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Fantasy Football Preview: The Wide Receivers
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/872/1/Fantasy-Football-Preview-The-Wide-Receivers/Fantasy-Football-Preview-The-Wide-Receivers.html
Andrew Mindzak
After a long and successful 15 year baseball career that started off walking his first 8 batters, then hitting the 9th before getting pulled, he has switched gears to writing about sports instead of playing them (although he is always up for a game of wiffleball).
The reigning 2006 shuffleboard champion on his cruise to Alaska, Andrew feels that there is nothing better than early-mid 90's music and taking it in with a nice cold Dos Equis.
He has been participating in Fantasy Football for over 10 years and is a firm believer in awarding fantasy points for 'Super Models Dated'. Another firm belief is Donald Arthur Mattingly should be in Cooperstown. But that will be another story...until then, email him here.
 
By Andrew Mindzak
Published on 08/1/2007
 


Carolina's Steve Smith is tops among wide receivers in ASM's fantasy preview, but don't forget about the Colts and Cards. Both teams have a tandem of wideouts that can lead your fantasy team to glory.

Fantasy Football Preview: The Wide Receivers
With the overabundance of starting running backs available this year, the stock of quality wide receivers has gone up considerably.  Wide receivers ranked 1 thru 10 are all solid, but the drop off after the 10th ranked wideout is rather significant.  So suffice to say, if you can get your hands on one of the top 10 ranked receivers, within reason, do it!  Some receivers are consistent, like Steve Smith, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, and Chad Johnson.  There are a few that are mostly consistent, but those 4 are at the top of the list.  There are a few tandems that are equally impressive.  You have Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne of Indianapolis, and Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh of Cincinnati.  Even though they are teammates, they still are super productive!  With that being said, here are the top 10 receivers:

1.    Steve Smith – WR Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith put together another solid season in 2006, despite missing the opening 2 weeks with a hamstring injury.  He still put up 1,166 yards on 83 catches, and scored 9 total TD’s.  He should bounce back nicely this year, and have a stellar ’07 campaign.  Even if Delhomme gets hurt, they now have David Carr to come in, which will not hurt Smith’s productivity one bit.

2.    Chad Johnson – WR Cincinnati Bengals
Chad Johnson, aka Ocho Cinco, had a decent year, even though he started off slowly.  He wound up with 1,369 yards on 87 catches, and found the end zone 7 times.  Having Carson Palmer as your QB makes any WR good, but Chad would actually make Joey Harrington look good.  Wideout partner T.J. Houshmandzadeh is dangerous in his own right, and takes a lot of double teams of Johnson, leaving him lots of open room.  Another solid year for Ocho Cinco, coming right up!

3.    Torry Holt – WR St. Louis Rams
Torry Holt had himself a typical Torry Holt year in 2006, and that’s a good thing!  He caught 93 balls for 1,188 yards and 10 TD’s.  Holt is the main man in St. Louis with a top notch QB in Mark Bulger, and RB Steven Jackson in the backfield to keep the defenses honest.  I would expect the same from Holt in 2007:  over 90 catches, over 1,100 yards, and 10 TD’s.  It’s nice having that consistency.

4.    Marvin Harrison – WR Indianapolis Colts
One of the best WR’s of all time, Marvin Harrison had a great 2006 season.  He caught 95 balls for 1,366 yards and scored 12 TD’s.  I would look for much of the same in ’07, but maybe a little less productive with his age possibly starting to kick in.  He still has Reggie Wayne opposite him, and some guy Peyton Manning throwing passes to him, so 2007 looks to be another good year for Mr. Harrison.

5.    Larry Fitzgerald – WR Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald had a rough 2006, missing 3 games, but still put up 69 catches for 946 yards and 6 TD’s.  Larry is one of the huge beneficiaries of having teammate Anquan Boldin line up down the field from him to take the double team away, and with QB Matt Leinart having more experience under his belt, look for a healthy, and ultimately dangerous Fitzgerald in 2007.  90 catches for 1,200 yards and 8 TD’s is not a far stretch by any means.

6.    Reggie Wayne – WR Indianapolis Colts
Reggie Wayne had another fantastic year opposite Marvin Harrison, pulling in 86 catches for 1,310 yards and 9 TD’s.  Wayne has lots of opportunities, being as he would be a #1 receiver on almost any other team; he goes against defenses #2 corner, giving him lots of room to play with.  With the elder Manning tossing him passes, look for more of the same from Wayne.

7.    Anquan Boldin – WR Arizona Cardinals
Anquan Boldin had himself a very solid year in 2006, catching 83 balls and amassing 1,203 yards.  He only put up 4 TD’s, but keep in mind he also had a rookie QB throwing to him.  With Leinart becoming more familiar to the NFL style of play, look for Boldin to get his share of catches and put up scary numbers in 2007.  1,400 yards and 10 TD’s wouldn’t seem out of the picture.

8.    Terrell Owens – WR Dallas Cowboys
Terrell Owens led all receivers with 13 receiving TD’s last year, and also had 1,180 yards on 85 catches.  Despite all of T.O.’s drama, he still is a force to be reckoned with.  Dallas has a very powerful offense, and T.O. is a big part of that.  Tony Romo should have a solid year, and expect T.O. to be the main benefactor of that.  Also, if you get fantasy points for fur coats worn during a game, snag Owens up!

Fantasy Football Preview: The Wide Receivers
 9.    Javon Walker – WR Denver Broncos
Javon Walker had a pretty decent 2006 season, catching 69 balls for 1,084 yards and 8 TD’s.  When you think about how he missed 15 games in 2005, and mediocre QB play most of 2006, 2007 is looking brighter and brighter.  Jay Cutler got his feet wet in 2006, and will only improve in 2007.  With Rod Smith getting older and older, expect more action for Walker.  1,400 yards and 11 TD’s would not surprise me this year from Javon.

10.    Roy Williams – WR Detroit Lions
Roy Williams had himself a stellar 2006 campaign, catching 82 passes for 1,310 yards and 7 TD’s.  Surprisingly he stayed healthy last year, and the numbers showed what he is capable of.  Combine the fact that the Lions are horrible and have to throw the whole game to catch up and Mike Martz is the Offensive Coordinator, look for more of the same from Williams in 2007.

Here are the rest of the best…
11.    Marques Colston – WR New Orleans Saints:  Breakout year in 2006, look for a lot of the same from Colston, with a solid Brees at QB.
12.    Lee Evans – WR Buffalo Bills:  82 catches and 1,292 yards, not too shabby, especially in the cold Buffalo winter.
13.    Donald Driver – WR Green Bay Packers:  Driver still solid in GB as the ‘Pack’ will be playing from behind a lot meaning fantasy gold for Donald.
14.    T.J. Houshmandzadeh – WR Cincinnati Bengals:  Stellar opposite Chad Johnson.  If anyone thinks they’re funny and mispronounces his name on purpose during your draft, you have my permission to kick them in the shins.
15.    Reggie Brown – WR Philadelphia Eagles:  Now the true #1 in pass happy Philly, provided McNabb is healthy, Brown will have great year.
16.    Andre Johnson – WR Houston Texans:  Led the NFL in catches in 2006, new QB in town Matt Schaub will go to him often.
17.    Hines Ward – WR Pittsburgh Steelers:  The main pass catching weapon in the steel city, look for Ward to have a solid year as Big Ben rebounds nicely.
18.    Darrell Jackson – WR San Francisco 49ers:  D-Jack gives young Alex Smith his first true receiving weapon, look for Jackson to have solid year.
19.    Plaxico Burress – WR New York Giants:  With Tiki Barber gone, look for Burress to get more attention from Eli.
20.    Deion Branch – WR Seattle Seahawks:  Now the #1 in Seattle, look for Hasselbeck and Branch to hook up in the end zone frequently.
21.    Calvin Johnson – WR Detroit Lions:  Yet another 1st round WR taken by Detroit, this one seems legit…or at least Matt Millen hopes so.
22.    Randy Moss – WR New England Patriots:  Maybe Tom Brady can teach Moss how to spell ‘TEIAM’ without the ‘I’.  I won’t hold my breath.
23.    Mark Clayton – WR Baltimore Ravens:  Clayton seems poised to put up a huge 2007, and I think he will.  Over 1,000 yards and 7 TD’s.
24.    Laveranues Coles – WR New York Jets:  Caught 91 balls in ’06, look for much of the same in 2007 from Coles.
25.    Santana Moss – WR Washington Redskins:  Look for Moss to rebound big time from his mediocre ’06.  He and Campbell will have solid connection.
26.    Terry Glenn – WR Dallas Cowboys:  The #2 in Big ‘D’, Glenn is the deep threat, while Owens gets more action, still Terry will put up decent numbers.
27.    Vincent Jackson – WR San Diego Chargers:  Watch out for Jackson as Rivers is getting the hang of things, and LT preoccupying defenses.  Vincent will break out in 2007.
28.    Chris Chambers – WR Miami Dolphins:  Hopefully CC has a DD this year.  New QB Green will be a sight for sore eyes provided Chambers stops taking plays out of the Chris Henry playbook for life.
29.    Donte’ Stallworth – WR New England Patriots:  Stallworth had a great ’06 in Philly, and looks to do the same in ’07.
30.    Braylon Edwards – WR Cleveland Browns:  Edwards scored 5 TD’s in his final 9 games in ’06, but horrible QB play will still be Edwards’ worst enemy.