2009 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings

A youth movement is occurring at the wide receiver position. In fact, the position has become so dominated by the young guns that seven of the top-10 fantasy football wide receivers from 2008 have yet to hit the big 3-0 (Steve Smith, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss were the exceptions).

As such, you’ll notice a changing of the guard some-what in his year’s wide receiver rankings, with Leapin’ Larry Fitzgerald leaping all the way to the top, followed closely by Houston Texans’ stud, Andre Johnson, while former stud Chad Ochocinco falls out of the top-20 and old reliable, Torry Holt, plummets out of the top-30.

TIER 1

1. Larry Fitzgerald—Arizona Cardinals (Bye: Week 4)

It would have been intriguing to go inside the mind of Fitzgerald as he was in the midst of outrunning every Pittsburgh Steelers defender to the end zone during his 64-yard touchdown reception in the Super Bowl last season, if only to find out if he was thinking of all the people who have criticized his speed in the past. Rest assured that those critics are silent now. Last season Fitzgerald caught 96 passes and set career-highs in receiving yards (1,431) and touchdown receptions (12). He’s been a model of consistency throughout his five-year career, and has caught at least eight touchdown passes in every season that he’s played a minimum of 15 games.

Last year, during the Cardinals’ surprising four-game playoff run that culminated in a Super Bowl appearance, Fitzgerald had at least six catches, one touchdown and 100 receiving yards in each contest. Those performances undoubtedly helped catapult him into the No. 1 overall spot among fantasy football wide receivers throughout the industry. He’ll only be 26 when the season starts, and despite some changes among Arizona’s coaching staff, there’s no reason to believe the former Pittsburgh star’s performance will ebb.  Another 95+ catches, 1,400+ receiving yards and 10+ scores are virtually guaranteed if he is healthy.

2. Andre Johnson—Houston Texans (Bye: Week 10)

If asked who the No. 4 passing offense in the NFL was last season, most people would likely rattle off a number of teams—Indianapolis, Dallas, Green Bay, Philadelphia—before thinking about the Texans. But indeed, Houston did claim that fourth spot by throwing for nearly 267 yards per game. The catalyst for that aerial incursion was Johnson. He had eight games with at least 110 receiving yards, including a momentous four-game stretch in which he hauled in at least nine passes for 130 receiving yards in each.

The former Miami star was on his way to setting all kinds of career-highs in 2007, but injury ended that campaign early, forcing his fantasy football owners were to wait until last season. His start to 2008 was auspicious, as he caught 10 passes for 112 yards in Week 1, but after a hurricane forced Houston to take their bye in Week 2, Johnson came back meekly, combining for just five receptions and 67 receiving yards in Weeks 3 and 4. It was lights out from that point forward though, and his 115 catches, 1,575 receiving yards and eight touchdowns matched or set career highs. With a healthy Matt Schaub coming into his own, Johnson should continue his dominance and put up numbers comparable to last season.

3. Randy Moss—New England Patriots (Bye: Week 8)

On Sunday, Sept. 7 of last year, hospitals nationwide reported an unusual preponderance of heart attack patients, each of whom had one common thread—they played fantasy football. Astute readers will recall that was the same day that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady injured his knee and was lost for the season. Okay, it’s possible we’re exaggerating about the heart attack thing, but the point is that Brady’s injury had consequences that were far-reaching. One of those that suffered was clearly Moss. Though he still wound up with a solid overall season, hauling in 69 passes for 1,002 yards and 11 scores, it was nowhere close to the juggernaut campaign he put up in 2007, when he caught 98 passes for nearly 1,500 yards and 23 touchdowns.

But now that Brady has made his triumphant return, big things are once again expected out of Moss. It would be foolhardy to assume he’ll post numbers similar to his 2007 output, but the 32-year-old should see a vast improvement in his overall stats, and thus his consistency. Moss had five games last season in which he recorded fewer than 30 receiving yards, and in only one of those games did he score a touchdown. In fact, Moss failed to reach 60 receiving yards in exactly half of the Patriots’ games a year ago. Still, don’t let that cloud your judgment. Fifteen touchdowns are certainly within his grasp and the player who has rightfully been dubbed The Freak will once again return to prominence with the help of an old friend.

4. Calvin Johnson—Detroit Lions (Bye: Week 7)

Sometime in the distant future, should a modern-day Doc Frankenstein endeavor to reanimate a creature to turn into a wide receiver, he would only need to go to one grave—Johnson’s. But enough of the morbid imagery, this is about fantasy football, and specifically, the fantasy of having the man they call Megatron on your side. He was about the only thing Lions fans had to be positive about last season, as he snared 78 passes for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns. Just think of what he would have been able to do if he played on a team that wasn’t the worst in NFL history.

Johnson has so much talent it oozes out of his nostrils. He’s forced to carry Kleenex around with him so he doesn’t make a mess of things. Due to that aptitude, there is every reason to believe Johnson will take another step forward in 2009. It shouldn’t matter whether Daunte Culpepper or Matthew Stafford is throwing Johnson the ball—if they get it near him, he’ll catch it. It can be easy to downgrade him because of the situation in Detroit, but doing so would be a mistake. He’ll once again score double-digit touchdowns while moving past the 80-catch barrier for the first time.

TIER 2

5. Reggie Wayne—Indianapolis Colts (Bye: Week 6)
6. Steve Smith—Carolina Panthers (Bye: Week 4)
7. Roddy White—Atlanta Falcons (Bye: Week 4)
8. Greg Jennings—Green Bay Packers (Bye: Week 5)

TIER 3

9. Anquan Boldin—Arizona Cardinals (Bye: Week 4)
10. Marques Colston—New Orleans Saints (Bye: Week 5)
11. Brandon Marshall—Denver Broncos (Bye: Week 7)
12. Terrell Owens—Buffalo Bills (Bye: Week 9)
13. Wes Welker—New England Patriots (Bye: Week 8)

TIER 4

14. Dwayne Bowe—Kansas City Chiefs (Bye: Week 8)
15. T.J. Houshmandzadeh—Seattle Seahawks (Bye: Week 9)
16. Roy Williams—Dallas Cowboys (Bye: Week 6)
17. Antonio Bryant—Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bye: Week 8)
18. Braylon Edwards—Cleveland Browns (Bye: Week 9)
19. Vincent Jackson—San Diego Chargers (Bye: Week 5)

TIER 5

20. DeSean Jackson—Philadelphia Eagles (Bye: Week 4)
21. Chad Ochocinco—Cincinnati Bengals (Bye: Week 8)
22. Lee Evans—Buffalo Bills (Bye: Week 9)
23. Santonio Holmes—Pittsburgh Steelers (Bye: Week 8)
24. Hines Ward—Pittsburgh Steelers (Bye: Week 8)

TIER 6

25. Bernard Berrian—Minnesota Vikings (Bye: Week 9)
26. Anthony Gonzalez—Indianapolis Colts (Bye: Week 6)
27. Santana Moss—Washington Redskins (Bye: Week 8)
28. Jerricho Cotchery—New York Jets (Bye: Week 9)
29. Lance Moore—New Orleans Saints (Bye: Week 5)
30. Eddie Royal—Denver Broncos (Bye: Week 7)
31. Donald Driver—Green Bay Packers (Bye: Week 5)
32. Laveranues Coles—Cincinnati Bengals (Bye: Week 8)

TIER 7

33. Kevin Walter—Houston Texans (Bye: Week 10)
34. Torry Holt—Jacksonville Jaguars (Bye: Week 7)
35. Donnie Avery—St. Louis Rams (Bye: Week 9)
36. Steve Breaston—Arizona Cardinals (Bye: Week 4)

To see the rest of the rankings and to read all 80 WIDE RECEIVER player profiles and check out the rest of our 2009 FANTASY FOOTBALL WIDE RECEIVER RANKINGS click this link... FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYER RANKINGS