2011 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: ESPN vs. Yahoo ADP Values

To help you get ready for draft day, I’ve gone ahead and broken down the ADP values as listed on ESPN and Yahoo to give you a comparison of where recent trends have the top receivers landing in drafts. Listed as the top receiver for both sites is Texans’ star Andre Johnson.

Johnson is a worthy option as the number one overall selection, but my only problem with this beast of a receiver is that he’s failed to reach double digit touchdowns in any season of his career. Don’t be surprised if Johnson goes above that mark this year because defenses will need to focus on one of the game's top running backs in Arian Foster. It looks like tight end Owen Daniels is ready to draw attention away from Johnson in the middle of the field as he looks to finally be healthy from his ACL injury in 2009.

Below I have some receivers of interest off the list below who I find to be a little overvalued or undervalued heading into the final weekends before the season begins.

Overvalued

Dez Bryant – ESPN ADP 37.6, Yahoo ADP 40.5 – Don’t get me wrong, Dez Bryant could come out and have a great season in his second year like Hakeem Nicks did in 2010. That said, I would like to see Bryant ADP value more like a sixth-round selection in contrast to a fourth rounder as he seems to be going on all main sites that list out ADP values.

 Bryant is still a raw talent, and while he will start for the Cowboys and face lessor coverage than Miles Austin, he still has much to prove. He would be best viewed as a late No. 2 receiver for your team. If you select Bryant in the fourth round, I advise you make sure you draft a solid WR-3 with one of your next two picks. That way if Bryant should fail to produce, you will still have an accountable option to go with your No. 1 receiver.

It’s also advisable that you have a stud No. 1 receiver like Calvin Johnson so that you have a player who can pick up the slack if Bryant should struggle or continue to have health down the stretch of the season, which was the case in his rookie year.

Marques Colston – ESPN 47.8, Yahoo 48.8 – Please don’t view Marques Colston as one of your top two receivers because the veteran is slowly coming back from his second microfracture knee surgery and has had five knee surgeries in his five-year career. Colston got off to a miserable start in 2010, and I expect that trend to continue. I have Colston ranked as low as the 35th receiver to select in standard redraft leagues. I suggest you value picks like teammate Lance Moore in the later rounds as an option from New Orleans.

Undervalued

Lee Evans – ESPN ADP 119.1, Yahoo ADP 124.1 – I’ve been hot for Lee Evans and a value pick as soon as the Bills traded him away to the Ravens. Finally, Evans has the weapons around him he’s missed since the days when Eric Moulds and Drew Bledsoe were still in Buffalo. If you happened to catch the Ravens two preseason games with Evans playing, it’s clear that the veteran already has the chemistry with quarterback Joe Flacco that would make you think these two have been playing together for some time.

Make sure you snag Evans in the middle rounds of your draft as a great depth option to add on your team. I would go as far as to use him as a No. 3 receiver in 10 team standard leagues. But you can clearly acquire him cheaper than that.

Mario Manningham – ESPN ADP 68.3, Yahoo ADP 75.7 – If you happened to pay attention to the final month of last season, Mario Manningham finished the year with three straight 100-yard games. Picking up where he left off, Manningham clearly showed that he’s one of Eli Manning’s favorite targets in the teams second preseason game and will be a starter throughout the season, now that Steve Smith is gone to the Eagles.

Look to Manningham as a great No. 3 receiver as he’s going somewhere between the seventh and eight round of most ESPN and Yahoo leagues based on the ADP trends. I would go as far as to recommend him as a sixth-round selection if you start three receivers each week in your league.

More ESPN vs Yahoo ADP Values – QB | RB | WR | TE |

		ESPN ADP	Yahoo ADP
1	Andre Johnson	10.1	9.1
2	Roddy White	13.8	16.0
3	Greg Jennings	17.7	26.5
4	Calvin Johnson	18.6	14.7
5	Larry Fitzgerald	20.7	15.8
6	Hakeem Nicks	22.5	20.5
7	Vincent Jackson	27.3	32.1
8	Mike Wallace	27.6	31.2
9	DeSean Jackson	29.5	31.3
10	Reggie Wayne	32.0	26.7
11	Miles Austin	33.3	27.4
12	Dwayne Bowe	37.6	36.8
13	Dez Bryant	38.1	40.5
14	Mike Williams (Tampa)	44.8	36.8
15	Marques Colston	47.4	48.8
16	Santonio Holmes	49.0	55.5
17	Jeremy Maclin	49.2	44.0
18	Brandon Lloyd	50.9	43.3
19	Wes Welker	56.1	48.1
20	Percy Harvin	62.8	66.1
21	Anquan Boldin	65.1	56.8
22	Steve Johnson	65.2	48.9
23	Kenny Britt	65.4	63.8
24	Brandon Marshall	65.9	48.3
25	Mario Manningham	68.3	75.7
26	Chad Ochocinco	70.7	71.6
27	Austin Collie	77.1	66.4
28	Sidney Rice	81.7	70.6
29	Plaxico Burress	84.8	108.1
30	Pierre Garcon	87.9	93.4
31	Santana Moss	88.2	87.4
32	Steve Smith (Carolina)	91.8	80.3
33	A.J. Green	96.8	99.3
34	Julio Jones	99.3	93.5
35	Malcom Floyd	101.3	112.0
36	Johnny Knox	102.9	103.4
37	Mike Thomas	110.3	118.9
38	Lance Moore	111.18	126.4
39	Braylon Edwards	113.8	113.2
40	Roy Williams	113.8	116.3
41	Jordy Nelson	116.9	115.2
42	Lee Evans	119.1	124.1

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