Week 15 Fantasy Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

Let’s keep our Week 15 rankings rolling with a look at the best wide receivers for the coming week. Who has the best matchup? Who has been struggling? Let’s take a look:

1. Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions – at Oakland
2. Wes Welker – New England Patriots – at Denver
3. Hakeem Nicks – New York Giants – vs. Washington
4. Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers – at Kansas City
5. Percy Harvin – Minnesota Vikings – vs. New Orleans
6. Roddy White – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Jacksonville
7. Mike Wallace – Pittsburgh Steelers – at San Francisco
8. Laurent Robinson – Dallas Cowboys – at Tampa Bay
9. Marques Colston – New Orleans Saints – at Minnesota
10. Victor Cruz – New York Giants – vs. Washington
11. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals – vs. Cleveland
12. A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals – at St. Louis
13. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys – at Tampa Bay
14. Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers – at Houston
15. Brandon Marshall – Miami Dolphins – at Buffalo
16. Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Green Bay
17. Vincent Jackson – San Diego Chargers – vs. Baltimore
18. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers – at San Francisco
19. Stevie Johnson – Buffalo Bills – vs. Miami
20. Miles Austin – Dallas Cowboys – at Tampa Bay
21. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Jacksonville
22. Santana Moss – Washington Redskins – at New York Giants
23. Brandon Lloyd – St. Louis Rams – vs. Cincinnati
24. Mike Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Dallas
25. Anquan Boldin – Baltimore Ravens – at San Diego
26. James Jones – Green Bay Packers – at Kansas City
27. Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos – vs. New England
28. Nate Washington – Tennessee Titans – at Indianapolis
29. DeSean Jackson – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. New York Jets
30. Santonio Holmes – New York Jets – at Philadelphia
31. Lance Moore – New Orleans Saints – at Minnesota
32. Donald Driver – Green Bay Packers – at Kansas City
33. Michael Crabtree – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Pittsburgh
34. Jeremy Maclin – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. New York Jets
35. Torrey Smith – Baltimore Ravens – at San Diego
36. Plaxico Burress – New York Jets – at Philadelphia
37. Jabar Gaffney – Washington Redskins – at New York Giants
38. Pierre Garcon – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Tennessee
39. Mario Manningham – New York Giants – vs. Washington
40. Kevin Walter – Houston Texans – vs. Carolina
41. Deion Branch – New England Patriots – at Denver
42. Golden Tate – Seattle Seahawks – at Chicago
43. Nate Burleson – Detroit Lions – at Oakland
44. Darrius Heyward-Bey – Oakland Raiders – vs. Detroit
45. Eric Decker – Denver Broncos – vs. New England
46. Johnny Knox – Chicago Bears – vs. Seattle
47. Malcolm Floyd – San Diego Chargers – vs. Baltimore
48. Jerome Simpson – Cincinnati Bengals – at St. Louis
49. Titus Young – Detroit Lions – at Oakland
50. Greg Little – Cleveland Browns – at Arizona

Thoughts:

• Percy Harvin had a receiving touchdown in his fourth straight game in Week 14.  In fact, over the past four weeks, he has 32 receptions (eight receptions or more in three straight weeks) with 393 yards and five TD (along with 91 rushing yards).  Yes, the return of Adrian Peterson will likely diminish his role a little bit, but his recent success will mean that he should remain a focal point of the offense.  Taking on a Tampa Bay defense that has been poor against the pass (248.8 passing yards per game and 22 TD), Harvin is a solid WR1 for the coming week.
• Jordy Nelson has been a great option all season long (51 receptions for 957 yards and 10 TD), and we all know that the defense he’s taking on doesn’t matter much.  With Greg Jennings out of action, Nelson should be viewed as an even better option this week.  He’s a lock as a WR1.
• We’d like Dwayne Bowe a lot better this week if he actually had a real quarterback throwing him the ball, wouldn’t we?  It’s not meant as a shot at Tyler Palko, but it’s become clear that he isn’t the man for the job.  In what is going to be a shootout against the Packers (at least a one-sided one), the Chiefs should be primed to throw the ball early and often.  The question is who will be under center?  Could Ricky Stanzi get a chance to throw?  If that happens, could Bowe produce?  He’s a viable WR2, but if he was in a better situation he’d likely be a WR1.
• Obviously the return of Miles Austin clouds the WR situation in Dallas a little bit.  Who is the better option?  Is it Austin?  Is it Dez Bryant?  Is it Laurent Robinson?  Robinson has scored a touchdown in six of his past seven games and has at least 70 yards in four of his previous five.  All three are going to be WR2s, at worst, with a favorable matchup with the Buccaneers, but I would use Robinson as my first choice.
• Brandon Marshall will look to redeem himself after he was pitiful in his last matchup against the Bills (one reception for five yards in Week 11).  However, with that on our minds, do we trust him?  He’s a WR2, for sure, but not more than that.
• Things appear to be clicking again for Stevie Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Johnson has at least 52 yards in each of his past three games (including 116 yards against the Chargers in Week 14) as well as two TDs.  He hasn’t done much in his career against the Dolphins, however, with 12 receptions for 139 yards and one TD in four career matchups.  That said, with the way he’s going right now he is going to have value as a low-end WR2.
• DeSean Jackson showed a little bit of life in Week 14, with four receptions for 59 yards and a TD.  Do you trust him as anything more than a WR3 against Darrelle Revis and the New York Jets?  It’s tough, that’s for sure.
• At least Santonio Holmes has scored in three straight games, right?  The lack of yards of late keeps him from being a WR2 option (he has 22 yards or less in two of his past three games), but in three-receiver formats, he definitely has appeal.
• Demaryius Thomas has become the big receiver for the Broncos over the past two weeks, as he has 11 receptions for 222 yards and three TDs.  Does that mean we should trust him as more than a WR3?  Absolutely not, given the way Broncos games go.  Still, in that spot he’s worth considering, especially against the Patriots.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 15 articles:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Waiver Worthy