WR Fantasy Football News
Andre Johnson – Colts: I’m a big fan of a bounce back year for the aging former Texan in standard leagues, but in PPR leagues, his name holds less value. The Colts offense is loaded with talent, from the running back, Frank Gore, to his fellow receivers, T.Y Hilton, Phillip Dorsett, and Donte Moncrief. So much competition means high target volume will be hard to come by for Dre Johnson. In standard leagues he will still put up points just because of big plays and increased scores, but fewer chances means fewer catches. Many may expect Johnson to be a good PPR target because of his high reception numbers in the past, but a loaded depth chart in Indianapolis should limit his value.
DeAndre Hopkins – Texans: With the departure of Andre Johnson, Hopkins looks to step up into the featured role in Houston. He’ll be primed to see more targets this year, but with the bigger workload will come bigger challenges against defenses’ top players. Hopkins has only average size for a starting WR, and will have to adjust his playing style to fit his new role. Along with the atrocious QB situation in Houston, Hopkins shouldn’t see more than 80 catches this year, not enough to justify a 4th round pick in PPR leagues.
Kenny Stills – Dolphins: Stills has been a popular sleeper candidate among some fantasy owners to start the year. The Dolphins brought in more than just Stills for Tannehill to throw to, however. Even if Stills becomes the top Miami target, he has never been the kind of player to sustain a high workload. The former Saint offers more of a boom or bust, big play potential player. He’ll see the deep pass attempts, but he won’t be used enough all over the field to produce big receptions. Stills won’t end anyone’s season because he’s drafted past the 100th pick, but look for a different sleeper when it comes to selecting bench players.
Emmanuel Sanders – Broncos: Peyton Manning saw a sharp decline in his numbers come the end of 2014 as an elite running game emerged in Denver, and the trend looks to continue into the upcoming season. Sanders caught 101 passes last year, but beat 6 receptions in a game only once in the second half of the season. If the Broncos continue to run the ball in 2015, then Sanders could be a much smaller part of the offense. With the addition of Owen Daniels, a pass catching tight end, and the possible emergence of the young Cody Latimer, Sanders won’t catch more than 75 passes this year. He should be avoided until the fifth round of drafts.
Martavis Bryant – Steelers: After an impressive 2014 campaign, Martavis Bryant has become one of the most sought after sleepers. His average draft pick has risen so much, in fact, that in many drafts he’s hardly a sleeper at all. He has great height and speed, and WR news says he put on 20 pounds of muscle this offseason, so what’s not to like? Bryant is too lanky to be a high volume target in the NFL, and the theme of this article has been “avoid low volume receivers.” Bryant will be a great deep threat this year as the Steelers’ number two, but he won’t catch more than 65 throws, so make sure to wait on him as a bench receiver if at all. Don’t fall into having Bryant as a starter, a trend which is occurring for many an unfortunate fantasy enthusiast.
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