NFL.COM 2013 WR Ranks

[h0llywood]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000210224/article/ranking-the-nfl-wide-receivers

 

 

Well-rounded playmakers

 

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Larry Fitzgerald
3. A.J. Green
4. Julio Jones
5. Dez Bryant
6. Brandon Marshall
7. Demaryius Thomas

Gil Brandt's opinion notwithstanding, Johnson is the king of the hill after breaking Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards record. There's no tougher matchup at the position. ... Fitzgerald is a probable first-ballot Hall of Famer one year removed from a 1,400-yard season with John Skelton as his quarterback. I can't blame anyone for preferring a young stud such as Green or Jones, but I think Fitzgerald has earned the benefit of the doubt. ... Green andPercy Harvin were the best receivers in the NFL for the first two months of last season. Green's production tailed off down the stretch due to bracket coverage and Andy Dalton's regression in the pocket.

Marshall has been a ticking time bomb for the majority of his career, but he appears finally to have gained some sense of inner peace and maturity. His numbers will go down in 2013 if only because he was targeted on roughly 40 percent of Jay Cutler's passes last season -- nearly eight percentage points more than the next-closest receiver. ... Thomas does everything Jones does, but with a more checkered injury history. He's electric after the catch.Jones' numbers would be off the charts if not for the Falcons' share-the-wealth passing game in which Roddy White andTony Gonzalez are heavily featured. He's about to embark on a half-decade stretch straight out of Terrell Owens' prime. ... Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson is still checking under his bed and in his closet for Bryant before he turns off the lights. The final eight games of Bryant's 2012 breakout campaign project to 1,758 yards and 20 touchdowns across a full season. ...

Go-to receivers

8. Percy Harvin

9. Andre Johnson
10. Vincent Jackson
11. Steve Smith
12. Roddy White
13. Reggie Wayne
14. Hakeem Nicks

Harvin was a legitimate MVP candidateat mid-season before going down with a season-ending ankle injury. My early season tape watching had him behind just J.J. Watt, Tom Brady and Robert Griffin III as the NFL's best player by the end of October. Reliability is the only factor keeping him out of the first tier. ... Johnson has fewer touchdowns over the past two seasons than Danario Alexander posted in two months with the San Diego Chargers. Johnson is still a legit No. 1, but his 2012 numbers were inflated by the Texans' vacancy on the other side. ... Jackson is the rare free-agent wide receiver signing that actually exceeded expectations. He put the Bucs' aerial attack on his back last season, leading to franchise records for Josh Freeman in yards and touchdowns.

 

I wanted to leave Smith in the first tier, but he wasn't quite as explosive (early season knee injury?) after the catch or separating from coverage as he was in 2011. Now 34 years old, Smith could be entering the slow fade. ... Speaking of slow fades, Reggie Wayne's might already have begun. He took a backseat to T.Y. Hilton down the stretch after a running series of highlight-reel catches in the first half of the season. ... White continues to crank out 1,300-yard seasons. ... Nicks would be in the first tier as a well-rounded playmaker if he could stay healthy. Alas, he can't.

Not quite true No. 1s

 

15. Jordy Nelson
16. Mike Wallace
17. Dwayne Bowe
18. Victor Cruz
19. Randall Cobb
20. Marques Colston
21. Greg Jennings

 

The Green Bay Packers realized prior to last season that Nelson had overtaken Jennings as the best receiver on the roster. ... Wallace is the most lethal deep threat in the game. He has to prove that he's not one-dimensional after a disappointing 2012 season. ... Bowe might be the garbage-time king at the position, but he has No. 1 receiver skills. He should benefit from the quarterback upgrade.

Cruz and Cobb have strong arguments for higher rankings, but slot receivers don't typically take on the task of beating double coverage. If NFL teams don't place a high value on slot receivers, why should we? ... We know what we're getting from Colston year-in and year-out: Not quite Pro Bowl-level, but awfully close. My efforts to stick him with the "Catch-Radius" Colston moniker have been in vain.

Prove it

 

22. Torrey Smith
23. Cecil Shorts
24. Pierre Garcon
25. Jeremy Maclin
26. Antonio Brown
27. Eric Decker
28. Steve Johnson
29. Wes Welker
30. Miles Austin
31. DeSean Jackson

The Ravens are counting on Smith to graduate from vertical threat to go-to receiver this season. He has the talent to pull it off. ... Shorts' game tape looks like 90 to 95 percent of Victor Cruz. ... Garcon was the engine that made the Redskins' passing offense go last season. Can he stay healthy? ... I might have underrated Eagles Maclin and Jackson on this list. They both have top-20 talent, but they spend too much time in the trainers' room.

Brown has feasted off the single-coverage provided by Mike Wallace the past two years. Can he succeed as the focus of the opposing secondary? ... I'll take Decker over Welker at this stage of their respective careers, and I think their 2013 stats will reflect that. ... Johnson has been stretched as theBills' No. 1 receiver. ... Austin took a clear backseat to Dez Bryant in the second half of the season.

Trick or treat

32. Sidney Rice

33. Kenny Britt
34. Danny Amendola
35. Mike Williams
36. James Jones
37. Denarius Moore
38. Josh Gordon
39. Anquan Boldin
40. Danario Alexander

Rice and Britt have the No. 1 receiver skill set, but Rice isn't targeted as such and Britt's knees were a season-long issue in 2012. ... If more people saw Amendola play last season, they wouldn't be asking why the New England Patriots preferred him to Welker. ... Williams and Jones are among the game's best second fiddles. ... Moore and Gordon are obscenely talented breakout candidates. ... Boldin wins with physicality, but has been known to disappear against superior cornerbacks due to his inability to separate. ... Alexander is a top-20 talent with the game's most fragile legs.

 

 

They still rate Steve Smith as  a Go-To receiver and were tempted to keep him in the first tier.

 

Here's a little commentary on the rankings and surprised with the love Steve was getting.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000210237/article/atl-writers-weigh-in-on-nfl-wide-receivers-debate

 

DH: Mark Sanchez aside, there's nothing more depressing in today's NFL than watching Larry Fitzgerald waste away his prime with a collection of low-grade quarterbacks. Carson Palmer has quit on two teams and I'm still rooting for him for Fitz's sake. My long way of saying that Fitzgerald is an all-time talent at the position and I'm comfortable with his ranking here.

I'm less comfortable with the great Steve Smithbeing unable to crack the top 10. I assume this is because of age/durability concerns, Wess?

GR: I never thought I'd see the day where Wesseling is accused of underrating Steve Smith. I think there's a Fathead somewhere in storage.

CW: I was typing the exact same sentence as Gregg. I never thought I'd end up defending a too-low ranking for Smith, my favorite player (and arguably the NFL's most underrated) of the past decade. Nice segue though, Dan.Steve Smith can certainly identify with Fitzgerald's quarterback morass.

I did dock Smith a few spots for age. He wasn't quite as explosive after the catch in 2012 as 2011 (early-season knee injury?), and he's no longer a major red-zone weapon thanks toCam Newton's presence inside the 10-yard line. I should have kept him in the top-10 just out of loyalty to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK4lF_pRciE.

 

 

[TheRumGone]

It's pretty fair. You could argue he is better than Vincent Jackson and Percy Harvin. Considering Harvin missed a lot of games and Jackson and Smitty are around the same level. Demaryius is kind of high on the list for me personally.

[TheRed]

It's a reasonable list. I cannot agree with Harvin at 8 though. Take him out and Steve cracks the top 10.

[Jesse]

Very fair. Imagine his legacy if he had someone like Cam throwing to him all these years.

[Jackofalltrades]

Agree with The Red.

[Razeyfingers]

Its amazing how they just dont get how to rate "potential" and not be biased by age, size, or stats. Seriously, a Smitty fan is gonna say that? cmon man, show me in what way 89 has any weaknesses any time he touches the ball or throws a block. Not as explosive? lol no hes not as explosive but he's still explosive.

 

He's no longer 20% more explosive than anyone else, big deal. He'll still take any corner in the league for a drink in the deep end anytime any place any play.

[micnificent28]

Looks good to me. Can't argue with this list at all. As big of a fan of agent 89 as I am I just couldn't put him over anyone hut harvin.

[OneBadCat]

Very fair. Imagine his legacy if he had someone like Cam throwing to him all these years.

 

Yep. He was robbed of two 1000 yd seasons in 09-10, freakin BS.

 

I think he still has enough to juice in the tank to make up for it if Cam continues to progress.

[carolina-chuck]

I don't get the hype with Harvin

[jtnc]

Percy Harvin has never had a season with over 1000 yards receiving and yet he is ranked above Steve? Bullshit. 

[CarolinaCoolin]

Smith is top ten. No doubt

[CPF4LIFE]

Yeah Harvin is too high,and i like Thomas but that might be too high for him right now, a healthy Hakeem Nicks is top 5 to me. And if that playoff game against the niners is any indication how Julio is gonna be going forward then i perfectly understand him being number 4.

[L-TownCat]

Steve Smith has seen this list. You should all be afraid now.... very afraid. The original superman has just received his latest shipment of high quality top shelf mental ammo. No one puts smitty outside the top 10....nobody.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

This is how I would rank them. Demaryius Thomas is way too overrated for his own good.

 

Matter of fact, they're too high on all of the young guys. Thomas, Bryant, Jones, Shorts, Cobb, Harvin. They're not that good just yet.

 

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Larry Fitz

3. AJ Green

4. B Marsh

5. Andre Johnson

6. Roddy White

7. Dwayne Bowe

8. Steve Smith

9. Victor Cruz

10. Greg Jennings

11. Vincent Jackson

12. Julio Jones

13. Reggie Wayne

14. Marques Colston

15. Wes Welker

16. Hakeem Nicks

17. Mike Wallace

18. Dez Bryant

19. Percy Harvin

20. Torrey Smith

21. Miles Austin

22. Jordy Nelson

23. Desean Jackson

24. Stevie Johnson

25. Jeremy Maclin

26. Demaryius Thomas

27. Kenny Britt

28. Pierre Garcon

29. Antonio Brown

30. James Jones

31. Randall Cobb

32. Danarius Moore

33. Danny Amendola

34. Mike Williams

35. Sidney Rice

36. Eric Decker

37. Danario Alexander

38. Cecil Shorts

39. Anquan Boldin

40. Josh Gordon