Fantasy Football Friday: Who should be the 2nd WR selected in 2012 Fantasy Football Drafts?
Going into the 2012 season, Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is the clear-cut No. 1 fantasy wide receiver in football. He closed the season with four straight 100-yard games (although three of them were 200-yard games).
The debate comes into play when we are looking at who should be ranked second at the position.
Based on 2011 production, three of the top six receivers are not a huge surprise: Johnson, Wes Welker and Larry Fitzgerald. However, the other three were much less likely to finish in the top six based on preseason expectations and rankings.
Green Bay's Jordy Nelson finished second, New York's Victor Cruz finished fourth and Carolina's Steve Smith finished sixth.
Here is this week's roundtable topic: Using standard scoring (i.e., not PPR), who should be 2nd WR selected in 2012 fantasy football drafts?
Kevin (follow on Twitter): Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
It is nearly impossible to predict injuries and many of our fantasy teams get wrecked from the injuries we suffer throughout any given season. A pair of hamstring injuries ruined Andre Johnson's fantasy production last year. Before his (first) hamstring injury, Johnson had 21 receptions for 316 yards and two touchdowns in the first three games of the season. The fact that he had 13 receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown in two playoff games reminds us that he is as talented as any other receiver not named Calvin. From 2007 to 2010, Johnson averaged more than 90 receiving yards per game every year. Provided he (and quarterback Matt Schaub) stays healthy next year, Johnson should put up 1,300-1,500 yards in 2012.
John (follow on Twitter): Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
After Calvin Johnson, the top receiver I would take in 2012 would be Andre Johnson. Prior to Calvin's breakout season, Andre Johnson was generally regarded as the best receiver in football (with a short list of other possibilities like Larry Fitz or Roddy White.) The Texans offense has been heading in the right direction the last few years, with Arian Foster emerging as probably the best back in the league, which obviously helps open up the passing game. Schaub to Johnson was becoming a pretty lethal combo, but injuries to both players this year clearly hurt their production. Still, if both players can manage to stay healthy all year, Johnson is a big, strong receiver with great hands and he has a top-tier quarterback throwing to him. The Texans can score a lot of points, so I expect a big year out of Schaub, with Johnson being the main beneficiary. Because of this, I'd slot Andre Johnson as the number two most valuable fantasy receiver to start 2012.
Sean (follow on Twitter): Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
This year it is going to be so hard to pick the No. 2 WR, I think you are almost better off going in another direction. I'd honestly consider drafting both Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham before the next WR (after Megatron).
The No. 2 WR will probably be taken around the 10th-12th pick in most drafts, so for arguments sake let's say you have the 10th pick. You only have to wait four more picks until you pick again. Is there a real difference between Larry Fitzgerald and Victor Cruz? Not really. If you pass on a WR in both rounds, who do you think will be available in Rounds 3/4 to round out your team? The WRs you are looking at in 3rd/4th will be guys like Dez Bryant, Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Miles Austin, Kenny Britt, AJ Green, etc.
I think this is the year to pass on WRs early and draft them later on. My strategy for this pick would be to draft one of the three elite QBs. Hope that one of the TE's falls to be in the 2nd. Then go WR/RB or WR/WR in rounds 3&4, and then just load up on RB's the rest of the draft. There is going to be plenty of players like Marshawn Lynch and Darren Sproles that come out of no where next season. If you are putting up 50 points a week with your QB/TE combo, and your second tier of WRs are the guys listed in the paragraph above, then you are going to be hard to beat. Could you see Vincent Jackson being the #2 WR next year? How about Dez Bryant, Kenny Britt or AJ Green? They all have the talent to take it to the next level.
My answer is simple. I am not drafting one. I am going elsewhere with my pick. If I had to bet money on who I thought would go No. 2 in most drafts though, I'd put my money on Andre Johnson. Johnson out of all the other WRs has the tools, and is in a great situation where he is going to get the majority of the balls thrown to him.
Dan (follow on Twitter): Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
If I am picking the number 2 wide receiver, I am still going with Andre Johnson of the Texans. Although he was limited to seven games, Johnson had 33 catches for an average of 14.9 yard per reception and two TDs. Johnson has been one of the league's most consistent talents, and will have a bounce-back year.
Steve: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
If you've followed my writing here, you'll have noticed that I'm a big fan of consistency and repeatability. Therefore, I would pick Larry Fitzgerald as he has been a machine for the past few years, despite the revolving door at QB in Arizona. I'm a little concerned about the dropoff in catches this past year (down from 90 to 80), but as the Cardinals get better this year so will Fitzgerald's numbers. His 1,400 yards are only a couple hundred behind Johnson and touchdowns tend to a be a feast-or-famine sort of stat for wide receivers. The other top yardage receivers (Victor Cruz, Wes Welker) have a lot of company on their team's receiving corps, and with only one football to go around, I'll take the guy with the least competion.
Previous Fantasy Football Friday Posts:
- Jan. 20: Who should be the No. 1 pick in 2012 Fantasy Football Drafts?
- Jan. 13: Will Tim Tebow finish in the top 12 in fantasy points among QBs in 2012?
- Jan. 6: Better Fantasy TE in 2012: Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham?
