2013 Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

In Week 8, fantasy owners will have bye weeks to contend with as well as some difficult matchups.  

Which wide receivers will we be able to trust?  Who is a little bit riskier?  

Let’s take a look at everything we need to know for Week 8:

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions, vs. Dallas
2. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys, at Detroit
3. Victor Cruz, New York Giants, at Philadelphia
4. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers, at Minnesota
5. Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins, at Denver
6. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, vs. Carolina
7. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals, vs. New York Jets
8. DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles, vs. New York Giants
9. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos, vs. Washington
10. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals, vs. Atlanta
11. Wes Welker, Denver Broncos, vs. Washington
12. Eric Decker, Denver Broncos, vs. Washington
13. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers, at Tampa Bay
14. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, at Oakland
15. Justin Blackmon, Jacksonville Jaguars, vs. San Francisco
16. Harry Douglas, Atlanta Falcons, at Arizona
17. Terrance Williams, Dallas Cowboys, at Detroit
18. Rueben Randle, New York Giants, at Philadelphia
19. Anquan Boldin, San Francisco 49ers, at Jacksonville
20. Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints, vs. Buffalo
21. Jarrett Boykin, Green Bay Packers, at Minnesota
22. Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville Jaguars, vs. San Francisco
23. Josh Gordon, Cleveland Browns, at Kansas City
24. Greg Jennings, Minnesota Vikings, vs. Green Bay
25. Denarius Moore, Oakland Raiders, vs. Pittsburgh
26. Kenbrell Thompkins, New England Patriots, vs. Miami
27. Robert Woods, Buffalo Bills, at New Orleans
28. Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants, at Philadelphia
29. Jeremy Kerley, New York Jets, at Cincinnati
30. Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals, vs. Atlanta
31. Julian Edelman, New England Patriots, vs. Miami
32. Mike Wallace, Miami Dolphins, at New England
33. Percy Harvin, Seattle Seahawks, at St. Louis
34. Golden Tate, Seattle Seahawks, at St. Louis
35. Brandon LaFell, Carolina Panthers, at Tampa Bay
36. Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles, vs. New York Giants
37. Kris Durham, Detroit Lions, vs. Dallas
38. Jerome Simpson, Minnesota Vikings, vs. Green Bay
39. Stephen Hill, New York Jets, at Cincinnati
40. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs, vs. Cleveland
41. Stevie Johnson, Buffalo Bills, at New Orleans
42. Aaron Dobson, New England Patriots, vs. Miami
43. Kenny Stills, New Orleans Saints, vs. Buffalo
44. Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks, at St. Louis
45. Austin Pettis, St. Louis Rams, vs. Seattle
46. Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh Steelers, at Oakland
47. Brian Hartline, Miami Dolphins, at New England
48. Chris Givens, St. Louis Rams, vs. Seattle
49. Donnie Avery, Kansas City Chiefs, vs. Cleveland
50. Greg Little, Cleveland Browns, at Kansas City

Thoughts:

• It was interesting to see Jordy Nelson fail to post big numbers (5 REC, 42 YDS, 1 TD ) in Week 7 considering all of the injuries plaguing the Green Bay receiving corps. Does anyone really expect Jarrett Boykin (who is also a viable option) to out produce Nelson again, though? The Vikings have been among the worst passing defenses in the league, making Nelson a top-five option.

• We all know that the Broncos offense is going to roll, especially against a Washington defense that has allowed 262.8 passing yards per game and 11 TDs. The question is: which receiver is going to be the go-to guy for Denver? Demaryius Thomas hasn’t exceeded 100 yards since Week 1, and he has scored in just three of seven games, meaning you almost have to think that Peyton Manning is going to try and force him to get involved. You can argue that Thomas, Eric Decker and Wes Welker are all WR1s this week, but Thomas should still be the top one on your list.

• Tampa Bay could have a tough time running the ball against the Panthers this week, and they have also proven recently that they are going to throw the ball to Vincent Jackson whenever they get the chance. While he can’t be expected to replicate his Week 7 success (10 REC, 138 YDS, 2 TD), he has been on a roll over the past two weeks (19 REC, 252 YDS, 4 TD). Jackson has to be considered one of the best options at the position this week.

• A healthy Michael Vick probably would have propelled DeSean Jackson into a borderline top-five option this week because, the last time these two faced the Giants together, Jackson he had seven receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown. However, the question regarding who is going to start at quarterback for the Eagles this week downgrades Jackson to a borderline top-10 option with upside.

• Percy Harvin could return this week, but it’s hard to imagine him making a major impact immediately. You may want to push him up to a high-level option, but we just can’t do that right now. Even with the bye weeks, in shallow formats, it’s hard to take the risk on starting him.

• With the Falcons being so banged up at wide receiver, Harry Douglas went off in Week 7 (7 REC, 149 YDS, 1 TD). With a favorable matchup against Arizona, it’s safe to expect WR2 production, at worst, from Douglas this week.

• At this point, it’s impossible not to consider Rueben Randle as the better option to Hakeem Nicks in New York. Nicks continues to show a poor rapport with Eli Manning, while Randle has started to routinely find the end zone. Nicks obviously has upside and is worth considering with the bye weeks upon us, but he’s tough to trust.

• Quarterback problems plus a difficult matchup against the Chiefs defense (six passing TDs allowed all season) will likely result in tough sledding for Josh Gordon this week. He should still be considered a low-end WR2, but it’s tough to consider as him anything more than that.

• Over the past two weeks, Marques Colston has three receptions for 26 yards on five targets. There should be better days ahead, but until he starts producing, he needs to be downgraded slightly.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 8 rankings:

• Quarterbacks (Top 25)
• Running Backs (Top 40)
• Tight Ends (Top 20)