Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Bye Weeks: Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina and Cincinnati, so that means Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston, Steve Johnson and Lee Evans, Steve Smith, and Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and Jordan Shipley are all benched.

Always start your studs: Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Miles Austin, Roddy White, and Brandon Marshall. And, in honor of completely torching their opponents last week and making me look dumber than usual, I’m adding Malcom Floyd and Brandon Lloyd to this list.

Start 'Em:
Receivers Who Will Outperform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Dwayne Bowe @ HOU
Look, Bowe isn’t doing anything special (nobody part of the Chiefs passing game is), but he takes on the league’s worst pass defense ever; ok, maybe not ever, but certainly this year. I talked about how bad the Texans defense was when recommending Matt Cassel in the QB section, but in case you missed it – the Texans are bad. Despite his butterfingers last week Bowe is the Chiefs’ best WR so by default he gets the start recommendation.

Randy Moss vs. DAL
Moss began his second stint with the Vikings with a big game against the tough Jets defense last week. After one game, Moss is already 3rd on the team in receiving yards by a WR and has more TDs than anyone other than Percy Harvin. Dallas is basically a top 10 pass defense, but they only have 2 INTs and 9 sacks and do allow over 1 passing TD per game, making Moss a good play for this week.

Anquan Boldin @ NE
Boldin is 11th in receiving yards with 363, 15th in receptions with 28 and 9th in receiving TDs with 3. Who would’ve thought moving from the Cardinals to the Ravens would increase a player’s receiving stats? Boldin’s successful season should continue this week as he faces the 28th ranked pass defense of the Patriots. New England gives up 272 yards and over 2 TDs per game on average. In addition, they only have 7 sacks and allow QBs to complete 69% of their passes. Sounds like a juicy matchup to me. Flacco should have plenty of time to connect with Boldin for another big game this week.

Kenny Britt @ JAX
The Jaguars are ranked 29th in pass defense based on yards allowed (282 per game), but they might actually be the worst overall pass defense in the league. They are last in TDs allowed with 12, worst in yards per completion with 8.8, next to last in QB rating allowed with 108.4, third worst in points allowed at 27.4, give up the most big plays, allow the 5th highest passer completion percentage at 67%, and give up the most first downs passing – 44% of opponents’ completed passes result in a first down. Picking a WR to start against the Jaguars is easy, choosing which WR is more difficult, but I’m going with Britt over Nate Washington. Washington has 1 more catch, 42 more yards and the same number of TDs as Britt, but Britt is the better player and should start to establish himself as such.

Bench 'Em:
Receivers Who Will Under Perform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Michael Crabtree vs. OAK
The Raiders pass defense is hard to figure out. On one hand they are ranked 10th in the league with 198 yards per game allowed but on the other hand they give up the 4th most big plays, allow QB ratings over 100, and have given up 10 TDs (4th worst in the league) while picking off just 2 passes. Crabtree is the best WR for the 49ers but is only their 3rd option in the passing game behind Gore and Vernon Davis. His 20 catches and 244 yards isn’t bad but he has just 1 TD and more importantly has Alex Smith throwing to him. Those David Carr chants are getting louder each week but regardless of who the QB is, the 49ers are a struggling team right now and I’d avoid anyone involved in their vertical passing game.

Danny Amendola vs. SD
Amendola is 22nd in receiving yards with 303 and 4th in receptions with 33, but has zero TDs. Even though he becomes the Rams’ number 1 receiving target with the loss of Mark Clayton he still has a rookie QB throwing to him, very little talent around him, and this week he faces the league’s 3rd ranked pass defense. San Diego is giving up just 160 yards and less than 1 TD per game on average. They have the 5th most INTs, the 4th most sacks and allow QBs to complete just 56% of their passes and register just a 63.6 QB rating – best in the league. The Chargers’ pass defense will put too much pressure on rookie Sam Bradford for Amendola to have any chance at a big day.

Greg Jennings vs. MIA
With TE Jermichael Finley lost for the year, you might think it’s the perfect time to play Jennings. However, Jennings is currently behind not only Donald Driver, but James Jones in receptions by WRs… and RB Brandon Jackson is just 1 catch behind him. This past week Jennings was vocal about not getting the ball enough, which is good – he needs to be more assertive and aggressive but the loss of Finley could cause more double teams to roll Jennings’ way.. QB Aaron Rodgers has a concussion and his status is up in the air right now. All these factors make me lean towards benching Jennings this week, but the clincher for my bench recommendation is the Miami Dolphins defense. The Dolphins have the league’s 4th best pass defense giving up just 182 yards and 1 TD per game, and give up the 3rd fewest big plays. If Rodgers plays maybe Jennings does OK, but without Rodgers the entire Packers’ team is in trouble and too big of a risk.

Mike Williams @ CHI
Seattle traded away Deion Branch, leaving Mike Williams as their best WR, which in itself is a scary thought. He barely has over 100 yards receiving, no TDs and just 11 catches in four games. Meanwhile, the Bears have the 4th lowest QB rating allowed at 67.4, have 7 INTs to just 2 TDs allowed, and give up very few big plays – in fact, no pass play has been over 30 yards against them this year. Plus, they give up just 14.8 points per game – 5th best in the league. So don’t expect a lot of yards or scoring out of Seattle’s passing game making this a perfect week to avoid all Seahawks WRs, especially Williams.