It’s almost time to bet on NFL odds and that means the fantasy football research must go on! Wide receivers are different than quarterbacks and running backs; picking just 20 barely dips into the talent pool, so we’ll do the top 25 this week. With several top guys catching passes from new quarterbacks, there may be some surprises in the rankings.<\/p>\n
1. Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals<\/strong><\/p>\n The standard for fantasy wideout excellence. He has everything you could possibly want – size, hands, athleticism, a great quarterback, and even a great No. 2 to distract attention from him. A lock for 1200-plus yards and 10-plus TDs.<\/p>\n 2. Andre Johnson – Houston Texans<\/strong><\/p>\n Some NFL betting fans probably feel he should be first, based on his talent and how much his offense needs him, but Andre gets a bump down because his brittle quarterback, Matt Schaub, likely won’t play 16 games in 2009.<\/p>\n 3. Randy Moss – New England Patriots<\/strong><\/p>\n Too high? If you think so, you don’t respect Tom Brady enough. As far as we can tell, Moss hasn’t lost a step yet, and Brady is supposedly healthy, so Moss should post at least one more monster season.<\/p>\n 4. Greg Jennings – Green Bay Packers<\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s another possibly controversial ranking, but it’s all about situation. Jennings catches passes from Aaron Rodgers, who quietly had a monster 2008 and seems poised to become a perennial top-five fantasy QB if he can stay healthy. Jennings is a big part of the offense, he’s young, and he’s locked up long-term in Green Bay now.<\/p>\n 5. Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions<\/strong><\/p>\n Megatron could top the list based on raw ability, sort of like UFC odds giant Brock Lesnar, but Detroit has too many question marks at the quarterback position right now. Maybe Matthew Stafford can pull a Matt Ryan, but that’s no guarantee. Still, Johnson showed last year that he can dominate a game no matter who throws to him, so he justifies the high ranking here.<\/p>\n 6. Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers<\/strong><\/p>\n Is he underrated? He has four straight 1,000-yard seasons and his 101.5 yards per game led the NFL last season. If he found the end zone more often, he’d be up there with Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson.<\/p>\n 7. Roddy White – Atlanta Falcons<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember when he was a “bust”? Two straight 80-catch, 1,200-plus yard seasons quickly erased any doubts about White. He’s a major deep threat and, while quarterback Matt Ryan may regress slightly, the addition of Tony Gonzalez will distract some attention from White, so the numbers should be there again. 8. Anquan Boldin – Arizona Cardinals<\/strong><\/p>\n He proves time and time again that being a No. 2 on your own team isn’t a fantasy football death sentence. Any complaints about him never finding paydirt are long gone, as he’s scored 20 times in 24 games over his last two seasons.<\/p>\n 9. Reggie Wayne – Indianapolis Colts<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t hop off the Wayne bandwagon so quickly! If 1,145 yards and six TDs is his “off” year, sign me up to draft him later than the names above and laugh all the way to a fantasy championship.<\/p>\n 10. Terrell Owens – Buffalo Bills<\/strong><\/p>\n Not since his early San Francisco days has he had a complementary receiver as good as Lee Evans. On the flip side, Trent Edwards Is probably the weakest quarterback he’s ever had, so you have to temper your expectations when you make your fantasy sports picks. A 1,100-yard, 10-TD season would be a success.<\/p>\n 11. Wes Welker – New England Patriots<\/p>\n
\n12. Lee Evans – Buffalo Bills
\n13. T.J. Houshmandzadeh – Seattle Seahawks
\n14. Brandon Marshall – Denver Broncos
\n15. Vincent Jackson – San Diego Chargers
\n16. Chad Ochocinco – Cincinnati Bengals
\n17. Roy Williams – Dallas Cowboys
\n18. Dwayne Bowe – Kansas City Chiefs
\n19. Marques Colston – New Orleans Saints
\n20. Santana Moss – Washington Redskins
\n21. Santonio Holmes – Pittsburgh Steelers
\n22. Braylon Edwards – Cleveland Browns
\n23. Bernard Berrian – Minnesota Vikings
\n24. Eddie Royal – Denver Broncos
\n25. Antonio Bryant – Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/p>\n