Fantasy Football Rankings 2011: Chad Ochocinco and 3 WRs Worth the Risk

How do you find a deep group of receivers? There are ways, but nothing is fool-proof.

I have a few standards to finding second-tier receivers. Do they play in a good offense? Do they have a strong quarterback? Are they touchdown vultures?

Ask those questions about a receiver. If you answer yes more than no, then you have a guy who's probably worth taking.

These are a few WRs that aren't top names in the fantasy world at this point, but are still worth adding. If you have these guys to go along with a top receiver, your receiving group will be the envy of your fantasy league. 

Chad Ochocinco, ESPN's No. 35 WR

His 2009 season just wasn't that bad. Ochocinco caught 67 passes for 831 yards and four touchdowns.

Given the depth on the New England and the quarterback throwing him the ball, it's hard to imagine Ochocinco not finding a lot of big plays.

Let's remember that this guy has been one of the most consistent WRs in the game for the last decade. Since his rookie year of 2001, Ochocinco has only failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards on two occasions.

Now, he's in an offense that will likely get the ball to other guys, but Tom Brady will have no problem finding Ochocinco a lot. If Ochocinco is open, he'll let Brady know.

By the way, pretty much any New England receiver is worth a risk on. Frankly, it's not that much of a risk. Look at how many receivers there have been who have thrived with Brady throwing them the ball.

Hines Ward, ESPN's No. 50 WR

Ward will always be on the field. That's essentially a given. He doesn't quite have the amount of spectacular seasons as Ochocinco, but Ward's pretty reliable.

In 2000, Ward caught 48 passes for 672 yards and four touchdowns.

Since then, his lowest reception season was last year with 59. He caught for the fewest yards in 2007 with 732, and with two exceptions (2001, 2004), has had more than four touchdowns.

Ward's a typical guy who has much more value as real player than a fantasy player, but his numbers are steady.

Remember that Ben Roethlisberger missed the opening four games of 2010. Now that Big Ben will be around all year, look for Ward's numbers to be strong.

Jordy Nelson/James Jones, ESPN's No. 37 and No. 42 WRs

The cynical person would suggest that these two are just vying for the No. 2 receiver Green Bay and that they will leach numbers from each other. 

I'll come back with this: The Packers have an elite quarterback and a strong offense. They'll score enough points to where one guy having numbers stolen from him by another will still better than a lot of primary No. 2 receivers.

Receivers that have elite quarterbacks will get fantasy points, even if they aren't a top-two receiver on the team.

These are pass-heavy offenses and the quarterbacks recognize the fact that their big targets draw the opposing defense's attention.

That's where the second- and third-tier guys come in. Nelson and Jones will get plenty of points as long as they're on the field.