Continuing the format from the last several weeks, consider the match-up information, along with target data, below. Both are becoming more and more important as we evaluate which wide receivers are the favorites for their respective quarterbacks. And of course, a general notes section will highlight some important points for the week. Let’s start right there:
Fantasy Football Rankings, Week 7: Wide receivers in standard and PPR leagues
With six NFL teams in bye, who should you be starting in Week 7??
Tyler Barrick
NOTES:
- I'd like to welcome to the 2012 Fantasy Season the Green Bay passing game! Aaron Rodgers was a beast and his wide receivers benefited: Jordy Nelson three touchdowns and James Jones two touchdowns. And all of that against Week 5's second rated passing defense, the Houston Texans.
- Dez Bryant (95 yards and two touchdowns) and Jeremy Maclin (130 yards and a TD) also had breakout days. Their owners have been waiting for this production, but will it continue?
- But, it wasn't all roses....several wide outs put up terrible numbers. This group was led by the disappointing Brian Hartline with zero catches. It's clear that he's not ready to get open with the increased defensive attention. Miles Austin (31 yards), Michael Crabtree (26 yards), Dwayne Bowe (25 yards), Torrey Smith (24 yards) and Andre Roberts (18 yards) were also starters who disappointed. But such is the life of wide receivers.
- Keep an eye on these wide receivers who are battling through injury: Pierre Garcon, Greg Jennings, Denarius Moore, Hakeem Nicks, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Andrew Hawkins, Mario Manningham, Jeremy Kerley and Jerome Simpson.
- Besides those guys, be sure to bench the WR's on these six bye week teams: Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.
TARGETS:
Just as I mentioned, fantasy wide receiver scoring can be fluky. But, one thing that you can’t argue with is targets. See the chart below showing the Year-To-Date and Week 3 target leaders:
Year-To-Date | Week 5 |
Reggie Wayne (70) | Dez Bryant (15) |
Victor Cruz (70) | Wes Welker (14) |
A J Green (67) | Percy Harvin (14) |
Wes Welker (66) | Donnie Avery (13) - only caught 4! |
Dwayne Bowe (66) | Victor Cruz (13) |
Larry Fitzgerald (64) | Andre Johnson (12) |
Percy Harvin (62) | Calvin Johnson (12) |
Brandon Lloyd (57) | Jordy Nelson (12) |
Steve Johnson (56) | Brandon Lloyd (12) |
Brandon Marshall (56) | A J Green (11) |
Calvin Johnson (55) | Larry Fitzgerald (11) |
Julio Jones (54) | Steve Johnson (11) |
Eric Decker (53) | Kenny Britt (11) |
FANTASY POINTS ALLOWED (FPA):
FPA is a great judge of the strength of a future match-up. The number next to the teams’ name represents how many fantasy points that team is giving up to the entire receiving corps on an average weekly basis. Obviously, you want your guy to play against a team that is allowing a LOT of points to WR’s:
Best Defense Against Opposing WR's | Worst Defense Against Opposing WR's |
STL Rams (14.52 pts allowed) | WAS Redskins (33.77pts allowed) |
DAL Cowboys (16.64 pts allowed) | CLE Browns (33.53 pts allowed) |
SF 49ers (16.82 pts allowed) | NO Saints (30.46 pts allowed) |
NY Jets (16.82 pts allowed) | NE Patriots (29.53 pts allowed) |
MIN Vikings (17.08 pts allowed) | BUF Bills (28.77 pts allowed) |
CIN Bengals (18.43 pts allowed) | SD Chargers (27.67 pts allowed) |
CAR Panthers (18.72 pts allowed) | IND Colts (27.18 pts allowed) |
SEA Seahawks (19.28 pts allowed) | NY Giants (26.93 pts allowed) |
WEEK 7 RANKINGS:
Player (TEAM) | Standard Scoring | PPR Scoring |
A J Green (CIN) | 1 | 1 |
Calvin Johnson (DET) | 2 | 2 |
Wes Welker (NE) | 3 | 3 |
Victor Cruz (NYG) | 4 | 4 |
Brandon Marshall (CHI) | 5 | 5 |
Marques Colston (NO) | 6 | 8 |
Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) | 7 | 6 |
Percy Harvin (MIN) | 8 | 7 |
Vincent Jackson (TB) | 9 | 9 |
Dez Bryant (DAL) | 10 | 11 |
Mike Wallace (PIT) | 11 | 12 |
Reggie Wayne (IND) | 12 | 10 |
Jordy Nelson (GB) | 13 | 14 |
Andre Johnson (HOU) | 14 | 13 |
Kenny Britt (TEN) | 15 | 15 |
Denarius Moore (OAK) | 16 | 16 |
Miles Austin (DAL) | 17 | 17 |
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) | 18 | 18 |
James Jones (GB) | 19 | 19 |
Steve Johnson (BUF) | 20 | 20 |
Torrey Smith (BAL) | 21 | 21 |
Antonio Brown (PIT) | 22 | 22 |
Steve Smith (CAR) | 23 | 23 |
Mike Williams (TB) | 24 | 24 |
Randall Cobb (GB) | 25 | 26 |
Brandon Lloyd (NE) | 26 | 25 |
Josh Gordon (CLE) | 27 | 27 |
Anquan Boldin (BAL) | 28 | 28 |
Chris Givens (STL) | 29 | 29 |
Brandon Gibson (STL) | 30 | 30 |
Kendall Wright (TEN) | 31 | 31 |
Stephen Hill (NYJ) | 32 | 33 |
Lance Moore (NO) | 33 | 32 |
Donnie Avery (IND) | 34 | 34 |
Justin Blackmon (JAC) | 35 | 35 |
Sidney Rice (SEA) | 36 | 36 |
Jeremy Kerley (NYJ) | 37 | 37 |
Darrius Heyward-Bey (OAK) | 38 | 38 |
Nate Burleson (DET) | 39 | 40 |
Michael Crabtree (SF) | 40 | 39 |
Andrew Hawkins (CIN) | 41 | 41 |
Mario Manningham (SF) | 42 | 43 |
Andre Roberts (ARI) | 43 | 42 |
Domenik Hixon (NYG) | 44 | 44 |
Cecil Shorts (JAC) | 45 | 45 |
Devin Hester (CHI) | 46 | 46 |
Santana Moss (WAS) | 47 | 47 |
Golden Tate (SEA) | 48 | 48 |
Devery Henderson (NO) | 49 | 49 |
Jerome Simpson (MIN) | 50 | 50 |
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