Fantasy Football Rankings 2011 NFL

Football News : Fantasy Football Rankings 2011 NFL - With NFL football back in action, that means fantasy football is about to begin. SB Nation provides you rankings for each fantasy position, including this ranking of wide receivers.

Wide receiver is a tricky position to rank. Whereas the running back controls his own fate, the WR has to rely on his QB to get him the ball as much as possible. Things get tricky if teams are battling in close games and want to grind out the clock with the running game, or if the WR's stud quarterback injures himself, thus diminishing the number of targets. We've seen first-hand what happens when a QB goes down: Check out Carolina's Steve Smith's recent decline as evidence. All in all, though, talent simply wins out. The big boys will get their share of targets, double-team or not (Calvin Johnson circa 2010).

As usual, rankings are compiled by the best of the best: TJ Mahoney (mahoney1213), Evan Levine (eklevine), Scott Kaliska (dukeallstar) and Kenny Stein (Humbled Fan).

		TM	EL	SK	KS
1	Andre Johnson, Texans	2	2	1	3
2	Calvin Johnson, Lions	1	3	3	2
3	Roddy White, Falcons	6	1	2	1
4	Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals	3	4	10	4
5	Mike Wallace, Steelers	4	5	5	11
6	Hakeem Nicks, Giants	5	7	4	10
7	Greg Jennings, Packers	12	6	6	7
8	DeSean Jackson, Eagles	9	10	7	9
9	Reggie Wayne, Colts	11	8	8	8
10	Miles Austin, Cowboys	7	9	13	12
11	Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs	14	13	9	5
12	Marques Colston, Saints	15	14	15	13
13	Vincent Jackson, Chargers	8	11	11	30
14	Brandon Lloyd, Broncos	25	17	18	6
15	Santonio Holmes, Jets	13	15	21	18
16	Mike Williams, Bucs	20	19	12	16
17	Jeremy Maclin, Eagles	19	12	17	23
18	Dez Bryant, Cowboys	16	18	19	21
19	Percy Harvin, Vikings	17	25	26	15
20	Steve Johnson, Bills	24	20	25	14
21	Chad Ochocinco, Patriots	21	24	20	19
22	Brandon Marshall, Dolphins	10	16	14	-
23	Wes Welker, Patriots	23	22	24	26
24	Anquan Boldin, Ravens	26	26	27	20
25	Sidney Rice, Seahawks	29	23	23	31
26	Kenny Britt, Titans	18	30	16	-
27	Mario Manningham, Giants	27	21	-	17
28	Austin Collie, Colts	22	29	22	-
29	Santana Moss, Redskins	30	-	31	24
30	Johnny Knox, Bears	-	-	30	22
31	Steve Smith, Panthers	28	27	-	-
32	Braylon Edwards, 49ers	-	31	-	27
33	A.J. Green, Bengals	31	-	-	28
34	Mike Thomas, Jaguars	-	-	-	29
35	Mike Sims-Walker, Rams	32	32	-	-
36	Michael Crabtree, 49ers	-	-	-	25
37	Plaxico Burress, Jets	-	28	-	-
38	Pierre Garcon, Colts	-	-	29	-
39	Julio Jones, Falcons	-	-	-	32
40	Jacoby Ford, Raiders	-	-	32	-

My two cents: This position is where things get tricky. It was a neck and neck battle for supremacy between the two Johnsons. Andre ultimately won out over Calvin, but barely. If Schaub and Stafford stay healthy, then Calvin and Andre will both dominate; however, that is a major IF, especially in Stafford's case. People can argue about Larry Fitz in the top five, but with Kolb at the helm, Larry will get his. Check out his stats last year with the likes of me and you throwing the ball to him. Roddy White may lose targets to Julio Jones, and Mike Wallace needs to capitalize on his dominant 2010 second half, but otherwise the top 6 looks great. As shown by our own ranks above, you can go in just about any direction from that point on. It seems to be a matter of personal preference.

Even in non-PPR Leagues, it is extremely beneficial to draft a Tier-1 WR. This enables you to build around your reliable WR1 with starters at the other positions, and you can take a flier on the other WR's. It's extremely difficult to pick and choose mid-level WR's as starters weekly because it's tough to determine who will break out any given week. Drafting a top WR eliminates this risk. Helpful RB's fly off the waiver wire each year more so than WR's do.

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