Wide Receivers

Must Start:

Chris Henry v. ARI: In his first game back from suspension, Henry had four catches for 99 yards, better than anyone had a right to expect. At home against the Cardinals isn’t going to be any more challenging. For anyone who enjoys watching the best young NFL receivers play, this game has a bunch of them in it. I wonder how much competition goes on inside the game to prove who is the best…

D.J. Hackett v. CHI: I like both Hackett and Bobby Engram, but Deion Branch has to come back eventually, pushing Engram into the slot. That certainly isn’t a bad place to be in Seattle’s newly wide-open offense. It just isn’t consistent enough for fantasy owners to count on. With Branch looking like a game time decision, Hackett is the easy choice.

Mark Clayton v. CLE: Clayton finally showed up last week, vindicating owners who drafted him to be a solid #2 receiver and then dropped him in disgust weeks later. His emergence isn’t doing any of those owners any good, but it does prove they were right, if belatedly. Kyle Boller starting for the Ravens is a good thing for Clayton. Actually, anyone but Steve McNair starting for Baltimore is an improvement.

Andre Johnson v. NO: It is always kind of scary starting a guy who has missed weeks upon weeks of game time due to injury in his first match up back. A couple items to ease your mind… First, Johnson probably could have played two weeks ago in Oakland if it was necessary. Second, in the two games he played at the beginning of the season, Johnson recorded 14 catches for 262 yards and three touchdowns. You can’t risk not starting him.

Going Out On a Limb:

Drew Bennett @ SF: Bennett is being overlooked largely due to St. Louis’ struggles offensively. Those problems haven’t been an issue over the last couple games while Bennett grabbed ten balls for 100 yards and a touchdown. Now, with Isaac Bruce well on his way to Shady Acres Home For Players Who Should Have Retired Last Year, Bennett gets the #2 receiver spot for at least a week or two. Oh, and San Francisco still sucks.

Grab Some Pine:

Lee Evans v. NE: After a couple good games, in which his owner stepped away from the ledge, Evans did almost nothing against freaking Miami. Evans owners are once again contemplating hari-kari. An inconsistent receiver against the Patriots defense doesn’t do much for me. Add in the possibility that Marshawn Lynch may not be able to play and the Buffalo offense is looking singularly unattractive.

Chris Chambers @ JAC: Does Chambers occasionally sit back and fondly remember his days in Miami where they would at least try to get him the ball? Being the third option on a sputtering offense, behind Tomlinson and Gates, is not a great spot for anyone, particularly fantasy owners. Until Philip Rivers gets more consistent, this offense isn’t good enough to support three weapons.

Shaun McDonald v. NYG: The problem with McDonald isn’t lack of talent. It is just hard to count on a guy who splits catches with three other receivers, unless he plays for the Patriots. McDonald has had a few good games in a row now against some underwhelming defenses. The Giants’ defense is improving, making it unlikely that Jon Kitna can throw enough balls to make all the Detroit receivers happy.

Joey Galloway @ ATL: There are very few quality players on the Atlanta Falcons’ roster. Odds are there will be even fewer next year with the team imploding all around Coach Petrino. One of the few great ones is cornerback DeAngelo Hall. He will likely be playing somewhere else next year, but Hall gets to cover Galloway this week. The Falcons are very beatable and the Buccaneers get some definite choices in how they want to thrash the Dirty Birds. Going through Hall is the hard way.

Laveranues Coles v. PIT: Coles missed the Washington game with a concussion and then got a bye week to heal up. While he was gone, the Jets changed quarterbacks on him. Until we see how often Kellen Clemens looks his way, there are better starts than a Jets receiver against the Pittsburgh defense.