray	RB	50
137	Darren Sproles	RB	51
142	Ricky Williams	RB	52
145	Donald Brown	RB	53
149	Ben Tate	RB	54
153	Willis McGahee	RB	55
155	Jacquizz Rodgers	RB	56
156	Tim Hightower	RB	57
157	Chris Ivory	RB	58
160	Toby Gerhart	RB	59
161	Jason Snelling	RB	60
163	Reggie Bush	RB	61
167	Kendall Hunter	RB	62
171	Tashard Choice	RB	63
179	Anthony Dixon	RB	64
186	Justin Forsett	RB	65
188	Isaac Redman	RB	66
190	Jordan Todman	RB	67
192	Shane Vereen	RB	68
195	Cadillac Williams	RB	69
200	Bernard Scott	RB	70

1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings- There is a major debate out there about who should go number one, AP or Foster. For me, the argument comes down to what kind of a risk taker you are. Foster could repeat as the best RB out there, but I'm going to stick with the guy who is a shoe-in for the top 5 no matter what.

2. Arian Foster, Texans- Now that's not to say that Foster shouldn't be off the board extremely early in your draft. I just prefer Peterson. No one would argue with you if you sided with the Texans back instead of the guy who might have to line up behind Joe Webb.

3. Chris Johnson, Titans- It takes extremely high expectations when you put up a line like 1600 yards with 12 TDs and still leave people wanting more. As long as Tennessee resembles even a mediocre team, CJ2K should excel.

4. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs- Charles probably has the most room to improve after Todd Haley finally realized that Thomas Jones is not the Chiefs' future. Sure it only took him about 4 months of games and practices, but that's for last years' owners to worry about.

5. Ray Rice, Ravens- One of the bigger disappointments of 2010, Rice failed to live up to the lofty expectations his impressive rookie season set. My hope is that it can be chalked up to a sophomore slump and that 2011 is a year of good things to come.

6. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars- As a 2010 MJD owner, I will more than likely be staying away from the Jaguars cannonball sized back. When someone is as strong as Jones-Drew and they Lesstill manages to miss out on goal-line carries my interest goes out the window.

7. LeSean McCoy, Eagles- In PPR leagues, I start picturing McCoy knocking on the top 5 door. However, with how much the Michael Vick-led offense turns to the air, McCoy's carries will more than likely be limited.

8. Michael Turner, Falcons- Turner is the foil of LeSean McCoy. His offense will consistently turn to him, especially around the goal line, but if you play PPR he drops like a bird with clipped wings.

9. Frank Gore, 49ers- Gore is a guy I am targeting in all of my drafts this year. Season-ending injuries are never a good sign, but I just love Gore's game so much that I would he could play with one hip and I'd still consider him a first rounder.

10. Darren McFadden, Raiders- Last year was the coming out party for Run DMc. We all knew the talent was there, it was just a matter of him escaping the black hole. Stephen Hawking would be proud.

16. Ryan Mathews, Chargers- I have seen Mike Tolbert and Darren Sproles in street clothes. Neither of them are built to be feature backs. I seriously believe that Norv will finally get his head wrapped around the fact that Mathews is where the Chargers need to turn if they want to succeed.

23. Shonn Greene, Jets- Greene was another guy who let down last year's owners, but whose future is shining bright. LT will still be there snatching carries, so don't invest too much stock into him just yet. But Rex Ryan is no idiot and I think that by week 8 we will see the unstoppable force that Greene hinted at during the '09 playoffs.

40. C.J. Spiller, Bills- I don't think Spiller will assert himself as the guy in Buffalo, but with his explosive play-making ability, he could be a bye week plug-in for you if your backs don't share the same off week.

64. Anthony Dixon, 49ers- If you feel the way I do and are going to target Gore as a comeback candidate, Dixon is a must grab. Handcuffs are key when it comes to 1st round running backs and I think the 49ers' number 2 is the most important one out there.