I am big proponent of using a tier system when drafting my fantasy football team. A tier system, simply put, asks you to place players at a particular position in groups for rankings purposes. The different tiers will be a good barometer for what your expectations of the player's future performance and also will serve as an indicator to where you expect that player to be drafted. The key to successfully implenting the stategy is to build your team with as many players in high tiers as possible.
At wide receiver, Tier I includes just one name - Randy Moss. He is the only wideout that should be drafted in Round 1 of drafts after last year's record-setting performance (23 ReTDs). His 9.8 yards per target was tops in the league from receivers with 100+ targets. Moss led the NFL with nine catches of 40+ yards and since 2001 only one player (Santana Moss) has had more. Moss' ability to get it done in the red zone last year with Tom Brady at quarterback was sick (inside - 21 targets, 10 TDs).
I don't expect Moss or Brady to sniff their '07 numbers this season, but even 75% of those numbers still makes Moss a landslide to claim the No. 1 spot on any Cheat Sheet at receiver and gives him his own Tier on my list.
Here's my WR Tiers heading into this year's fantasy drafts:
TIER 1 - Randy Moss
TIER 2 - Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Braylon Edwards, Larry Fitzgerald
TIER 3 - Andre Johnson, Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Roy Williams, Plaxico Burress, Santanio Holmes, TJ Houshmandzadeh
TIER 4 - Torry Holt, Marques Coltson, Brandon Marshall, Marvin Harrison, Greg Jennings, Wes Welker, Dwayne Bowe
TIER 5 - Calvin Johnson, Santana Moss, Lee Evans, Roddy White, Hines Ward, Jerricho Cotchery
TIER 6 - Chris Chambers, Kevin Curtis, Joey Galloway, Donald Driver, Laveranues Coles, Reggie Brown, Bernard Berrian
GetSportsRadio.com: Fantasy Playbook - WR Breakdown - join myself and Larry Schmitt as we preview fantasy wideouts.
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