We’re back with Week 3 wide receiver rankings. Week 1 provided a lot of players that had fantasy owners questioning what was reality and what was a one week anomaly. We still don’t have every answer, but a few players are locking themselves in as 2013 upstarts at the wide receiver position.
Fantasy football WR Rankings, Week 3: DeSean Jackson, Julio Jones and James Jones move up the rankings
We have some movement in our WR rankings for Week 3 as DeSean Jackson and James Jones have big weeks for their fantasy owners. Check out what our Top 50 looks like this week.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Week 2 Highlights
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson had a huge game vs the Chargers, catching nine of his 16 targets for 193 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles 33-30 loss. Jackson has now gone over the 100-yard mark and a score in each of the first two weeks and is Michael Vick's No. 1 target in the Eagles new quick-pace offense. He will move up the rankings in Week 3.
Packers WR James Jones fell in our rankings in Week 2, but he came up with a big game in the Packers blowout win over the Redskins. Jones caught 11 of his 12 targets for 178 yards, but did not reach pay dirt. Jones was not targeted once in the Packers opening week loss to the 49ers, so fantasy owners have to figure out if this breakout was a one-game mirage or if he will continue to be targeted 10-12 times per game.
The Colts said earlier in the week that they wanted to get WR T.Y. Hilton more involved in their passing game, and that is exactly what they did on Sunday. Hilton caught six of his twelve targets vs the Dolphins, good for 124 yards and no touchdowns. After the game, Colts coach Chuck Pagano had high praise for Hilton, calling him "an explosive guy" and saying he "made some huge plays." With the shoulder injury to Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hilton should see plenty of targets in Week 3 as well. We can expect more games like this from Hilton going forward.
Injuries
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson left Sunday's game in the 4th quarter with a concussion. Reports on Sunday night revealed Johnson should be ready to go in Week 3, but we'll look for confirmation on that before finalizing my Week 3 rankings.
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald had to leave Sunday's game in the third quarter due to his hamstring injury, but reports after the game quoted him saying he will be ready for Week 3. With the Saints on the schedule next week, if Fitzgerald is even 90 percent healthy, he is a must-start against the Saints secondary.
Target Practice
Texans WR Andre Johnson leads all wide receivers in targets through week 2 with 29, but he had to leave Sunday’s game in the 4th quarter due to concussion symptoms.
It comes as no surprise that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was targeted 18 times in Thursday's matchup vs the Jets. He will continue to see double-digit targets with Danny Amendola out until at least week 4.
The Jaguars are not a good football team and they will probably lose plenty of ball games by wide margins this season. That doesn't mean you should shy away from Cecil Shorts. He currently ranks as the third most targeted wide receiver in the NFL, pending Monday night's game between the Steelers and Bengals. Shorts should benefit from plenty of garbage time receptions and touchdown passes as the season goes along.
Two guys to watch in Week 3 are DeAndre Hopkins with the TItans and Tavon Austin with the Rams. Austin performed well when the Rams moved to the no-huddle offense in the second half of Sunday's game so maybe the Rams will use it more often going forward.
Hopkins was targeted 13 times by QB Matt Schaub and could see even more targets should Andre Johnson not be able to suit up this week due to the concussion he suffered on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the top 15 target leaders for Week 2:
Player | Tm | Targets | Rec | |
1 | Julian Edelman | NEP | 18 | 13 |
2 | DeSean Jackson | PHI | 15 | 9 |
3 | A.J. Green | CIN | 14 | 6 |
4 | Julio Jones | ATL | 14 | 11 |
5 | Cecil Shorts | JAC | 14 | 8 |
6 | Pierre Garcon | WAS | 13 | 8 |
7 | Dez Bryant | DAL | 13 | 9 |
8 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | 13 | 7 |
9 | Eric Decker | DEN | 13 | 9 |
10 | Torrey Smith | BAL | 13 | 7 |
11 | Andre Johnson | HOU | 13 | 8 |
12 | James Jones | GBP | 12 | 11 |
13 | Tavon Austin | STL | 12 | 6 |
14 | Greg Little | CLE | 12 | 4 |
15 | Victor Cruz | NYG | 11 | 8 |
Week 3 Rankings
After two weeks of the NFL season, more and more teams are relying on their passing attacks when they have the ball. Here is a quick look at the five teams who have given up the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season:
32. Philadelphia Eagles: 80.1 points (Dwayne Bowe says hi)
31. Washington Redskins: 73.3 points (could we see Calvin Johnson go over 200 yards?)
30. Green Bay Packers: 69.49 points (A.J. Green with 2 scores?)
29. Dallas Cowboys: 69.29 points (Tavon Austin with another big game?)
28. St. Louis Rams: 68.50 points (Dez Bryant is due)
Now let’s take a look at the Week 3 wide receiver rankings:
| Standard Leagues | PPR Leagues |
Rank | Player | Player |
1 | Calvin Johnson, DET | Calvin Johnson, DET |
2 | A.J. Green, CIN | A.J. Green, CIN |
3 | Dez Bryant, DAL | Dez Bryant, DAL |
4 | Demaryius Thomas, DEN | Brandon Marshall, CHI |
5 | Julio Jones, ATL | Anquan Boldin, SF |
6 | Victor Cruz, NYG | Julio Jones, ATL |
7 | Brandon Marshall, CHI | Andre Johnson, HOU |
8 | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI | Larry Fitzgerald, ARI |
9 | Andre Johnson, HOU | Wes Welker, DEN |
10 | Vincent Jackson, TB | Julian Edelman, NE |
11 | Anquan Boldin, SF | DeSean Jackson, PHI |
12 | Randall Cobb, GB | Demaryius Thomas, DEN |
13 | Julian Edelman, NE | Randall Cobb, GB |
14 | DeSean Jackson, PHI | Vincent Jackson, TB |
15 | Wes Welker, DEN | Victor Cruz, NYG |
16 | Jordy Nelson, GB | Jordy Nelson, GB |
17 | Dwayne Bowe, KC | Marques Colston, NO |
18 | Marques Colston, NO | Dwayne Bowe, KC |
19 | Pierre Garcon, WAS | Pierre Garcon, WAS |
20 | Steve Smith, CAR | Steve Smith, CAR |
21 | Reggie Wayne, IND | Reggie Wayne, IND |
22 | Hakeem Nicks, NYG | Hakeem Nicks, NYG |
23 | Miles Austin, DAL | Eric Decker, DEN |
24 | Torrey Smith, BAL | Cecil Shorts, JAC |
25 | Mike Wallace, MIA | Torrey Smith, BAL |
26 | Tavon Austin, STL | Tavon Austin, STL |
27 | Cecil Shorts, JAC | DeAndre Hopkins, HOU |
28 | DeAndre Hopkins, HOU | Miles Austin, DAL |
29 | T.Y. Hilton, IND | T.Y. Hilton, IND |
30 | Mike Williams, TB | Mike Williams, TB |
31 | Brian Hartline, MIA | James Jones, GB |
32 | Roddy White, ATL | Roddy White, ATL |
33 | James Jones, GB | Antonio Brown, PIT |
34 | Eric Decker, DEN | Steve Johnson, BUF |
35 | Steve Johnson, BUF | Brian Hartline, MIA |
36 | Antonio Brown, PIT | Mike Wallace, MIA |
37 | Kenbrell Thompkins, NE | Josh Gordon, CLE |
38 | Eddie Royal, SD | Andre Roberts, ARI |
39 | Chris Givens, STL | Kenbrell Thompkins, NE |
40 | Lance Moore, NO | Eddie Royal, SD |
41 | Golden Tate, SEA | Lance Moore, NO |
42 | Denarius Moore, OAK | Chris Givens, STL |
43 | Rueben Randle, NYG | Emmanuel Sanders, PIT |
44 | Michael Floyd, ARI | Denarius Moore, OAK |
45 | Josh Gordon, CLE | Michael Floyd, ARI |
46 | Andre Roberts, ARI | Marlon Brown, BAL |
47 | Jerome Simpson, MIN | Rueben Randle, NYG |
48 | Greg Little, CLE | Golden Tate, SEA |
49 | Marlon Brown, BAL | Aaron Dobson, NE |
50 | Aaron Dobson, NE | Greg Little, CLE |
• Week 2 fantasy football waiver wire: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
