2012 Fantasy Football Week 7: Wide Receivers (WR) Rankings and Projections

Despite his drop on a key two-point conversion, Dez Bryant finally had the game we’ve been waiting for since his rookie season. On the day, Bryant was targeted 15 times and hauled in 13 receptions for 95 yards and two touchdown scores.

With Miles Austin still not looking like the receiver we remember before his hamstring problems started in September of last season and DeMarco Murray likely out for a stretch with a foot injury, look for Dallas to target the third-year receiver often going forward.

Bryant had 13 targets in the Cowboys' loss to the Bears before the team's bye week, and as my father pointed out on our latest podcast, “If Dallas was going to bench Bryant or shy away from using him, it would’ve come after his up-and-down performance Week 4.”

As we now know, that wasn’t the case, as Romo continued to go Bryant’s way, even when the running game was torching Baltimore for a franchise-worst 228 yards on the ground in a close game.

Expect big things again this week, as the Cowboys are desperate for a win and play against a vulnerable Panthers secondary.

What Did We Learn From Week 6?

- Percy Harvin continues to play through injury at a high level and is arguably the Vikings' MVP this season. Hungry for a new contract, expect Harvin to put up big numbers this year, and as long as he’s active, we need to consider him a must-start every week.

- Denarius Moore was one of my favorite breakout receivers in the early portion of the offseason, but continued hamstring problems cooled off my optimism for his projections. Expect good things from Moore going forward, as he will benefit from a quarterback who can get him the football down the field and the fact that defenses are focused on stopping Darren McFadden.

- For all the talk Joe Haden had last week, A.J. Green still posted seven receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Not a big talker like elite fantasy receivers of the past like Terrell Owens, Green just carves you up on the field and let’s his play speak for itself.

We hear you loud and clear, Green, and you should be in the conversation as the top receiver in the game in only your second season.

Sean’s Week 7 Watch List

- With Alshon Jeffery down for a month or so, Earl Bennett is the receiver we need to target on the waiver wire. I will be interested to see how he’s used in a very important game against the Lions.

- Pierre Garcon suffered a setback last week and may not play this week. Because we have so many receivers on bye weeks, I have him ranked in the top 40, but keep an eye on his availability by Friday. If out, I would like Santana Moss as a sneaky start this week.

The joke about Chris Carter back in the day is he only caught touchdowns. In reality, Carter did much more than that, but until Gordon made a few receptions toward the end of the game, all the rookie did in recent weeks was catch touchdowns.

Finally, the Browns seem to have a vertical presence in the offense and if he keeps it rolling, it will only help the rest of the team, not to mention fantasy owners. Let’s see how he does against the Colts this week.

1	A.J. Green	Steelers
2	Victor Cruz	Redskins
3	Calvin Johnson	at Bears
4	Larry Fitzgerald	at Vikings
5	Percy Harvin (I)	Cardinals
6	Vincent Jackson	Saints
7	Brandon Marshall	Lions
8	Reggie Wayne	Browns
9	Jordy Nelson	at Rams
10	Dez Bryant	at Panthers
11	Mike Wallace	at Bengals
12	Wes Welker	Jets
13	James Jones	at Rams
14	Denarius Moore	Jaguars
15	Marques Colston	at Bucs
16	Stevie Johnson	Titans
17	Andre Johnson	Ravens
18	Mike Williams	Saints
19	Torrey Smith	at Texans
20	Steve Smith	Cowboys
21	Hakeem Nicks (I)	Redskins
22	Kenny Britt	at Bills
23	Antonio Brown	at Bengals
24	Brandon Lloyd (I)	Jets
25	Anquan Boldin	at Texans
26	Randall Cobb	at Rams
27	Miles Austin	at Panthers
28	Kendall Wright	at Bills
29	Andre Roberts	at Vikings
30	Andrew Hawkins	Steelers
31	Michael Crabtree	Seahawks
32	Josh Gordon	at Colts
33	Pierre Garcon (I)	at Giants
34	Nate Burleson	at Bears
35	Earl Bennett	Lions
36	Sidney Rice	at 49ers
37	Santana Moss	at Giants
38	Brandon LaFell	Cowboys
39	Domenik Hixon	Redskins
40	Nate Washington	at Bills

Week 7 Standard Rankings – QB | RB | TE | Flex | D |