16 – Larry Fitzgerald – Like Reggie Wayne, Fitz was primarily an outside receiver. With age, Coach Bruce Arians moved the 33 year old Colts WR Reggie Wayne inside where he saw a rejuvenated 195 Targets while catching 106 balls for 1355 yards with the 2012 Colts. Bruce Arians wants to do the same with 30 year old Larry Fitzgerald in 2014. “Guys lose a step at age 30,” say Arians. “They accept it, they want to become better players, they say help me become a better player than when I was 26. This is how you do it,” explains Arians for moving Fitz around to for better matchups. Larry Fitzgerald is a great bet to surpass his rough 954 yard 2013 performance and will remain a double digit TD scorer for the Cards.
17 – Michael Floyd – Sound the Fantasy Alarms on Michael Floyd! The Arizona Republic said the former Notre Dame WR “understood where he was supposed to be and when to be there,” and “is catching everything thrown his way.” The 3rd year WR is coming off a 1000+ yard season where he caught 66 balls. Expect Michael Floyd to have low end WR1/ high end WR2 type numbers this season. For years, fantasy owners have been drafting Larry Fitzgerald as the best option in Arizona. It’s time to take your eyes off the “old bull” and open them to the “young calf!”
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18 – Roddy White – We’re giving the 2013 version of Roddy White a Mulligan. The second half of the season a healthy Roddy White finished off his last 5 games averaging 8.6 catches for 100.4 yards. Although there’s now a Three Wide Receiver Set and a healthy WR1 Julio Jones and WR3 Harry Douglas, we still believe Roddy White can put up true WR2 numbers in a team that will face many shootouts due to a poor 2014 Atlanta Defense.
19 – Cordarrelle Patterson – Since 2000, there have only been five 1,000 Yard Receivers in their Rookie Season. However, 27 Receivers have eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark in their sophomore campaign since 2000. Cordarrelle Patterson has an explosive shot at a great 2014 season with an offense led by Norv Turner. We love Patterson this season and recommend that you get on the bandwagon as well!
20 – Percy Harvin – There are guys like Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders and Doug Baldwin that we think can be grabbed later and you can hit the “Like Button” on. However, we want to get this guy back on Fantasy Owners’ radar – Don’t sleep on Percy Harvin. In conversation after a recent OTA, Harvin (26 Years Old) expressed, “this is probably the best I’ve felt since before college.” This is an explosive and game-changing player who can light-up the stat card. We like him as a strong WR2 who can have electrifying games, putting up monstrous stats in the process. He’s an obvious High-Risk High-Reward Pick.
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21 – Wes Welker – Last year Peyton Manning saw 160 Blitz’s and was only sacked twice. His average time to throw the ball in a Blitz was 2.13 seconds, according to PFF. A reason for Manning’s success against the Blitz last season was his “security blanket’s” in both Wes Welker and Knowshon Moreno. With Moreno gone, Montee Ball isn’t the receiver Moreno was (60 receptions appear out of reach.) You can expect Defenses to continue to put pressure on the 38 year old Peyton Manning and with this you can expect a lot quick passes to Welker again in 2014. However, the concerning part with Wes Welker is that he is just one bad concussion away from ending his career after receiving two in 2013. Consequently, Denver resulted in signing Emmanuel Sanders – who’s able to play a similar role. If he’s able to play a full 17 Game season, we love Welker … but we’re skeptical he’s able to do that in 2014.
22 – Torrey Smith – In each of his 3 NFL Seasons, Smith has played all 16 Games. New OC Gary Kubiak will look to use Smith as an Andre Johnson type in 2014, with Steve Smith taking on the Kevin Walter role. It has been talked about within the Ravens Organization that rather being simply a deep threat, Smith will be used in shorter routes and will no doubt see an increase in both Receptions (65 in 2013) and Receiving Yards (1128 in 2013). The Ravens Offense was anemic in 2013 and Torrey Smith’s 4 TDs and only two +100 Yard Games should speak volumes. Smith is also in a contract season which should also propel more success in 2014. Smith has a juicy matchup in Week 15 (Fantasy Playoff Game) at home against a bad JAX pass Defense. Bradley’s Jacksonville Seahawks don’t have Seattle touch just yet.
23 – Jeremy Maclin – Maclin is set to become the Eagles WR1 with the departure of DeSean Jackson. Maclin enters the final year of his contract with the Eagles as he returns from his ACL injury last season. Maclin’s best year came in 2010 where he caught 70 balls for 964 yards and 10 TDs. Here’s what Maclin had to say on his return to the Eagles offense: “As far as numbers and everything, I’ve never really got into numbers. But if they plan on me being a big part of this offense like I think they are, I think the numbers will come. I’m not going to get wrapped up in all that. That’s how I’m going to approach the season.” We’re expecting a 1000+ yard season out of Maclin in 2014.
24 – Michael Crabtree – The motivational stars have aligned for Crabtree as he is fully-healed from an Achilles Injury, recently embarrassed by Richard Sherman and entering a contract year. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that since 2011, the 49ers have not ranked any higher than 31st in the NFL in Passing Attempts. Additionally, Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman expressed that they could stray away a bit from their ground-pounding roots. San Fran bolstered their WR corps by adding Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd to a group that already included Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin. We wouldn’t expect a monster season out of Crabtree with the limitations and numerous options available in this run-heavy offense, however a 1,000 yard season isn’t out of the question by any means.
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25 – Emmanuel Sanders – Focusing on the Fantasy Football perspective and dismissing what drama was surrounding Sanders in the off-season Chiefs fiasco or current negative comments made on Former-QB Ben Roethlisberger, the 27-year-old Sanders adds speed and athleticism to an already fast and athletic group of Broncos’ pass catchers. Emmanuel Sanders will take over where Eric Decker left off in 2013, as Decker rang up 1288 Receiving Yards, 87 Receptions and 11 TDs. Sanders should be considered an emerging star and his numbers will skyrocket from previous levels. John Elway recently said, “He can play anywhere – he can play inside, he can be outside. He’s explosive. Great separation skills. He can do it all.” Look for Sanders as a strong WR3 this season with the highest ceiling within this tier as he offers both talent and is part of an explosive offense on in 2014.
26 – Mike Wallace – Wallace surprisingly finished 27th among Fantasy WRs last season despite the disconnect with QB Ryan Tannehill. Enter new OC Bill Lazor. Lazor’s main goal is to get Wallace the ball, even if that means moving him everywhere around the field. Last season Dolphins OC Sherman kept Wallace strictly on the right side of the field where he ran mostly go-routes, which created room for other Dolphins receivers, singling Wallace out. “I think I’ll get to run everything,” includes Wallace. “I’ll be a more complete wide receiver rather than a one-dimensional guy.” The 6 foot 220 receiver has reportedly been “the last one off the field” and wants to succeed in the new Dolphins lineup. Lazor was with the Philadelphia Eagles Chip Kelly last season where we all saw a career out of WR DeSean Jackson. Mike Wallace is ideally a bigger version of DeSean Jackson’s 5’10, 175 pound frame. Jackson caught 82 balls for 1332 yards and 9 TD’s last season under Lazor’s offense.Wallace gets a bad Minnesota Pass Defense in the Fantasy Championship Week – we’re viewing Mike Wallace as a Comeback/Breakout Candidate in 2014.
27 – Golden Tate – 2013 was rock-solid for Tate, but we expect his success to exceed above and beyond that what he has produced to this point. Tate has never gone for 1,000 Receiving Yards in a season, but playing opposite of Calvin Johnson certainly has its benefits. Look for new OC Joe Lombardi to use Tate as New Orleans did Lance Moore, however the athleticism of Tate triumphs anything Moore brought to the table. Tate should see his overall numbers increase across the board along with Targets as his gun-slinging QB has no hesitance of letting it fly downfield early and often. Look for solid numbers all season from Golden Taint!
28 – Kendall Wright – Wright is part of a solid group of Third Year WR’s that look to take a big step forward in 2014. He finished last season with 94 Receptions, 1079 Receiving Yards and only 2 TDs. With Ken Whisenhunt now in Tennessee, look for the Titans to take the approach of a wide open attack with the emphasis being on a faster rhythm and timing offense allowing the QB to operate with quicker releases. Whisenhunt will surely help blossom Wright and we expect both Receiving Yards and TDs to increase in 2014.
29 – Terrance Williams – Consider Williams a breakout candidate in 2014 as he is locked in as the WR2 Option in Dallas. Williams will be the Number 3 Option this season behind Dez Bryant and Jason Witten in the pass-heavy offense led by New Offensive Coordinator – Scott Linehan. Williams should be viewed as a strong WR3 for Fantasy Owners and we fully expect him to exceed 1000 Receiving Yards this season in a Dallas Offense that will find themselves in many shootouts.
30 – Julian Edelman – A lot of Edelman’s success last year came from being the only legit option in New England. In 2013 TE Gronkowski missed 13 games, RB Vereen missed 8 games, WR Amendola missed 4 games, WR Dobson missed 4 games and WR Thompkins missed 4 games – that’s a lot of Targets gone for Tom Brady. Edelman was Tom Brady’s only consistent WR which resulted in his 1000+ yard season. With everyone back this year, Edelman will have a hard time receiving the 151 Targets he received in 2013. He’s still a High-End WR3 with WR2 upside in a New England Offense that has had their trouble with injured players.
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To catch up on some of our previous Fantasy Football Articles, check out:
2014 WR Rankings Part 1
Emerging Fantasy Football Stars