On Second Thought 2.0: Wide Receivers

A month ago, Matt Snyder took a look at the first edition of the FanHouse fantasy rankings and identified several players whom he felt deserved a second look, either ranking too high or too low. This week in On Second Thought, I'll do the same for the second version of our rankings.

If you can grab one of our top four at the position, well done. The next tier, filled with late-second round and early-third round picks, offers a solid group of WR1s. Don't wait too long for your top WR though, as many of the WRs that are drafted in the late-third and fourth rounds carry question marks. For my draft, if I can get two of the WRs in our top 12, I'll figure to have one of the best WR groups in the league. If I can only get one, I'll likely wait until at least 20 WRs are gone before taking three guys in the 20-35 range.

Guys We Don't Like Enough

Randy Moss, Patriots. What, #4 isn't enough? Not in my book -- Moss put up nearly 1,500 yards while grabbing 23 TDs in the Patriots' 16-0 season in 2007. He was still a top-ten WR last year even while seeing a big drop in targets. If Tom Brady is healthy (and all reports are positive so far), Moss is a lock for the top-five at the position. For that, I have him just ahead of Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson, making Moss a legitimate first-round pick.

Hines Ward, Steelers. We're far from the only ones that don't give Ward enough credit. In the face of injury concerns and age concerns, Ward went out and tallied up over 1,000 receiving yards and seven TDs. His lack of upside always has him bypassed in drafts, but you could definitely be getting a top-20 WR for cheap by selecting Ward. I've been targeting him as a WR3 or WR4 in all my mock drafts.

Eddie Royal, Broncos. Royal will be the perfect fit for the Wes Welker role in Josh McDaniels' offense, and he's playing with a checkdown QB that should offer him a ton of targets. With Brandon Marshall receiving 180 targets in 2008, Royal finished as a top-20 WR. Marshall's looks will come down, and Royal should benefit the most. I have Royal in the top 20 again, making him great value as your WR3.

Donald Driver, Packers. Like Ward, Driver has been consistently startable in fantasy football for years. The reward for this consistency is being passed over for younger guys with more upside. Even as Driver has seen fewer targets and been relegated to a #2 role in the offense, he has still posted 1,000-yard seasons. Last year's stats look easily attainable for the veteran.

Guys We Like Too Much

Terrell Owens, Bills. Scenario A: Owens adjusts flawlessly to his new surroundings. The offensive line gels, reliably giving Trent Edwards time to identify the open receiver. The Bills suddenly find themselves in the red zone a great deal of the time, giving Owens another 10+ TD season (even though the Bills threw just 13 TDs last year). Scenario B: The line stinks, Edwards can't get Owens the ball, Owens becomes a distraction, numbers tank. Which is more likely?

Anthony Gonzalez, Colts. As a featured part of the prolific Colts offense, Gonzalez has a chance to deliver a great fantasy season. However, it seems people are paying full price for his upside in drafts. We've got him ranked 22nd, and for a guy that hasn't proven anything over the course of a full season, this seems very high. I'd love having him as a backup, to see if he fulfills his promise, but I can't count on him for weekly production yet.

Torry Holt, Jaguars. I hope Holt has a bounce-back year, but 2008 was a pretty depressing look at his downside. He could outperform his draft slot, but his floor is much further than that ceiling from that slot. I can't imagine Holt doing better than the next three guys in our rankings: Lance Moore, Ward, and Royal. Like Gonzalez, Holt would be a solid wild-card pick, if you didn't have to pay such a high price for him.

Donnie Avery, Rams. Avery should have a couple big games in 2009, but they'll be few and far between, and good luck trying to guess when they're coming. Most of the time, Avery will be limited by the Rams' awful supporting cast. Imagine Marc Bulger getting hurt and Avery trying to catch Kyle Boller passes while being double-covered. That's not a recipe for success.