Fantasy football rankings 2014: Wide receivers in PPR leagues

The addition of points per reception (PPR) in fantasy football can change the value of almost every player in some capacity. Those pass-happy teams willing to throw the ball generally lead to more players having a bigger impact in PPR leagues. It’s clear the NFL has become a passing league and that trend doesn't appear to be a fad, with quarterbacks consistently clearing the 4,000-yard plateau. In fact, only four players rushed for more first downs than the top 11 receivers moved the sticks in 2013 (LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles and Marshawn Lynch).

It’s important to identify which teams are passing more and who is getting the targets. In the past couple of years, the stat tracking has grown by leaps and bounds with not only targets per game, but things like average depth of target as well.

As for our rankings, all seven writers ranked Calvin Johnson at No. 1. Demaryius Thomas ended up the consensus No. 2, with Dez Bryant, Brandon Marshall and A.J. Green also in the next tier.

The injury histories of Jordy Nelson and Julio Jones caused their positioning to fluctuate. Both guys easily could become the top option in PPR leagues for their high-scoring, pass-heavy offenses. Antonio Brown was also ranked as a WR1 by everyone, which is hardly a surprise after his breakout 2013. Alshon Jeffery consistently ranked in the 8-12 range while Andre Johnson was in the 7-12 range in all but one of the rankings.

As for the players changing teams, DeSean Jackson’s projections vary from 11-32, Eric Decker came in around 25-31 in six of the seven rankings (38 in the other) and Emmanuel Sanders had a huge variance with one ranking coming in at 17 and another not including him at all in the top 50.

Sammy Watkins leads the pack as the top rookie receiver -- he’s also been lights out in camp --  with Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks and Kelvin Benjamin also sneaking in on the back end of most rankings.

Consensus Writer Rankings

Individual Writer Rankings