While the SEC last year had all-college-world WR Percy Harvin, this year’s crop isn’t quite as excellent   Sure, we’ve all read the requisite 17,000 words on Julio Jones (and the slightly disturbing articles talking about the JPW-Jones connection; thank whatever deity you’d like that we don’t have to deal with that this year) but there’s more to the conference than just him.  Still, the one thing holding this conference back from having truly elite fantasy WRs is awkward allocation of talent; the best WRs have to deal with middling QBs (or, in a couple of cases, another high-quality WR sharing time).

 

1: Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss

Look, I really wanted to rank Julio Jones at 1… but I kept coming back to how the Rebels used McCluster last year.  The kid was the leading rusher(!) for the Rebels last year, and while Shay Hodge ended up with more receiving yards, at the end of the day McCluster is the leading rushing/receiving combo returning this year.  The odd thing is, he got more involved with the rushing game as the season wore on. Since he’s established as a double threat, the yardage benefit (likely 1,000-plus, and the only guy from the SEC who may get there) and the resultant TDs can only mean good things for McCluster owners.

2: Brandon LaFell, LSU

Even with the flaming pile of crap that was Jarrett Lee last year, LaFell still ended up with over 900 yards and 8 TDs.  He’s used to being WR1 in LSU’s offense as well, which means he has quality predictive value.  Jordan Jefferson can’t possibly be any worse than Lee was last year, meaning LaFell could make a run at 1,000 yards / 10 TDs.

3: AJ Green, Georgia

He’s like Julio Jones, only his situation is a little worse.  He also won’t get Football Jesus Mohammed Massaquoi siphoning coverages away from him, meaning- it’s time to step up as WR1, kid.  He hasn’t had to deal with that at a college level yet, but should fare a bit better than Jones in TDs but get dinged mildly on yardage.  The TDs win out here.

4: Julio Jones, Alabama

Here’s the guy everyone expected, finally.  Yes, Jones is an otherworldly talent, and yes, he’ll be the primary receiver, and yes, he did get 924 yards as a freshman; but this Tide team is not built on throwing the ball (except to him).  4 TDs aren’t great from a receiver, and that was with butt-buddy John Parker Wilson caressing passes to him.  I’m not sure Greg McElroy can do the same, but Jones is obviously talented enough to get near those numbers at least.  Normally I’m not big on TDs as predictive from year-to-year, but I don’t see schemes changing significantly this time around.

5: Shay Hodge, Ole Miss

Hodge doesn’t have the dual-threat capabilities that McCluster does, but what he does have are WR1 yards with one heck of an offense.  You’ll take that, won’t you?  He won’t push much past 850 / 9 TDs, but that’s nothing to sneeze at with SEC WRs.

6: Joe Adams, Arkansas

Adams is stepping into a nice situation; as a true frosh last year he was the #2 WR in yardage (DJ WIlliams pretty much wrecked everyone), but with a year to learn Petrino’s system and Ryan Mallett stepping in as WR I, expect Petrino to open up the passing game quite a bit.  Adams stands to be the main guy to benefit; admittedly he’s a draft based on potential, but 800 / 8 TDs isn’t bad potential as a true sophomore.

7: Gerald Jones, Tennessee

This ranking is contingent on Jones finally getting used like everyone thought he was going to be when he first came in – as a WR/RB/QB hybrid guy who can be involved in 10-15 snaps a game.  If he can get that, 1,000+ all-purpose and 5-9+ TDs is within range.  The reason why he’s down here is the level of confidence I have that will happen; meaning, not a whole lot.  But he’s still WR1 and about 700 / 6 TDs is the median for his production.

8: Deonte Thompson, Florida

Someone has to catch all the TDs The Real Football Jesus is going to throw; Thompson is as good a bet as anyone.  The downside is that there are approximately 1,500 guys who could also catch 15 TDs from Tebow. Unlike all those other guys, Thompson has the most returning yards for a WR.

9: Randall Cobb, Kentucky

Slash back extraordinaire, Cobb won’t excel in any one role but should be adequate enough to net some mildly serious yardage as a primary option for Kentucky.  He’s going to have issues since Kentucky’s offense is god-awful and everyone knows he’s their main playmaker, but that shouldn’t stop him from 600+ and 6-8 TDs-ish.

 

It feels like a cop-out to start randomly listing guys, but here are some people to pay attention to at least.  I wouldn’t draft them unless there are some deep leagues out there, but wire pickups are feasible depending on how things shake out.

 

Riley Cooper, Florida – Another guy who could end up with serious TD numbers, but….

David Nelson, Florida – …there are a few of these guys.  While Nelson had the most TDs last year….

Carl Moore, Florida – …Moore can’t fail as badly when it comes to learning the offense this year.  See what I mean about there being 12 guys here?  (And I haven’t even mentioned Brandon James yet.)

Michael Moore, Georgia – Quality WR, but WR2 in an offense that could easily be average passing means he’s not worth paying too much attention to.

Moe Brown, South Carolina – WR1 in South Carolina’s offense, so if they turn into a flinging-it Spurrier team like the old Florida teams of yore, he’s super-valuable.  In reality, he’s probably 500 yards-ish material.

Tim Hawthorne, Auburn – Predicting who’ll break out here is an exercise in futility, but at least he’ll get more chances with Malzahn than he did with Franklin …right?

Brandon McRae, Mississippi State – Quality WR stuck with a popgun QB.  This isn’t going to be any fun.

Jarius Wright, Arkansas – He’s pretty much on here because he’s mildly talented and in Year 2 of Petrino’s schemes; there are worse fates.

Reuben Randle, LSU – Dynasty alert (big ol’ WR recruit who will probably see significant PT as a freshman), don’t expect much this year, though.

 

Really, once you get past this point you might as well play pin-the-tail-on-the-weekly-breakout.  And if you’re the kind of completist who needs to know who Vandy’s WR1 is: John Cole.  May you never need to know his name.

Related posts:

1. Catching Up with the Pac 10 Wide Receivers
2. Catching Up with the Big 12 Wide Receivers
3. SEC Bookend: Strangers
4. Quick Hit – Top 21 College Football Wide Receivers for 2009
5. SEC Sleepers and Breakout Players

Tags: SEC