Outlook: Ochocinco is coming off a solid comeback season in 2009, where he finished with 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. However, his age (thirty-two) is becoming a bit of a concern—as is the Bengals offense, which struggled mightily in 2009. The team did sign Antonio Bryant, who should be an improvement over Laveranues Coles and whose presence may free up Ochocinco with more single coverage. Nonetheless, it is unrealistic to expect Ochocinco to return to his glory days from 2002–2007 when he averaged 1,339 receiving yards per season. Expect him to match his production from a year ago, with a number of low-production games due to a lack of targets. ~ Dave Stringer

Comment: A slight bump down in yardage now that Carson Palmer has another legitimate target on the outside. ~ Mike Krueger

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Outlook: Sims-Walker is a talented player coming off a breakout season, but there is room for improvement in 2010. While he posted solid numbers with 869 receiving yards and six touchdowns, he disappeared at times and missed one game as a result of a team suspension for missing curfew. Considering he barely played in week one, his production came in just 14 games, all the more impressive. However, the Jaguars expect more improvement in 2010, and it’s likely that Sims-Walker will provide it. He is a solid WR2 with upside and little risk given that he is clearly the top wide receiver in Jacksonville. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Mr. Consistency is back with the Steelers and, with Santonio Holmes off to New York, Ward’s role as the team’s top wide receiver seems secure for another couple of years. At thirty-four years of age, there are no signs of Ward slowing down, and he is coming off his second consecutive 1000-yard season and has now reached that plateau in six of the last nine years (twice he finished with 975 yards). Even though he had to play through some nagging injuries last year, he managed his highest number of receiving yards since the 2003 season. He’s still Ben Roethlisberger’s security blanket. Ward loses value because of the Roethlisberger suspension but gains targets with Holmes departing for the Jets. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Smith came out of nowhere to become the 12th-ranked fantasy wide receiver in 2009. He developed chemistry with quarterback Eli Manning on short and intermediate patterns and also displayed some run-after-the-catch ability that wasn’t prevalent during his first two years in the league. He finished the year with 107 receptions (the most in team history) for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns. Here’s the question: Do you believe? With talented youngsters Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham on board, there is a risk that Smith could see a reduced number of targets in 2010. Clearly more valuable in PPR leagues, Smith is nonetheless solid enough to be drafted as a WR2 in both standard and PPR formats. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Simply put, as a rookie in 2009, Nicks played like a younger, faster version of Anquan Boldin. With 47 receptions for 790 yards and six touchdowns last season, he totaled 115 fantasy points on only 74 targets, ranking him 5th in the league in fantasy points per target (minimum 45 targets). That key statistic indicates how explosive he is and ensures that the Giants will have him more involved in 2010. While Steve Smith will get the lion’s share of the work on intermediate patterns, look for Nicks to steal opportunities from Mario Manningham on the deep patterns. Of the Giants top three receivers, Nicks has the most upside but, in only his second year in the league, he may not surpass Smith’s fantasy production. Draft him as a low-end WR2 with upside. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Boldin qualifies as one of the more perplexing players to predict in 2010. While he escapes Larry Fitzgerald’s shadow in Arizona, moving to the run-heavy offense of the Ravens can hardly be considered an elixir for his fantasy production. To make matters worse, the Ravens utilize Ray Rice heavily in a pass-catching role out of the backfield, tight end Todd Heap is coming off a bounce back season, and the ever-reliable Derrick Mason returns to go along with deep threats Donte Stallworth and Mark Clatyon. It’s hard to predict more than 1,000 yards from Boldin, which means he’s going to need to rely on touchdowns to be a solid WR2 in 2010. Don’t expect that to happen—Boldin should be viewed as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Moss struggled in 2009 but has a chance to have a solid season this year with Donovan McNabb installed as the Redskins new starting quarterback. While Moss figures to get an opportunity to produce in 2010, there are serious questions about whether he will make the most of that opportunity. Was his lack of big plays (three touchdowns, 12.9 yards per reception, one 100-yard game) the result of poor quarterback play? Or is Moss simply slowing at thirty-one years of age? If it’s the latter, expect a fast decline in his play, since smaller wide receivers have more difficulty extending their careers. However, the more likely scenario is that Moss will produce another bounce-back season, continuing his history of following up a poor season with a good one. He figures to benefit from some garbage-time production on a Redskins squad that will need its defense to come up big in order to remain competitive. Draft Moss as a mid-tier WR3, but one who has upside as a WR2, provided he hasn’t lost a step. As is usually the case with Moss, the reward is there, but there’s plenty of risk as well. ~ Dave Stringer

Comment: A return to 2008 numbers (79-1044-6) could happen for Moss with McNabb at the helm. ~ Mike Krueger

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Outlook: Crabtree is coming off of a very solid rookie season and he figures to approach the 1000-yard mark in 2010. With Crabtree, the sky is the limit given his production during a rookie season in which he missed all of training camp and the first five games of the year before stepping right into the starting lineup in week six. Despite the lack of preparation, he still managed to catch 48 passes for 625 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With a full training camp to gain rapport with quarterback Alex Smith, Crabtree is a breakout candidate in 2010. However, keep expectations in check since tight end Vernon Davis gobbles up both targets and touchdowns, which limits Crabtree’s fantasy upside. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Last year’s most overhyped wide receiver free agent signing was a bust in his first year with Seattle, failing to top 1,000 yards for the second year in a row and complaining about his lack of touches. He claimed during last offseason that his lack of production was partially due to a rib injury, which apparently hampered him for the first six weeks of 2009. With an unproven offensive line, issues at quarterback, and Nate Burleson now in Detroit, Houshmandzadeh has much to overcome to get back to the solid production that he posted between 2005 and 2007. However, the Seahawks lack talent at wide receiver, he is clearly their top player at the position, and he figures to put up plenty of garbage-time fantasy points in 2010 on a team that will almost certainly struggle. Look for a slight increase on his 2009 production, which should translate into mid-tier WR2 status. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Bowe enters 2010 in need of a solid season to secure a long-term contract in Kansas City. He has been an enigma due to off-field issues, poor practice habits, and questionable comments to the press – not to mention a suspension that cost him four games in 2009. Basically, he is a talented player who needs to get his **** together and stay out of Todd Haley’s doghouse. It’s worth noting his next misadventure could result in a 16-game suspension. Bowe’s fantasy status is that of a WR3 but he carries some significant risks and will likely be drafted before he should in most leagues due to his solid production during in the first two years of his career (2,017 yards and 12 touchdowns). ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Harvin had a nice rookie season, despite suffering from intermittent migraines that robbed him of valuable practice time and caused him to miss one game. He has the talent to be a 1,000 yard receiver for years to come and could surpass Sidney Rice as the team’s go-to threat as early as this season. While there is speculation that he could be deployed as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield, it would seem that his long-term development would be best served concentrating on the wide receiver position. Despite being targeted on several short and intermediate passes, Harvin averaged 13.2 yards per reception as a rookie, evidencing his big-play ability. The quarterback situation in Minnesota will impact his production, but there is ample reason to believe that Harvin is the real deal and will see plenty of touches in 2010. Recent reports that he’s added ten pounds of muscle indicate that he’s ready to take his game to a new level this season. Consider him a WR3 with upside and one of the best wide receiver prospects for dynasty leagues. ~ Dave Stringer

Comment: Harvin's migraine issue will be a concern all season but the loss of Rice bumps him up a couple notches. ~ Mike Krueger

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Outlook: Driver turned thirty-five this offseason and while his production was solid last year with 1,061 yards and six touchdowns, there are warning signs on the horizon. He only had 185 yards with no touchdowns during the last four regular season games of 2009, so there should be a concern that he is slowing down. He is also coming off double arthroscopic knee surgeries, and older players generally take longer to recover from surgery. Few wide receivers play well after turning thirty-five, and Driver could very well follow that trend. He is certainly a risky fantasy play in 2010, although the risk is somewhat mitigated due to his prominence in Green Bay’s solid offense. Based on his production last year, Driver will be drafted as a WR3 in most leagues, but his value lies as a fantasy backup when considering his risk/reward factors. ~ Dave Stringer

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