We're back with another week of fantasy football rankings. As is often the case, the wide receiver position finds itself in flux. Considering the volume of players at the position, it is one of the most volatile fantasy football positions.
Week 3 Highlights
Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon played his first game of the season after serving his two game suspension and looked like he never missed a beat. In a shootout against the Vikings, Gordon was targeted 20 times by new QB Brian Hoyer, catching 10 balls for 146 yards and a touchdown. Gordon is coming off a rookie season which saw him catch 50 balls for 805 yards and five touchdowns. With Trent Richardson now out of the picture in Cleveland, Gordon is on the trade block and could be moved before Week 4 games. Depending on where he is traded will determine his future fantasy value.
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown had his biggest game of the season with 9 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns in a shootout on Sunday Night Football. He scored on a 33-yard pass in the second quarter and a 21-yard pass in the third quarter. Brown is a good WR2 play vs Minnesota in Week 4.
Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes appears to be Geno Smith's favorite target thus far. He was targeted 10 times by Smith on Sunday, catching five of those targets for 154 yards and a touchdown in the Jets win over the Bills. Smith had a good day passing, so if this is a sign of things to come, Holmes is a solid WR3 in three receiver leagues.
Some of the higher-ranked Week 3 wide receivers did not come through for fantasy owners on Sunday, including Brandon Marshall and Victor Cruz, among others. It was just one of those weeks where some of the lower-tiered wide receivers stepped up to have big games.
Marshall caught five of his eight targets for 52 yards and no touchdowns in the Bears blowout win on Sunday night. If you didn't watch the game and forgot to check the box score, your first thought would have been that Marshall had a big game, but that was not the case. He should be back to normal next week when the Bears travel to Detroit to face the Lions.
Injury Update
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson had to leave Sunday's game in the second quarter due to a bruised shin and will have an MRI on Monday. The results of the MRI will determine his Week 4 ranking. Should he miss Sunday's game vs Seattle, DeAndre Hopkins' value should rise as a result.
Bucs wide receiver Victor Jackson left Sunday's loss to New England with a rib injury. We will learn the extent of the injury soon. Should he miss time, Mike Williams' fantasy value will increase as a result.
You can count on few things once the NFL season begins, but one thing you can count on is Miles Austin suffering a hamstring injury. Austin had to leave Sunday's game due to aggravating the injury.
Target Practice
The Jaguars offense isn't going to scare many teams, but when they are presented with garbage time, as they were on Sunday in Seattle, Cecil Shorts benefits. Shorts caught 8 of his 15 targets for 143 yards and no scores on Sunday, but I bet you didn't know he was the most targeted wide receiver after Week 3. He leads all wide receivers with 39 targets thus far.
Pierre Garcon, when healthy, is one of the more productive wide receivers in the league. He is a breakaway threat every time he touches the ball and is Robert Griffin's favorite target thus far. He was targeted a season-high 14 times on Sunday, and is now the third most targeted receiver in the NFL. He gets to face a Raiders defense that has given up the 22nd most fantasy points to wide receivers.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones leads all wide receivers in receptions with 27 to go along with his league leading 373 yards receiving. He has the talent to be the top wide receiver in the game.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
Wk 3 |
1 |
Josh Gordon |
CLE |
20 |
2 |
Cecil Shorts |
JAC |
15 |
3 |
Pierre Garcon |
WAS |
14 |
4 |
Antonio Brown |
PIT |
13 |
5 |
Julio Jones |
ATL |
13 |
6 |
Stevie Johnson |
BUF |
13 |
7 |
Calvin Johnson |
DET |
13 |
8 |
Denarius Moore |
OAK |
11 |
9 |
Demaryius Thomas |
DEN |
11 |
10 |
Randall Cobb |
GBP |
11 |
11 |
Santonio Holmes |
NYJ |
10 |
12 |
Robert Woods |
BUF |
10 |
13 |
Davone Bess |
CLE |
10 |
14 |
Aaron Dobson |
NEP |
10 |
15 |
Golden Tate |
SEA |
10 |
Week 4 Rankings
Below you see the ten defenses that have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season:
Rank |
Team |
Points (WRs) |
23 |
83.09 |
|
24 |
85.29 |
|
25 |
87.9 |
|
26 |
88.6 |
|
27 |
88.7 |
|
28 |
89.89 |
|
29 |
93.9 |
|
30 |
95 |
|
31 |
96.69 |
|
32 |
109.1 |
When deciding whether to start one wide receiver over another, one should check out the Fantasy Points Allowed info that Ask the Commish, as well as other sites, provide on a weekly basis. The fantasy points allowed is a nice tie-breaker for me and you should use it as well.
The Redskins are the worst defense in the NFL period, so make sure you start Raiders receiver Denarius Moore this week, maybe in your flex position or your WR3 slot, depending on your league roster structure.
The Packers have a bye this week, but they get Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and the Lions in week 5.
The Eagles are on the road in Denver in Week 4 and have the 30th worst defense against opposing wide receivers. I'd expect a big day from Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Eric Decker this week. Manning completed 32 of 37 passes for 374 yards and 3 touchdowns on Monday night vs the Raiders.
Now let's take a look at our Week 4 Wide Receiver Rankings:
Standard Leagues |
PPR Leagues |
|
Rank |
Player |
Player |
1 |
Demaryius Thomas, DEN |
Demaryius Thomas, DEN |
2 |
Calvin Johnson, DET |
Calvin Johnson, DET |
3 |
Julio Jones, ATL |
Julio Jones, ATL |
4 |
A.J. Green, CIN |
A.J. Green, CIN |
5 |
Dez Bryant, DAL |
Brandon Marshall, CHI |
6 |
Brandon Marshall, CHI |
Wes Welker, DEN |
7 |
DeSean Jackson, PHI |
Anquan Boldin, SF |
8 |
Victor Cruz, NYG |
Larry Fitzgerald, ARI |
9 |
Wes Welker, DEN |
Julian Edelman, NE |
10 |
Julian Edelman, NE |
DeSean Jackson, PHI |
11 |
Pierre Garcon, WAS |
Pierre Garcon, WAS |
12 |
Cecil Shorts, JAC |
Dez Bryant, DAL |
13 |
Josh Gordon, CLE |
Josh Gordon, CLE |
14 |
Eric Decker, DEN |
Antonio Brown, PIT |
15 |
Larry Fitzgerald, ARI |
Victor Cruz, NYG |
16 |
Antonio Brown, PIT |
Eric Decker, DEN |
17 |
Reggie Wayne, IND |
Cecil Shorts, JAC |
18 |
Marques Colston, NO |
Vincent Jackson, TB |
19 |
Anquan Boldin, SF |
Reggie Wayne, IND |
20 |
Vincent Jackson, TB |
Marques Colston, NO |
21 |
Dwayne Bowe, KC |
Hakeem Nicks, NYG |
22 |
Torrey Smith, BAL |
Torrey Smith, BAL |
23 |
Andre Johnson, HOU |
Andre Johnson, HOU |
24 |
Eddie Royal, SD |
Dwayne Bowe, KC |
25 |
Kenbrell Thompkins, NE |
Kenbrell Thompkins, NE |
26 |
Denarius Moore, OAK |
Tavon Austin, STL |
27 |
T.Y. Hilton, IND |
DeAndre Hopkins, HOU |
28 |
Mike Wallace, MIA |
Miles Austin, DAL |
29 |
Hakeem Nicks, NYG |
T.Y. Hilton, IND |
30 |
Tavon Austin, STL |
Eddie Royal, SD |
31 |
Mike Williams, TB |
Mike Williams, TB |
32 |
Aaron Dobson, NE |
Denarius Moore, OAK |
33 |
Brian Hartline, MIA |
Roddy White, ATL |
34 |
Golden Tate, SEA |
Aaron Dobson, NE |
35 |
Roddy White, ATL |
Golden Tate, SEA |
36 |
DeAndre Hopkins, HOU |
Steve Johnson, BUF |
37 |
Steve Johnson, BUF |
Brian Hartline, MIA |
38 |
Nate Burleson, DET |
Mike Wallace, MIA |
39 |
Chris Givens, STL |
Andre Roberts, ARI |
40 |
Miles Austin, DAL |
Lance Moore, NO |
41 |
Lance Moore, NO |
Chris Givens, STL |
42 |
Santonio Holmes, NYJ |
Brandon LaFell, CAR |
43 |
Michael Floyd, ARI |
Emmanuel Sanders, PIT |
44 |
Brandon LaFell, CAR |
Michael Floyd, ARI |
45 |
Andre Roberts, ARI |
Nate Washington, TEN |
46 |
Davone Bess, CLE |
Davone Bess, CLE |
47 |
Sidney Rice, SEA |
Rueben Randle, NYG |
48 |
Marlon Brown, BAL |
Ryan Broyles, DET |
49 |
Nate Washington, TEN |
Sidney Rice, SEA |
50 |
Ryan Broyles, DET |
Marlon Brown, BAL |
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• Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST