Fantasy Football 2011: How Recent Transactions Shakes Up Top 35 WRs

While wide receivers may not have felt the effects of the offseason frenzy as much as some others, that doesn’t mean that it went unscathed.  Let’s take a look at how things currently look now that the majority of the dominoes have fallen:

1. Andre Johnson – Houston Texans
2. Roddy White – Atlanta Falcons
3. Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions
4. Hakeem Nicks – New York Giants
5. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals
6. Greg Jennings – Green Bay Packers
7. Reggie Wayne – Indianapolis Colts
8. Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City Chiefs
9. Miles Austin – Dallas Cowboys
10. DeSean Jackson – Philadelphia Eagles
11. Mike Wallace – Pittsburgh Steelers
12. Vincent Jackson – San Diego Chargers
13. Mike Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
14. Brandon Marshall – Miami Dolphins
15. Brandon Lloyd – Denver Broncos
16. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys
17. Wes Welker – New England Patriots
18. Santonio Holmes – New York Jets
19. Percy Harvin – Minnesota Vikings
20. Marques Colston – New Orleans Saints
21. Jeremy Maclin – Philadelphia Eagles
22. Kenny Britt – Tennessee Titans
23. Steve Johnson – Buffalo Bills
24. Anquan Boldin – Baltimore Ravens
25. Pierre Garcon – Indianapolis Colts
26. Michael Crabtree – San Francisco 49ers
27. Mario Manningham – New York Giants
28. Chad Ochocinco – New England Patriots
29. Johnny Knox – Chicago Bears
30. Sidney Rice – Seattle Seahawks
31. Santana Moss – Washington Redskins
32. Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers
33. A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals
34. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons
35. Jacoby Ford – Oakland Raiders

Thoughts:

• In his rookie season, Dez Bryant had 45 receptions for 561 yards and 6 TDs in just 12 games.  He’s going to be the team’s second receiver, behind Austin Miles, but he has a ton of potential and could post big numbers.
• There is a lot of risk surrounding Marques Colston, considering he’s coming off microfracture surgery on his right knee, the same procedure he had on his left knee a few years ago.  He’s shown potential in the past, but the injuries and the fact that the Saints spread the ball around give him too much potential for failure.  He’s worth considering as a WR2, but I’d probably look elsewhere (click here for more).
• Kenny Britt has a ton of upside, but at this point we don’t know if his legal issues during the lockout are going to cost him any time on the field.  Consider him high risk, high reward.
• The addition of Chad Ochocinco is going to help stretch defenses and keep them from focusing on Wes Welker.  He had 86 receptions for 848 yards and 7 TDs last season, despite playing in just 15 games (and only starting 11) and not being very far removed from knee surgery.  Fully healthy and with a better option lining up across from him, its possible Welker can put up numbers like he did from 2007-2009.
• Santonio Holmes had 52 receptions for 746 yards and 6 TD over 12 games, his first year with the Jets.  Instead of leaving via free agency he ultimately decided to re-up with New York and, with a full year of experience and a better rapport with Mark Sanchez, there are plenty of reasons to think that he can post significantly better numbers.  He has a 1,200+ yard season under his belt and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get back to that area in 2011.
• A healthy Peyton Manning will mean a big season for Pierre Garcon.  It doesn’t matter who else they have on that team, there always seem to be more than enough balls to go around.
• Can Sidney Rice have a big season in Seattle, where there doesn’t seem to be a very promising quarterback to throw him the ball?  Time will tell, but he’s not worth gambling on as anything more than a WR3 at this point.
• With rumors coming out that the Giants’ Steve Smith could miss the first month of the season (and at that point, who knows if he is forced to miss more time), how can you not like Mario Manningham?

Make sure to check out the rest of the early rankings from Rotoprofessor:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 30 Running Backs
• Top 15 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers