A good case can be made for each of Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green being worthy of the top spot at WR. Ultimately, I gave the nod to Johnson, despite the fact that he is nearly three years older than Green. Any way you slice it, both are great cornerstones for dynasty teams lucky enough to have them rostered. The young trifecta of Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant lead the charge for the second tier and all have incredible upsides. Marshall is an absolute beast in Chicago, but he likely doesn’t have as many quality years left in the tank as the aforementioned younger players, so he slots in just behind that trio.

Wide Receivers Chg Rk Player Team 1 Calvin Johnson DET 2 A.J. Green CIN Tier 2 3 Julio Jones ATL 4 Demaryius Thomas DEN 5 Dez Bryant DAL 6 Brandon Marshall CHI 7 Percy Harvin MIN 8 Victor Cruz NYG Tier 3 9 Hakeem Nicks NYG 10 Randall Cobb GB 11 Roddy White ATL 12 Jordy Nelson GB 13 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 14 Michael Crabtree SF 15 Andre Johnson HOU 16 Vincent Jackson TB 17 Dwayne Bowe KC 18 Mike Wallace PIT Tier 4 19 Marques Colston NO 20 Wes Welker NE 21 Eric Decker DEN 22 Kenny Britt TEN 23 Greg Jennings GB 24 Justin Blackmon JAX 25 Torrey Smith BAL 26 Steve Johnson BUF Tier 5 27 Miles Austin DAL 28 Antonio Brown PIT 29 Danario Alexander SD 30 Josh Gordon CLE 31 Jeremy Maclin PHI 32 Cecil Shorts JAX 33 Pierre Garcon WAS 34 DeSean Jackson PHI 35 Mike Williams TB Tier 6 36 James Jones GB 37 Denarius Moore OAK 38 Reggie Wayne IND 39 Kendall Wright TEN 40 T.Y. Hilton IND 41 Steve Smith CAR 42 Sidney Rice SEA 43 Danny Amendola STL Tier 7 44 Alshon Jeffery CHI 45 Chris Givens STL 46 Golden Tate SEA 47 Rueben Randle NYG 48 Lance Moore NO 49 Michael Floyd ARI 50 Santonio Holmes NYJ 51 Vincent Brown SD 52 Emmanuel Sanders PIT Tier 8 53 Jonathan Baldwin KC 54 Malcom Floyd SD 55 Brandon Lloyd NE 56 Stephen Hill NYJ 57 Anquan Boldin BAL 58 Ryan Broyles DET 59 Greg Little CLE 60 Andre Roberts ARI 61 Brandon LaFell CAR 62 A.J. Jenkins SF 63 Brian Quick STL Tier 9 64 Marvin Jones CIN 65 Darrius Heyward-Bey OAK 66 Jarius Wright MIN 67 Mohamed Sanu CIN 68 Nick Toon NO 69 Juron Criner OAK 70 Brian Hartline MIA 71 Andrew Hawkins CIN 72 Leonard Hankerson WAS 73 Austin Collie IND 74 Davone Bess MIA 75 Julian Edelman NE 76 Donnie Avery IND 77 Rod Streater OAK 78 Santana Moss WAS 79 Joseph Morgan NOS 80 Nate Washington TEN

Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson both are situated in third tier. With Jennings out of the equation in Green Bay, each should have plenty of opportunity to produce, and neither is short on ability. Larry Fitzgerald has edged upward for me lately, largely based upon my assumption that Arizona comes up with a better game plan at QB in 2013. Michael Crabtree was an excellent performer with Kaepernick behind center for the Niners and he has evolved into the team’s clear top threat through the air. Mike Wallace could climb a bit in coming months, but his ranking will be somewhat dependent upon where he ends up in 2013. There is no denying that the 26-year-old receiver is talented.

Eric Decker is largely underappreciated, in my view, and with Peyton Manning slinging him the pigskin, he should continue to put up sneaky-good numbers. He is easily worthy of being in the fourth group at WR. Justin Blackmon had some big moments during his rookie campaign, but was largely outplayed by his teammate, Cecil Shorts. Going forward, I like Blackmon’s skill set better, and his ranking reflects such. Danario Alexander is a risky player with a high ceiling. It’s a roll of the dice as to whether or not his knees will hold up for a full season as a starter in the NFL, but if they do, “DX” owners should be very happy with his production. Mike Williams flew largely under the radar in 2012, but he was solid in his role as WR2 in Tampa Bay. At 25 years old, Williams is still relatively young and he is definitely capable of putting up nice numbers.

The sixth and seventh tiers are a mixed bag. T.Y. Hilton is a receiver that I’ve warmed up to in recent months. He is a playmaker that gets the most out of his touches. I look for him to take a noticeable step forward in his second season. Rueben Randle also showed flashes as a rookie, but there probably won’t be enough of the receiving pie left in New York for him to have much of an impact in 2013, barring an injury to Cruz or Nicks. Randle owners will need to be patient. Vincent Brown could make a bit of a splash this coming season if he can stay healthy. The Chargers need someone other than Danario Alexander to produce in their air attack and Brown is as a decent candidate.

Anquan Boldin isn’t a world-beater at this stage of his career, yet he is proving to still be capable. If not for his talk of retirement, should Baltimore cut him, I would have him in the tier above. A.J. Jenkins was a big letdown for any dynasty owners that drafted him last season. While I think he has the potential to be a solid producer in the long-term, 2013 isn’t currently lined up to be his big year. Even if Randy Moss moves on, there will be a lot of competition for targets in the SF passing game. Jarius Wright had some nice moments while Percy Harvin was sidelined with an injury this past season. If the buzz about Harvin being traded comes to fruition, Wright could be a legitimate breakout possibility for the Vikings. At the very least, Wright is a nice deep sleeper at this point.

Next: Tight Ends