While wide receiver may not have felt the effects of the offseason frenzy as much as some others, that doesn’t mean that it went unscathed. Let’s take a look at how things currently look now that the majority of the dominoes have fallen:
- Andre Johnson – Houston Texans
- Roddy White – Atlanta Falcons
- Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions
- Hakeem Nicks – New York Giants
- Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals
- Greg Jennings – Green Bay Packers
- Reggie Wayne – Indianapolis Colts
- Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City Chiefs
- Miles Austin – Dallas Cowboys
- DeSean Jackson – Philadelphia Eagles
- Mike Wallace – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Vincent Jackson – San Diego Chargers
- Mike Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Brandon Marshall – Miami Dolphins
- Brandon Lloyd – Denver Broncos
- Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys
- Wes Welker – New England Patriots
- Santonio Holmes – New York Jets
- Percy Harvin – Minnesota Vikings
- Marques Colston – New Orleans Saints
- Jeremy Maclin – Philadelphia Eagles
- Kenny Britt – Tennessee Titans
- Steve Johnson – Buffalo Bills
- Anquan Boldin – Baltimore Ravens
- Pierre Garcon – Indianapolis Colts
- Michael Crabtree – San Francisco 49ers
- Mario Manningham – New York Giants
- Chad Ochocinco – New England Patriots
- Johnny Knox – Chicago Bears
- Sidney Rice – Seattle Seahawks
- Santana Moss – Washington Redskins
- Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers
- A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals
- Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons
- Jacoby Ford – Oakland Raiders
Thoughts:
- In his rookie season Dez Bryant had 45 receptions for 561 yards and 6 TD in just 12 games. He’s going to be the team’s second receiver, behind Austin Miles, but he has a ton of potential and could post big numbers.
- There is a lot of risk surrounding Marques Colston, considering he’s coming off microfracture surgery on his right knee, the same procedure he had on his left knee a few years ago. He’s shown potential in the past, but the injuries and the fact that the Saints spread the ball around give him too much potential for failure. He’s worth considering as a WR2, but I’d probably look elsewhere. http://rotoprofessor.com/football/?p=3302
- Kenny Britt has a ton of upside, but at this point we don’t know if his legal issues during the lockout are going to cost him any time on the field. Consider him high risk, high reward.
- The addition of Chad Ochocinco is going to help stretch defenses and keep them from focusing on Wes Welker. He had 86 receptions for 848 yards and 7 TD last season, despite playing in just 15 games (and only starting 11) and not being very far removed from knee surgery. Fully healthy and with a better option lining up across from him, its possible Welker can put up numbers like he did from 2007-2009.
- Santonio Holmes had 52 receptions for 746 yards and 6 TD over 12 games, his first year with the Jets. Instead of leaving via free agency he ultimately decided to re-up with New York and, with a full year of experience and a better rapport with Mark Sanchez, there are plenty of reasons to think that he can post significantly better numbers. He has a 1,200+ yard season under his belt and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get back to that area in 2011.
- A healthy Peyton Manning will mean a big season for Pierre Garcon. It doesn’t matter who else they have on that team, there always seem to be more than enough balls to go around.
- Can Sidney Rice have a big season in Seattle, where there doesn’t seem to be a very promising quarterback to throw him the ball? Time will tell, but he’s not worth gambling on as anything more than a WR3 at this point.
- With rumors coming out that the Giants’ Steve Smith could miss the first month of the season (and at that point, who knows if he is forced to miss more time), how can you not like Mario Manningham?
Make sure to check out the rest of the early rankings from Rotoprofessor:
