Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receiver (Part 2)
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Tier 12: Bench with Potential
I will probably draft this tier ahead of tier 11 because I always roll with upside over proven value. It might be dumb, but drafting a breakout player late in the draft is one of the best bragging points ever in fantasy. Outside of financial gains the point of fantasy is proving that you are a better fake GM than your friends right? So why take a safe pick? Can you brag about taking Greg Jennings in the 11th round? Roll the dice and win the glory!
61.) Marvin Jones, Bengals – He was in my top 30 until a broken ankle sidelined him for 8-12 weeks of the season. Hopefully Jones is back for the 2nd half because he could be a sneaky sleeper for the stretch run.
62.) Andrew Hawkins, Browns – The fact that the Bengals tried to figure out a way to keep Hawkins despite the Browns overpaying is a sign that Hawkins has talent. He’s always been the 3rd or 4th option in Cincy, but is now in Cleveland where it’s possible he is their #1 option. I’m not sure if anyone will be able to get him the ball, but he should lead the team in targets and can really run after the catch. I think a 75, 900, 6 season is a possibility.
63.) Jermaine Kearse, Seahawks – Made a name for himself in the Super Bowl with a TD catch and looks like he will start the season as the Seahawks #3 WR. They haven’t thrown the ball enough the last two years for their 3rd WR to be relevant in fantasy, but it’s rumored that they are going to air it out more this year. Kearse led the Seahawks in red-zone targets last year and has proven he can catch the ball in traffic. I wouldn’t draft him but Kearse is worth keeping an eye on if the rumors of the Seahawks throwing more are accurate.
64.) Jarrett Boykin, Packers – The Packers let James Jones go because they have faith in Boykin as their 3rd receiver. Rightfully so as Boykin has been very productive when given a chance. He put up a useful (49, 681, 3) line after Cobb went down last year. He won’t match those numbers as the Packers 3rd WR, but James Jones was a useful fantasy player as the Pack’s 3rd option so I wouldn’t write him off completely. Boykin is a solid bench option with upside.
65.) Hakeem Nicks, Colts – My gut feeling is that Nicks isn’t worth drafting, but I am still upset with him from 2012 when he was either “questionable” or “probable” every week of the season with a variety of phantom injuries and ended up sitting out a bunch of games at the last minute. I get that some injured players are doing everything they can to get on the field and sometimes the team won’t let them. Nicks is the opposite of that. I’m not going to draft a guy that is looking for an excuse to miss games especially when said player had zero TDs last year.