Wide Receiver Rankings (NFG Rankings) 2009

Please remember these are my personal opinion at this time. The Ultimate Receiver Rankings will come out as more experts release their own player rankings. Due to there being so many Wide Receivers, I have only put notes after the top 30 Receivers.



1) Larry Fitzgerald – ARI – One of the best Wide Receivers in the game every year. No reason not to do it again.

2) Randy Moss – NE – Even if Tom Brady doesn’t come back as good as he was before his injury, Brady will be good enough to get the ball to Moss.

3) Greg Jennings – GB – Green Bay has a sub par running game. Which means Rogers will have to throw the ball a lot again. Jennings will reap the benefits.

4) Andre Johnson – HOU – Led the NFL in receptions and yards in 2008. Only had 8 TD’s.

5) Calvin Johnson – DET – His nickname ‘Megatron’ is fitting. 6’5” – 239 lbs, his talent is as great as his size. Even on a bad team he is a great receiver.

6) Anquan Boldin – ARI – Still healing from a crushed face, Boldin came back to put up strong numbers yet again. To my knowledge he is healthy from the start this year.

7) Roddy White – ATL – The strong running game by Michael Turner keeps this guy open.

8) Terrell Owens – BUF – Owens days of being the top fantasy receiver are gone. He is still a very good one… even with his attitude.

9) Reggie Wayne – IND – With Marvin Harrison falling from the elite status and now no longer a Colt, Wayne’s status has suffered a little. Anthony Gonzalez just doesn’t draw the coverage that Harrison once did.

10) Antonio Bryant – TB – When talking about strong offenses, Tb is usually not the team that comes to mind. Yet Bryant put up strong numbers for them.

11) Marques Colston – NO – If he stays healthy, he helps your fantasy team. Who doesn’t when Brees is throwing to them?

12) Dwayne Bowe – KC – Two years of near equal stats says he is the real thing. Now has has Cassel to throw the ball to him.

13) Steve Smith – CAR – Getting older and no longer dominates as he once did. His small size needs the speed to keep him a top fantasy option.

14) Eddie Royal – DEN – I have heard good and bad about him. Some say he is overrated. If Brandon Marshall leaves Denver, Royal’s numbers might drop a bit.

15) Chad Ochocinco (Johnson) – CIN – Says he is ready to play football this year. All anyone needs to do is read his new last name to know he is a bit of a head case. That will keep him from reaching top-10 receiver status again.

16) Wes Welker – NE – His numbers have been near identical two straight seasons. Expect him to break the 1,000 yard mark again.

17) Braylon Edwards – CLE – Braylon Showed he has the talent to produce big stats. Until he puts a couple top seasons together you cant count on it.

18) Bernard Berrian – MIN – For right now, rank Berrian here. If Favre ends up playing for Minnesota, move him up about five spots.

19) Hines Ward – PIT – One would think Ward’s age is ready to catch up to him. Until it does, count on him for near 1000 yards and 7 TD’s.

20) Laveranues Coles – CIN – His numbers might go up just a bit with Palmer throwing the ball, but be aware that if he gets too many passes, Ochocinco will cry about it.

21) T.J. Houshmandzadeh – SEA – T.J. will be the top guy in Seattle. That is not always a good thing. He will face a lot more double coverage than he did with Chad across from him.

22) Brandon Marshall – DEN – Everything depends on if he stays in Denver or leaves. If he leaves his ranking will depend on where he ends up. This ranking is with him in Denver.

23) Donald Driver – GB – He gets the yardage. He just doesn’t get enough touchdowns the last two seasons.

24) Vincent Jackson – SD – Vincent stepped up and became a go to receiver in 2008 and though I think his stats might dip just a bit, he will still be good again in 2009.

25) Santana Moss – WAS – In 4 of his last 5 seasons Moss has shown basically what you will get from him. He had one big year but I would tend to believe the other four are who he is. If he plays 16 games, Santana Moss should rake in near 1000 yards and 6 TDs.

26) Isaac Bruce –SF – Without Crabtree signing, Bruce should get more receptions and scoring chances.

27) Derrick Mason – BAL – Year in and year out Mason seems to want to hang in around 1050 yards and 5 Touchdowns.

28) Santonio Holmes – PIT – Reports have it Holmes wants to improve on last year. So long as he plays fiddle number two to Hines Ward, don’t count on too much of an improvement.

29) Nate Washington – TEN – Moving from under the shadows of Ward and Holmes, Washington is now in Tennessee where he will now be one of the top receivers.

30) Kevin Walter – HOU – It seems as if Walter has found his comfort zone and unless Andre Johnson gets hurt, he can be expected to stay around 880 yards and 6 TDs.

31) Roy Williams – DAL – I have seen Roy Williams play a lot and he has never shown he could reach his potential. IF he doesnt get enough passes, he breaks down and starts dropping the ones he does get. Expect one of the other Dallas receivers to evolve into the go to guy for Romo.

32) Devin Hester – CHI

33) Anthony Gonzalez – IND

34) Deion Branch – SEA

35) Torry Holt – JAC

36) DeSean Jackson – PHI

37) Patrick Crayton – DAL

38) Donnie Avery – ST.L.

39) Lee Evans – BUF

40) Jerricho Cotchery – NYJ

41) Kevin Curtis – PHI