Fantasy Football 2012 Week 3 Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

Our rankings certainly underwent a little bit of a shake-up yesterday after the news broke that Hakeem Nicks would not dress for tonight’s game. How does his absence, as well as all the other news, affect the rankings? Let’s take a look:

1. Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions – at Tennessee
2. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons – at San Diego
3. Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers – vs. New York Giants
4. A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals – at Washington
5. Victor Cruz – New York Giants – at Carolina
6. Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City Chiefs – at New Orleans
7. Miles Austin – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Tampa Bay
8. Percy Harvin – Minnesota Vikings – vs. San Francisco
9. Roddy White – Atlanta Falcons – at San Diego
10. Andre Johnson – Houston Texans – at Denver
11. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals – vs. Philadelphia
12. Reggie Wayne – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Jacksonville
13. Mike Wallace – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Oakland
14. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Tampa Bay
15. Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos – vs. Houston
16. Greg Jennings – Green Bay Packers – at Seattle
17. Brandon Marshall – Chicago Bears – vs. St. Louis
18. Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers – at Seattle
19. Malcolm Floyd – San Diego Chargers – vs. Atlanta
20. Stevie Johnson – Buffalo Bills – at Cleveland
21. Pierre Garcon – Washington Redskins – vs. Cincinnati
22. Vincent Jackson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Dallas
23. Danny Amendola – St. Louis Rams – at Chicago
24. Marques Colston – New Orleans Saints – vs. Kansas City
25. Brandon Lloyd – New England Patriots – at Baltimore
26. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Oakland
27. DeSean Jackson – Philadelphia Eagles – at Arizona
28. Brandon LaFell – Carolina Panthers – vs. New York Giants
29. Wes Welker – New England Patriots – at Baltimore
30. Jeremy Maclin – Philadelphia Eagles – at Arizona
31. Eric Decker – Denver Broncos – vs. Houston
32. Greg Little – Cleveland Browns – vs. Buffalo
33. Torrey Smith – Baltimore Ravens – vs. New England
34. Santonio Holmes – New York Jets – at Miami
35. Andrew Hawkins – Cincinnati Bengals – at Washington
36. Michael Crabtree – San Francisco 49ers – at Minnesota
37. Anquan Boldin – Baltimore Ravens – vs. New England
38. Lance Moore – New Orleans Saints – vs. Kansas City
39. Justin Blackmon – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Indianapolis
40. Kevin Ogletree – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Tampa Bay
41. Denarius Moore – Oakland Raiders – vs. Pittsburgh
42. Mike Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Dallas
43. Sidney Rice – Seattle Seahawks – vs. Green Bay
44. Nate Washington – Tennessee Titans – vs. Detroit
45. Darrius Heyward-Bey – Oakland Raiders – vs. Pittsburgh
46. Brian Hartline – Miami Dolphins – vs. New York Jets
47. Kenny Britt – Tennessee Titans – vs. Detroit
48. Laurent Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Indianapolis
49. Dexter McCluster – Kansas City Chiefs – at New Orleans
50. Brian Hartline – Miami Dolphins – vs. New York Jets

Thoughts

 - Greg Jennings is a wide receiver with injury concerns, though I would be surprised if he didn’t play.  Plan on using him, but keep an eye on the news just in case.

- After the Giants’ receiving duo just torched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, does anyone think both Dez Bryant and Miles Austin won’t produce? It’s hard to imagine them being quite up to the level we saw in Week 2 from New York, but they are good options none the less. Kevin Ogletree also becomes an intriguing option once again, but he’s more of a low-end choice.

- Demaryius Thomas has been tremendous thus far this season, but he draws a Texans defense that is allowing just 124.0 passing yards and 0.5 receiving TD per game. He should remain a WR2, but the matchup dictates him not being a WR1 despite his early season success.

- Andre Johnson gets hurt a little bit since Houston could opt to go run heavy, with their double-headed monster of Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Keep that in mind, though he still has the potential to be one of the elite in the game.

- With Aaron Hernandez out you would think that I would trust Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker a little bit more. Unfortunately, until we see what the Patriots will do with a week to game plan, it is hard to trust them as anything more than WR2/WR3. It certainly appeared like Welker was going to step into the role last week, but the Patriots demoted him once. Are you willing to bet on him now?

- A healthy Pierre Garcon might be close to a WR1, especially given the matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s a little bit risky at this point, but if he’s on the field you have to consider him a very good play.

- Danny Amendola is proving to be a target machine, as he already has 20 receptions for 230 yards and 1 TD. He is quickly climbing up the WR rankings and could settle in as a must use WR2 before long.

- Kenny Britt certainly disappointed in his first game back, didn’t he? Then again, we all knew he was going to be slowly worked into the offense. I would expect him to be significantly better this week, though he is too risky to trust him as more than a low-end option. Hopefully this is the last time we have any doubts about him, however.

- Do I trust the Jets’ offense? Absolutely not, but the Dolphins defense has been poor against the pass.  Considering they are allowing over 300 yards per game, if there was a week Santonio Holmes was going to produce this would be it. As a WR3, he’s worth the gamble.

- With a favorable matchup, will this be the week Justin Blackmon bursts onto the scene?  Fantasy owners can at least hope so, though it is hard to trust him until he actually shows us something.

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 3 rankings:

Top 25 Quarterbacks
Top 40 Running Backs
Top 25 Tight Ends
Top 15 Defenses