How to Fill the Fantasy Football Void Left by Andre Johnson

I've been asked a few times who I think will pick up the slack while Texans star Andre Johnson is out.

We all know that Johnson owners are hurting and there is no word coming on how long AJ will be out. So, from a fantasy football perspective, where does this leave owners who suffered from this loss? Or for that matter, how can any fantasy football owner who is struggling at the wide receiver position capitalize on this?

Let's take a fantasy football look at how the Texans skill players will pan out in Johnson's absence.

2011 Week 2 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

It is time again for the Weekly Position Rankings. We are going to be predicting the top performers at each position for Week 2 of the NFL. We are dealing with a lot more injuries than we were in week one. Lots of guys listed as questionable, so keep an eye on them. (Hakeem Nicks, Arian Foster, Dez Bryant, etc.) Make those adjustments when necessary

As always, if I left someone off that you think should be on there, please let me know. I will be posting an advice time article tomorrow, but feel free to start posting you line-up questions here.

Away we go!

Week 1 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Here we are. The long awaited Player Rankings for Week 1. This is a weekly post where we will look at every matchup in the league and list the players how we think they will perform.

A few little notes for you:

• This isn't exactly standard and isn't exactly PPR. Consider it almost a .5 PPR ranking. 
• Just because these are my rankings, they may not reflect the advice that I give you one-on-one. Sometimes the gut has to outweigh the statistics.
• Kicker is borderline impossible to predict. My picks are based a lot on strength of offense. Its all about how many times a team will make the red zone.
• The Defense rankings you see here are what I will be using for Shuffling Defense Strategy. There are a handful of teams in the top 10 that are likely available in your waivers. Snatch them up unless the team you already own is higher.
• If I happened to skip any player that seems he should obviously be on the list, please bring it to my attention. I likely just forgot him.
• Feel free to use this post as an Advice post. If you have any roster questions, fire away.
• IDP rankings are very similar week in and week out. Basically, if the guy is performing well, play him. If he is not, drop him. I'm not in the game of predicting tackles.

Enjoy!

2011 Fantasy Football Position Rankings - Preseason Week 2

As promised here are the 2011 fantasy football rankings for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, kicker and defense. I know that a lot of guys have drafts today or tomorrow, so print it out, study up and dominate. Good luck, everyone.

2011 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings

Look at you lucky bastards, getting two posts in one day. One quick note before I get into my top 60 wide receivers. This is a PPR style list. It is the kind of league I prefer to play in. If you are in a standard league, you can still feel free to use this, but kind of subtract the weight of catches from those who are playing on a team without much receiver competitions. For the most part though, this list will work well in any style league.

So go ahead, click the link and read on for the top 60 fantasy football wide receivers. A couple of small notes at the bottom as well. If you have any specific questions, as always, leave us a comment and we'll get to you.

Follow these links to see rankings of other positions:
Quarterback - Running Back - Wide Receiver - Tight End - Kicker/Defense

Q&A: Wide Receivers

Wide Receiver is going to be a little bit crazy this year. Tons of moving and shaking going on in the next few weeks. Receivers re-signing and getting cut. Lots of new quarterbacks and coaches in the league. That being said, I think this is one of the deepest WR years in recent memory.

As usual, if you've got any questions for us, go ahead and post them in the comments. If you missed our running back and quarterback Q&A, check those out on our homepage godhateslosers.blogspot.com. And stay tuned for tomorrow's post, answering the popular questions on tight ends, kickers and defenses.

1) Which wide receiver should be selected first in your 2011 NFL fantasy draft?
Andrew: Well, Roddy White's reign lasted only one year, the drafting of Julio Jones has likely dropped Roddy's total catches a bit. He's still a top 10, but not number one. There are about 10 WRs that are worthy of being top 2 round selections, but for my money, I take Andre Johnson. He's still the lone wideout talent in Houston, he was a beast last year playing through injury, and frankly, I think he is unstoppable.
Jordan: Andre Johnson. He’s a man. Period. The most dominant and consistent fantasy WR for the last few years. His abilities cannot be matched and I’m not sure he has seen his plateau. He might not see a sharp incline, but he certainly won’t decline.

2) Which rookie wide receiver will put up the best fantasy performance? Jones, Green, or other?
Andrew: Definitely not other. Jones is definitely going into a more talented system than A.J. Green, but he will be competing with other receivers for the ball. Green on the other hand is likely going to be without Ochocinco (is it Johnson again?) and T.O. in Cincinnati, making his only competition Jordan Shipley. But he will likely be with a rookie QB, or a unwanted veteran. Doesn't matter though. He's a freak. A.J. Green gets it.
Jordan: Julio Jones is going to be one of the top WRs this year—rookie or vet. Matt Ryan is STILL getting better, and with Roddy White being a threat to society at large with his murderous talents, Jones is a homerun. Period.

3) Which wide receiver will have the best second year in the league?
Andrew: There are only two that I think are even close to being mentioned here: Mike Williams of Tampa Bay and Dez Bryant of Dallas. The TB coaching staff has stated that they want to get Benn more involved in the passing game, and I think that TE Winslow could show up a bit this season, so I'm giving the nod to Bryant. Had it not been for a late injury, I think Bryant had a good chance to take Rookie of the Year, and he could very well see the most yardage and receptions from Tony Romo this year as a Cowboy.
Jordan: Mike Williams. He is the future, but the future is now. Freeman and Williams are going to be lights-out this year. He was dominating defenses last year as a rookie. As a rookie. He can’t stop himself from being awful….ly amazing. And while Dez looks sexy to a lot of Dallas fans, let’s be serious: He’s not focused and he’s injury prone. He’s like one of those adolescent wonderkids from the NBA’s nearly destructive 90s: He’s been given way too much way too soon. Even though Williams is gone, I don’t see him being able to take over any of the catches or looks that Austin is getting.

4) Who is the biggest fantasy sleeper out of the receivers (round 10 or later)?
Andrew: Depending on where he lands, I think that Randy Moss still has some good years left in him. Depending on his QB, and his expected place on the depth chart, I think that if Moss lands in a system that makes him happy, he will thrive. A sleeper without the ifs would be Jordy Nelson of the Packers. He had a fantastic playoff run, and with Donald Driver getting his AARP card and James Jones on the way out because he can hardly even hold onto a pen, Nelson could be the number two in a pass happy system.
Jordan: Pierre Garcon is my pick here. He is something of a contradiction: all the physical abilities and skills and PEYTON, but still not hitting on all cylinders. Once he realizes that he really is the best receiver they have, I think he’ll stop resting on his laurels, because……

5) Who is the most overvalued receiver for the 2011 fantasy season?
Andrew: Don't expect Brandon Lloyd to have another megaseason. With Tebow at the helm and an abundance of other WRs to compete with, he will drop off a lot. I also can't see Percy Harvin and Sydney Rice being as high as they are on most boards. They are definite reaches.
Jordan: Reggie Wayne is by far the most overrated top 10 receiver. He’s aging, his numbers are going down, and Garcon is about to do to him what he did to Harrison—replace him. Manning is a loyal character, but Manning spreads the ball around to his men and knows when to play the hot hand.

6) Which wide receiver will be the best comeback player returning to former fantasy glory?
Andrew: Has to go to Vincent Jackson right. Holdout and injury held him to just under 250 yards. He'll come back in a big way this year. I don't really have anything clever to say.
Jordan: Chad Johnson (formerly OchoCinco) just went to the Patriots. The New England Patriots. The New England Patriots that have Tom Brady as their QB. The same Tom Brady that is banging Gisele Bundchen. And throwing touchdown passes all day long, the same one that had his second most statistical year ever last year. The same Tom Brady owns the single season touchdown record.

7) Who will be this year's Brandon Lloyd and come out of nowhere?
Andrew: I already have Jordy Nelson as a sleeper, but don't count on him to rocket to the top 5. I honestly don't see any receiver outside of the top 15 that could possibly make a run for the top. But, I suppose I can gamble. Whoever the Bills decide their number 2 is could make a good run. The Bills have moved to the air pretty successfully and with defenses honing in on Stevie Johnson, Lee Evans or Parrish could move up the boards pretty quick. Pay close attention to the Bills' preseason and find who their number two is and you could have a steal late in the draft.
Jordan: Steve Breaston. I think with Kolb throwing to him, he will definitely surprise a lot of people. This doesn’t make them out-of-the-blue pick that Lloyd was, because he was certainly a fantastic player with Warner throwing to him, but I don’t think anyone has him high on their boards. This isn’t really an easy question to answer, but I’d bet on this dude before I bet on any other dudes. Dude.