Fantasy Football: Value WRs

Aug 06, 2011

John Paulsen, Contributing Editor

S.Johnson

The WR position is particularly deep this season, so it's a good year to go back to the tried-and-true RB/RB in the first two rounds and then fill out your roster from there. This is especially true if you're planning to draft an elite QB/TE in the early rounds. Waiting on the WR position means that you'll have to find some quality talent in the middle rounds to build a strong and deep receiver corps. With that in mind, here are 10 wideouts who project to be particularly good values on draft day.

I'll list each player's ADP and PPR rank at 4for4 in parenthesis (ADP, PPR 4for4 rank) to give you an idea of his current stock and value.

Steve Johnson (5.02, WR10)

Johnson emerged as the Bills' clear WR1 in 2010 after catching just 12 passes in his first two seasons in the NFL. He posted 82-1073-10 and caught at least one TD pass in five straight games. The worry with any player that bursts on the scene like Johnson did is that they start to tail off as defenses game plan against them, but Johnson averaged 5.3 catches over the last half of the season. The Bills are going to struggle again in 2011, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is locked in as the starter and the two have a nice rapport. Johnson should continue to rack up stats as Buffalo will surely be throwing from behind.

Austin Collie (5.06, WR18)

We all know why Collie's draft stock is where it is. He's an injury risk. But when he's on the field, he produces...big time. Through the first six games last season, Collie averaged 7.3-84-1.0. Due to multiple concussions, he only played two more games in 2010, and racked up another 13 catches for 147 yards and two scores. He's a big injury risk, but the 5th round isn't a bad time to start taking risks on high-upside players like Collie.

Percy Harvin (6.01, WR23)

Even with all the trouble the Vikings had at QB last season, Harvin still managed 71-868-5 following up the 60-790-6 that he posted in his rookie season. The arrival of Donovan McNabb should help, and with Sidney Rice gone on the other side, Harvin will be targeted early and often. Double-teams will be an issue, but the extra opportunities should lead to another productive year. And don't forget that he also runs the ball (242 yards in 29 games).