2008 Wide Receiver Power Rankings: The Fantasy Football Geek Blog

By Brandon (FFGeekBlog) on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Comment on this post

2008 Wide Receiver Power Rankings

Here are your wide receiver power rankings for the 2008-09 fantasy football season...

Bookmark this post, it's updated regularly! Last updated: 09/05/08
Rank	Player	Team	Notes
Tier 1: Best of the best
1	Moss, Randy	NE	Will he get 23 touchdowns again? I wouldn't count on it. He and Tom Brady clearly have some good chemistry though, so expect another monster year out of Moss
Tier 2: Best of the rest
2	Edwards, Braylon	CLE	Edwards had a great season last year with 16 touchdowns and I see him at least repeating, if not improving on his stats this time around.
3	Owens, Terrell	DAL	T.O. seems to have found a place where he feels at home and the stability can only help him out. Expect another awesome year from Owens season.
4	Wayne, Reggie	IND	Wayne is clearly the number one option at receiver in Indy now, with Marvin Harrison on the rapid decline. He'd be a bit higher, but he still has to split his stats with Harrison, Dallas Clark, and Anthony Gonzalez.
5	Fitzgerald, Larry	ARI	Who's the quarterback here? I like Fitz even more with Warner behind the steering wheel.
Tier 3: Solid WR1 if you took RB or QB with your top one or two picks
6	Johnson, Andre	HOU	In the nine games he actually played last season, Johnson was nasty, averaging nearly 100 yards and a score (in the first two games he combined for 262 yards and three touchdowns!) If he can stay healthy all season long this time, expect more big things.
7	Houshmandzadeh, T.J.	CIN	He's a monster in the endzone and with Ocho Cinco trying to cause a ruckus in Cincy already, I see Houshmanzilly having another big year.
8	Colston, Marques	NO
9	Burress, Plaxico	NYG	As with Housh, Burress is a big endzone target and Eli will look his way often.
10	Marshall, Brandon	DEN	Looks like he'll be suspended for at least two games (possibly three if he turns down counseling). I think you still have to take him at this spot though due to the stats he'll put up from week three on and into your playoffs.
11	Smith, Steve	CAR	A two week suspension and a concussion isn't going to help Smith rekindle any chemistry with quarterback Jake Delhomme. Let's hope he picks up where he left off a few years ago when he returns in week 3.
12	Holt, Torry	STL	He's not getting any younger, but he's still Bulger's number one target.
13	Boldin, Anquan	ARI
14	Williams, Roy	DET
Tier 5: WR2 territory
15	Ocho Cinco, Chad	CIN	This shoulder injury is scary as hell to anyone who is targeting Ocho Cinco in their draft (or to owners who already have drafted him...such as me!) He plans to play through the pain, but if it gets any worse, he'll undoubtedly get season ending surgery.
16	Welker, Wes	NE	In PPR leagues, you obviously move Welker up quite a bit. He'll be Brady's most frequent target again this year, running interference for Randy Moss, and should end up with some good numbers again.
17	Johnson, Calvin	DET	I expect huge things out of C-Jo (does anyone call him this?) this year, so should you. Expect him to cut into Roy Williams stats and take over the top spot in Detroit soon.
18	Jennings, Greg	GB	Early indications are that Jennings and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are working well together, with Jennings giving Rodgers rave reviews. This could be a good sign for Jennings and a sign that his production might not drop off a whole lot from last year, if at all.
19	Holmes, Santonio	PIT	Two touchdowns in two preseason games so far makes me believe that Holmes is getting primed for a great season.
20	Bowe, Dwayne	KC	Nearly racked up 1000 yards as a rookie, will he suffer a sophomore slump? I'm starting to jump on the Bowe bandwagon this year.
21	White, Roddy	ATL	Can he repeat? The quarterback situation in Atlanta could hurt/help White, so he's definitely a risky pick.
Tier 6: WR2 or WR3, depending on how the rest of your team looks
22	Chambers, Chris	SD
23	Evans, Lee	BUF
24	Ward, Hines	PIT
25	Burleson, Nate	SEA	With Deion Branch already out for an extended period of time, and now Bobby Engram out for a while too, Burleson has another chance to take over as the number one receiver in Seattle. Will he step up this time?
26	Cotchery, Jerricho	NYJ	It's like Christmas in the Cotchery household this morning, waking up to realize that your quarterback is no longer the Pennington/Clemens nightmare, but the one and only Brett Favre!
Tier 7: WR3
27	Harrison, Marvin	IND	How the mighty have fallen. Do you think Harrison can come back from the injury that ravaged his season last year? Expect WR3 numbers form Harrison, with anything more being a bonus.
28	Coles, Laveranues	NYJ	As with teammate Cotchery, Coles is popping the cork on a nice bottle of Cristal right about now.
29	Berrian, Bernard	MIN
30	Mason, Derrick	BAL
31	Driver, Donald	GB
32	Galloway, Joey	TB
33	Moss, Santana	WAS
Tier 8: Bye week fill-in's and sleepers
34	Jones, James	GB	As with Jennings, with Jones was en route to becoming a star, but we'll have to wait and see how Rodgers can work with these young receivers.
35	Crayton, Patrick	DAL
36	Walker, Javon	OAK	What a career/life Walker has lived up to this point. No matter what happens (broken leg, broken eye socket, etc), he still seems to get paid, so we'll see if that translates to production in an up-and-coming Oakland offense this year.
37	Gonzalez, Anthony	IND	Can he prove that he has the skills to be a WR2 this year? I wouldn't draft him with that thought in mind, but having him as your third receiver wouldn't be all that bad.
38	Rice, Sidney	MIN	With a good quarterback I think this kid could be special, but until then, we might never find out his true potential.
39	Walter, Kevin	HOU
Tier 9: You better not be relying on these guys on opening day
40	Jackson, DeSean	PHI	Kevin Curtis' surgery and Reggie Brown's hamstring injury boost the rookie's value.
41	Stallworth, Donte	CLE	He didn't produce all that much alongside Moss and Welker...maybe alongside Edwards and Winslow will be different?
42	Curtis, Kevin	PHI	Sports hernia surgery puts a huge damper on the expected fantasy output from Curtis this season.
43	Engram, Bobby	SEA	A broken bone in his shoulder will sideline him for up to a month into the regular season...and keep him away from my fantasy rosters.
44	Brown, Reggie	PHI	Lingering hamstring issues so far...
45	Ginn Jr., Tedd	MIA	Should be Miami's number one option at the position.
46	Jackson, Vincent	SD
Tier 10: Sleepers at best
47	Meachem, Robert	NO	After missing last season with an injury, he seems to be showing the talent in preseason that he displayed back in college at Tennessee.
48	Royal, Eddie	DEN	Rookie expected to start alongside Brandon Marshall (Darrell Jackson for the first week) when the season begins. Nice sleeper pick.
49	Curry, Ronald	OAK
50	Hardy, James	BUF	One of our sleeper picks this year
51	Branch, Deion	SEA	Knee issues expected to keep him out at least through the first month of the season, possibly longer.
52	Porter, Jerry	JAX	Injured already? He'll most most of September and takes a hit on our rankings.
53	Hackett, D.J.	CAR	Will he be the #2 Carolina has been searching for all these years?
54	Obomanu, Ben	SEA	All the injuries are opening door...
55	Williams, Reggie	JAX	Underachievement award nominee
56	Hester, Devin	CHI	He'll need to improve on last years offensive numbers if he is going to land on a fantasy roster.
57	Bruce, Isaac	SF	Anything left in the tank?
58	Gage, Justin	TEN	Titans receivers are a joke...no wonder Vince Young's passing numbers are atrocious.
59	McDonald, Shaun	DET
60	Bennett, Drew	STL

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11 comments

#1. Ken, 6 months ago

Ranking Roddy White ahead of Santonio Holmes and even Dwayne Bowe is criminal.

ATL has no QB and will be pounding the rock with Turner and OC Mularkey.

Please bump Roddy down to the mid-30s where he belongs. I'd even take Anthony Gonzales over him this year.

#2. Brandon, 6 months ago

Ken, with NO quarterback last year (i.e. Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman), Roddy White still piled up the stats. Are you saying that he'll be that much less productive this year with a new quarterback at the helm? His position on the list may change as we get closer to the season start, but I don't agree with your argument that White will be a lot worse than he was last year.

#3. Doc's Sports Power Rankings Guy, 6 months ago

I would have to agree about the White-Bowe situation. I think Dwayne is an absolute animal and is going to have a big year. Roddy just still has too many drops and too many games where he doesn't show up.

Also, I think it's interesting that a lot of the Top 15 guys are pretty injury prone. I mean, it is football. But in terms of fantasy you like to think that your top-tier wideouts are going to be much more reliable than your RB's and just under your QB's in terms of health (not production). That doesn't seem to be the case though.

#4. Brandon, 6 months ago

After some consideration, I took some suggestions and moved D-Bowe up a few spots, so he is now above Roddy White. Bowe, White and Holmes are pretty much interchangeable at this point though and all make solid WR2 or WR3 plays.

#5. Kevin, 5 months ago

Re: Smith, part of me says he's going to go off when he gets his chance in game 3 vs. MN; part of me says Delhomme is going to ignore him for a game in support of Lucas and being a team player. Your thoughts? I dropped him to 15. Fast Feet FFB (585-627-4153)the service you dial on your cell phone before and during the draft only dropped him to 9 as of their 8/3 updates.

#6. Advisor, 4 months ago

Glad you're not the Panthers QB Kevin. What player in his right mind would ignore a player the caliber of Steve Smith. He's already getting punished 2 games, it would be asinine to continue it in game 3.

Smith- 8 rec. 137 yds 1 TD when he returns in game 3, must be crazy.

#7. Advisor, 4 months ago

DeSean Jackson is now in play!

#8. Brandon, 4 months ago

@Advisor: Most definitely...he broke into the rankings tonight with Curtis' surgery news, so we'll see if he can move up any further from the 45 spot as the preseason moves on.

#9. advisor, 27 days ago

Steve Smith is the best WR in the National Football League... Why you ask, well because of how he plays in big games. When all the chips are in, when its all on the line he always shows up. Dating back to his playoff heriocs in 2003 and then his clutch play last night to lead his team to 10-3 and the division lead.

BIG players make BIG plays in BIG games!!! All this and the guy is only 5'9 185 lbs.. But wait until the playoffs, it will get even better then.

Date of post- 12/09/2008 - 11:26 am.

I'll be back.

#10. Brandon, 27 days ago

I gotta give props to Steve Smith, who just barely led me to victory last night and I was able to defeat my opponent by just over 1 point! I also have to thank Antonio Bryant for his insanity as he allowed Steve Smith to blow up (in another league) on another team's roster and have no affect on the outcome of my game in that league.

#11. advisor, 27 days ago

Oh and Brandon, looks like you were right about Roddy White all along... Go with your insticts, don't change for the nay sayers.. I must admit, I too doubted Roddy White's ability but with Matt Ryan at the helm he's unstoppable.

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