Fantasy Football 2012: Wide Receiver Tiers of a Clown, Plus More Useful Links

Here are my five draft tiers for wide receivers before NFL training camps open next week.

The first two tiers may only have 22 theoretical locks for 1,150 total yards and/or nine touchdowns, but there's still plenty of great depth for 12- 14- and 16-team drafts.


Tier 1 (1,275 total yards and/or 11 TDs)

Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker, Andre Johnson, Roddy White


Tier 2 (1,150 total yards and/or nine TDs)

Victor Cruz, Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Steve Smith, Brandon Marshall, Percy Harvin, Marques Colston, Miles Austin, Vincent Jackson, A.J. Green, Steve Johnson, Jeremy Maclin, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt, Julio Jones


Tier 3 (975 total yards and/or seven TDs)

Reggie Wayne, Dez Bryant, Santonio Holmes, DeSean Jackson, Laurent Robinson, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Brandon Lloyd, Sidney Rice, Pierre Garcon, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, Malcom Floyd, Nate Washington, Torrey Smith, Antonio Brown, Greg Little, Titus Young


Tier 4 (850 total yards and/or five TDs)

Justin Blackmon, Jerome Simpson, Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, Austin Collie, Robert Meachem, Vincent Brown, Jabar Gaffney, Nate Burleson, James Jones, Lance Moore, Denarius Moore, Donald Jones, Doug Baldwin, Kevin Walter, Danario Alexander, Danny Amendola, Santana Moss, Mike Williams (Bucs)


Tier 5 (The Best Of The Rest)

Early Doucet, Brandon LaFell, Josh Gordon, DeVier Posey, Deion Branch, Michael Floyd, Steve Breaston, Jon Baldwin, Brian Quick, Johnny Knox, Chad Ochocinco, Leonard Hankerson, Devin Aromashodu, Alshon Jeffery, Earl Bennett, A.J. Jenkins, Jordan Norwood, Jason Hill, Brandon Tate, Juron Criner, Louis Murphy, Marvin McNutt, Nick Toon, Randall Cobb, Jordan Shipley, Greg Salas, Jacoby Ford, Kendall Wright, T.Y. Hilton, Jacoby Jones, Michael Jenkins, Devery Henderson, Brandon Gibson, Ben Obomanu, Arrelious Benn, Dezmon Briscoe, Golden Tate, Jason Avant, Mohamed Sanu, Mohamed Massaquoi, Donald Driver, Andre Roberts, Harry Douglas, Devin Hester, Devery Henderson, Reuben Randle, Josh Cribbs, David Nelson, Josh Morgan, Brian Hartline, Stephen Hill, Preston Parker, Mike Thomas, Andre Caldwell, Lee Evans, Legedu Naanee, Emmanuel Sanders, Chaz Schilens, Damian Williams

Practice Makes Perfect

Fantasy owners should begin the process of mock drafting. Here are six excellent sites for daily mocking—covering standard-scoring and keeper leagues. (ESPN.com is my preferred auctioneer.)

• ESPN Mock Draft Lobby
• Mock Draft Central
• Yahoo! Sports Mock Draft Lobby
• MyFantasyLeague.com
• CBS Sports Fantasy Lobby
• Fantasy Football Calculator

Toolbox Of Wonder

The forward-thinking eggheads at Fantasy Football Toolbox are off and running with unique takes on the upcoming season:

• Positional Average Draft Position (ADP)
• Team-by-Team Depth Charts
• Top 200 listing (continually updated)
• Positional sleeper picks
• Beware of the busts
• Best Year 3 wideouts

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.