Don’t look now, but fantasy football season is right around the corner. Over the next week, we’ll be previewing the four major positions in fantasy football. Top it off with a list of sleepers at every position on Friday and you’ll be ready to go for your draft. We use standard non-PPR scoring for all our rankings.
The NFL has turned into a passing league and wide receivers are reaping the benefits. The guys playing the position now are better athletes than we’ve ever seen and they’re putting up ridiculous numbers. Fantasy football has changed to reward this production as more leagues move to ½ or full points per reception (PPR) and receivers get taken earlier in drafts. The position pool is very deep, but there’s cream at the top. Here are the best at the position heading into the 2015 fantasy season.
1. Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers
Brown’s worst game last year was an eight-catch, 74-yard effort in which he fumbled twice. Considering those were the only fumbles he committed all season, it’s pretty safe to say it was an anomaly. A 74-yard receiving floor is as good as it gets. Brown was targeted the second most of any receiver in the league and pulled in a league-high 129 catches, which was 18 more catches than the next guy. Brown is in his prime at 27 years of age and will continue to dominate defensive backs this year. His consistency week-to-week is what makes him the obvious top choice, but his six 20-point games in 2014 show that he’s explosive as well.
2. Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys
Dez received his contract extension, but that doesn’t mean you should expect him to take things down a notch. If anything he should raise his game this year as the Cowboys will throw more with the departure of DeMarco Murray. Dez is a red-zone machine. The back –shoulder fade game he has with Tony Romo is unstoppable, which is why he put up 16 touchdowns last year. He’s not as consistent as Brown, but he rarely gets shut down and also wins you week with his multiple touchdown games.
3. Odell Beckham Jr. – New York Giants
I think we’re still coming to terms with what Beckham Jr. can be this season. His run over the 12 games he participated in last season was incredible, especially after the bye. Beckham managed four games of over 20 points in his last eight with his worst games being a pair of 9-point efforts. There are concerns that the return of Victor Cruz will reduce some of Beckham’s productivity and while Cruz will be good (more on that Friday), there will be plenty to go around. The Giants still don’t have a great defense, so they’ll have to score to win. Eli Manning will have a much better handle of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s up-tempo offense in year two, so expect many plays and great execution. Beckham is a special talent and will continue to excel in 2015.
4. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons
Turning things to the next level at age 26, Julio Jones could jump to the second spot behind Brown if he stays healthy. That might be a big if considering Jones has been injured in three of his four professional seasons, but it’s worth taking the risk. Jones is an immense talent coming off a career year. It also doesn’t hurt that Roddy White is a year older and Tony Gonzalez is no longer around. Jones will see even more targets from Matt Ryan, especially in the red zone. Last year’s numbers of 104 catches, 1,593 receiving yards, and six touchdowns can easily be improved.
5. Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos
It’s hard to move a receiver in his list down from where I had him last year as long as a Hall of Fame quarterback is throwing to him, but that’s what’s happening with Thomas. Thomas is an exceptional athlete, who’s incredibly consistent. Other than a one-point effort against Buffalo in Week 14, Thomas excelled on his way to double digit production in every game from Week 5 on. He also had three week-winning games of 26 points or more during that span. The problem is Peyton Manning is a year older and showed signs of decline at the end of last year. We already detailed issues with Manning on Monday. Unfortunately some of the collateral damage occurs with Thomas, but he’ll still shine at a top five level.
6. Jordy Nelson – Green Bay Packers
There’s a lot of competition for targets in Green Bay, but Mr. Nelson reigns supreme. He’s coming off hip surgery and just turned 30, but consider that Nelson put up 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns with a bad hip. Imagine what he’d do with a good one! He had some ebs and flows over the course of last season, but he only scored less than 5 points once. He had double digits in 10 of 16 contests, which is the production you expect out of a WR1. Don’t worry about Randall Cobb overtaking Nelson just yet. He was 25 targets behind Nelson last year and doesn’t run the deep routes that Nelson does for touchdowns.
7. A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals
His quarterback is worthless, but Green does the best he can. Last year was a rough campaign for Green as he was banged up for a good portion of the season. Green missed three games, while playing banged up in others on the way to putting up the worst numbers since his rookie season. The injuries are past him now and Green’s out there playing for a contract. Expect him to be in great shape as he returns to seeing 160+ targets from Andy Dalton. At age 27, Green still has a lot of great work left in him.
Previously:
7 Best QBs In Your 2015 Fantasy Draft
7 Best RBs In Your 2015 Fantasy Draft