Fantasy Football 2014 Wide Receiver Rankings: Week 3

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It’s only fitting that the top two wide receivers in fantasy football right now occupy the same space in Athlon Sports’ Week 3 rankings at the position. Calvin Johnson and Jordy Nelson are set to share the same field when Detroit hosts Green Bay in what should be an entertaining and likely high-scoring affair Sunday afternoon. Megatron checks in at No. 1 in our rankings, but it’s actually Nelson who’s the top scorer at WR, after exploding for 209 yards against the Jets last week. Other matchups this week to watch include Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary against the Broncos’ stable of Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker, who was reinstated this week according to the stipulations of the NFL's new drug policy. Chicago’s Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery each gutted through injuries last week, and on Monday night they will try and take advantage of the same Jets’ passing defense that Nelson and his Packer teammates torched in Week 2.

Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any Web site can give you.

Positional Rankings: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST I K

2014 NFL Week 3 Fantasy Football Rankings — Wide Receivers


Rank	Player	Team	Opp	Comments
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. GB	Panthers held Megatron in check (6-83, 13 targets).
2	Jordy Nelson	GB	at DET	80-yard TD highlights huge (9-209-1) game.
3	Brandon Marshall	CHI	at NYJ (Mon.)	3 TDs vs. SF. What ankle injury?
4	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. TB (Thurs.)	His usual productive self (7-88-1) vs. Bengals.
5	Dez Bryant	DAL	at STL	Somewhat quietly posted 100-yard game vs. TEN.
6	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	at SEA	Tweaked his knee, but played through it and scored.
7	Antonio Brown	PIT	at CAR	Avoided injury scare, paced Steelers (7-90).
8	Randall Cobb	GB	at DET	Nelson got the yards, but Cobb gets 2 TD grabs.
9	Andre Johnson	HOU	at NYG
10	Julian Edelman	NE	vs. OAK	Clearly Brady's No. 1 target right now.
11	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	at NYJ (Mon.)	Played through sore hamstring.
12	Vincent Jackson	TB	at ATL (Thurs.)	He and McCown struggling to get on same page.
13	Mike Wallace	MIA	vs. KC	Two games, two TDs in new O. Progress.
14	Percy Harvin	SEA	vs. DEN	Rushing TD nice, but need more than 1 catch.
15	Keenan Allen	SD	at BUF	Not that impressed with Richard Sherman.
16	Roddy White	ATL	vs. TB (Thurs.)	Dealing with hamstring injury, but should play.
17	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	at NO	Four catches and no rush attempts vs. Pats.
18	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. WAS	Just four catches, but one went for TD vs. Colts.
19	Pierre Garcon	WAS	at PHI	Will he and Cousins click?
20	Reggie Wayne	IND	at JAC	Quiet (3-28) vs. Eagles on MNF.
21	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	at SEA	Making himself right at home with new team.
22	Michael Floyd	ARI	vs. SF	Six targets, but only one catch (19 yds.) vs. Giants.
23	Michael Crabtree	SF	at ARI	Most productive 49er target (7-82-1) vs. Bears.
24	Sammy Watkins	BUF	vs. SD	Hello breakout. 8-117-1 vs. Dolphins.
25	DeSean Jackson	WAS	at PHI	Left last week w/ shoulder injury. Watch status.
26	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. SF	Targeted 10 times (6-51) by backup Stanton.
27	Marques Colston	NO	vs. MIN	0 targets vs. Browns? Not good.
28	Wes Welker	DEN	at SEA	Welcome back Wes! Hello Legion of Boom!
29	Eric Decker	NYJ	vs. CHI (Mon.)	Hooks up with Smith for first TD as Jet.
30	Golden Tate	DET	vs. GB
31	Steve Smith	BAL	at CLE	Leading receiver after two games w/ new team.
32	T.Y. Hilton	IND	at JAC	Led the way with 6 rec., 65 yds. vs. Eagles.
33	Kendall Wright	TEN	at CIN	Overshadowed by Bryant, Walker vs. DAL.
34	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. HOU	Still looking for fit in new offense.
35	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	at NYG	Just three catches, but one was for a TD.
36	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR	vs. PIT
37	Brandin Cooks	NO	vs. MIN	Second-most targets (6) behind Graham (13) vs. CLE.
38	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. TEN	Toe injury could sideline him. Watch closely.
39	Brian Quick	STL	vs. DAL	Most effective Ram WR (14-173) thus far.
40	Torrey Smith	BAL	at CLE	Torrey been non-existent Smith so far for Ravens.
41	Anquan Boldin	SF	at ARI
42	Mohamed Sanu	CIN	vs. TEN	Bengals' No. 1 WR with Green, Jones sidelined.
43	James Jones	OAK	at NE	Has been Derek Carr's favorite target thus far.
44	Justin Hunter	TEN	at CIN	Getting the snaps, still waiting on the breakout.
45	Markus Wheaton	PIT	at CAR
46	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	vs. BAL	Browns' No. 1 WR until further notice.
47	Greg Jennings	MIN	at NO
48	Terrance Williams	DAL	at STL
49	Dwayne Bowe	KC	at MIA	Hauls in three passes in his season debut.
50	Riley Cooper	PHI	vs. WAS
51	Cecil Shorts	JAC	vs. IND	Has yet to play due to hamstring issue.
52	Rueben Randle	NYG	vs. HOU	TD catch hopefully sign of things to come.
53	Mike Evans	TB	at ATL (Thurs.)
54	Miles Austin	CLE	vs. BAL	Hooked up with Hoyer for TD pass last week.
55	Allen Hurns	JAC	vs. IND	Just 2 rec. and sprained his ankle.
56	Marqise Lee	JAC	vs. IND	One of many Jags who struggled vs. Redskins.
57	Danny Amendola	NE	vs. OAK	Disappearing Danny? 0 targets vs. Vikings.
58	Donnie Avery	KC	at MIA
59	Malcom Floyd	SD	at BUF
60	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. TB (Thurs.)	Role could expand if White (hamstring) is limited.
61	Davante Adams	GB	at DET	Rookie appears to have replaced Boykin as No. 3.
62	Hakeem Nicks	IND	at JAC
63	Robert Woods	BUF	vs. SD
64	Aaron Dobson	NE	vs. OAK