2013 Fantasy Football: Final Wide Receiver Rankings 

As far as fantasy football goes, the third preseason game is where the interesting news ends. Now that almost to the new season, position battles are for the most part settled and the likelihood of significant injuries is nearly diminished.

That means I can finally rank my fantasy wide receivers for the 2013 season. It actually means I can no longer change my mind anymore and I’m stuck with whatever splendidness (or mistakes) I happen to publish here.

The biggest stock shifters, plus anyone who rose up or dropped  down into a different tier, are marked in bold and followed by a brief explanation. If you’d like a refresher to top off your glass with my earlier fantasy football rankings and Kool Aid you can find them here.

With that, it’s onto my final wide receiver rankings for 2013:

The Elites

1              Julio Jones, ATL

2              A.J. Green, CIN

3              Calvin Johnson, DET

4              Brandon Marshall, CHI

5              Dez Bryant, DAL

6              Randall Cobb, GB

7              Demaryius Thomas, DEN

8              Andre Johnson, HOU

Top Talents

9              Vincent Jackson, TB

10           Roddy White, ATL

11           Marques Colston, NO

12           Danny Amendola, NE

13           Reggie Wayne, IND

Last year Reggie Wayne finished in the top ten of most statistical receiving categories during his quarterback’s rookie season. This year the QB is a year more experienced, the offence is more balanced, and the other starting WR is a deep threat who will allow the veteran Wayne to roam freely through coverage. He’s 34 in age but top 20 in fantasy.

14           Victor Cruz, NYG

15           Larry Fitzgerald, ARI

16           Wes Welker, DEN

17           Steve Smith, CAR

18           DeSean Jackson, PHI

The new offense in Philadelphia appears to be quite effective at moving the ball. DeSean Jackson appears to be the biggest threat for getting yards quickly. It appears QB Michael Vick enjoys throwing to him. You can connect the dots.

19           Jordy Nelson, GB

20           Lance Moore, NO

Quality Starters

21           Dwayne Bowe, KC

Offensive line issues in Kansas City will create consistency problems all year long. Consistency problems are not what I want in one of my top WRs since the position is adherently inconsistent to begin with. Dwayne Bowe is a low end WR2.

22           Antonio Brown, PIT

23           Golden Tate, SEA

24           Eric Decker, DEN

25           James Jones, GB

26           Cecil Shorts, JAC

27           Tavon Austin, STL

28           Torrey Smith, BAL

29           Pierre Garcon, WAS

30           Hakeem Nicks, NYG

31           Greg Jennings, MIN

32           Mike Wallace, MIA

33           DeAndre Hopkins, HOU

34           Alshon Jeffery, CHI

35           T.Y. Hilton, IND

36           Anquan Boldin, SF

37           Steve Johnson, BUF

38           Emmanuel Sanders, PIT

39           Kenbrell Thompkins, NE

He isn’t the rookie everyone was talking about during the offseason, but he’s the one everyone will be talking about all season long. Kenbrell Thomkins has exploded during the preseason and shown excellent chemistry with his QB. New England is known for having no-name WRs and turning them into all-stars; Thompkins is their newest such endeavor.

40           Miles Austin, DAL

41           Vincent Brown, SD

There is exactly one WR in San Diego who isn’t injured, newly signed, or a rookie; his name is Vincent Brown.

42           Sidney Rice, SEA

43           Mike Williams, TB

Middle Depth and Spot Starts

44           Josh Gordon, CLE

45           Kenny Britt, TEN

46           Chris Givens, STL

47           Kenny Stills, NO

48           Rueben Randle, NYG

49           Greg Little, CLE

50           Nate Burleson, DET

51           Denarius Moore, OAK

52           Julian Edelman, NE

This offseason Julian has moved up and down the depth chart as those around him have changed, but toward the end of the preseason it looks like he’s settled in at the #3 spot. The Patriots use a number of WRs even with multiple TE sets so Edelman is sure to see targets, plus if Danny Amendola goes down he’s likely the next man up.

53           Riley Cooper, PHI

54           Kendall Wright, TEN

55           Michael Floyd, ARI

56           Brandon LaFell, CAR

57           Andre Roberts, ARI

58           Brian Hartline, MIA

59           Jermaine Kearse, SEA

With Percy Harvin out for the majority of the season the Seahawks needed someone to step up in a big way in the slot and in the return game. Enter Jermaine Kearse, a training camp stud and the Seahawks’ new WR3 and return man.

60           Austin Collie, SF

61           Malcom Floyd, SD

62           Josh Morgan, WAS

63           Darrius Heyward-Bey, IND

Low End

64           Santonio Holmes, NYJ

He’s the closest thing to a star WR that the Jets have but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a Jet. The QB competition between an overrated underperforming veteran and an overrated unproven rookie will yield a starter but not a winner. Santonio Holmes may not be healthy to start the season but even if he is his upside is extremely limited.

65           Brian Quick, STL

66           Ryan Broyles, DET

67           Rod Streater, OAK

68           Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN

69           Jacoby Jones, BAL

70           Mohamed Sanu, CIN

71           Nick Toon, NO

Every year in New Orleans even third and fourth WR become occasional fantasy contributors. Nick Toon is the #4 guy.

72           Santana Moss, WAS

73           Stephen Hill, NYJ

74           Justin Hunter, TEN

75           Andrew Hawkins, CIN

76           Robert Woods, BUF

77           Jason Avant, PHI

78           Justin Blackmon, JAC

79           Dexter McCluster, KC

80           Jarius Wright, MIN

81           Terrance Williams, DAL

82           Donnie Avery, KC

83           Domenik Hixon, CAR

84           Jacoby Ford, OAK

85           Harry Douglas, ATL

86           Leonard Hankerson, WAS

87           Keenan Allen, SD