This is now the third installment of the playoff edition Top Twelve. We ranked the 12 playoff quarterbacks from Manning to Sanchez on Monday, and then Tuesday we did the running games from Dallas to Arizona. Today, we are going to focus on the receivers. And, like yesterday, it is not going to be individual receivers, but instead its groups of receivers, or receiving corps, if you will. We are going to try and not take into account the guy throwing the ball, so we will not focus on “passing rankings,” but more focus on the guys catching the ball, including tight ends, running backs, and, of course, wide receivers. Along with the ranking will be, in italics, a list of the guys who had either 30 catches or 300 yards receiving this year for that specific team. As far as taking into account injuries, I did try and assess New England without Wes Welker, since he is out for the playoffs, but I assumed everyone else was 100% because there is no way of knowing the extent of the injuries to guys who will be playing, such as Chad Ochocinco, Anquan Boldin, and Jeremy Maclin.
This Year’s Top Twelve Playoff Receiving Corps
12). New York Jets. (Jerricho Cotchery 57-821, Braylon Edwards 35-541, Dustin Keller 45-122) Which two teams were in the bottom two were pretty easy, but which one was #12 and which was #11 was not that easy. I went with the Jets at #12 just because I really don’t believe in Braylon Edwards as being a trusted go-to guy in the playoffs. I could be wrong, but I have trouble counting on a guy like that. Cotchery is an okay #2, but Keller was very disappointing this year, and, as much as I love Thomas Jones, he is absolutely no threat to catch passes out of the backfield. I could easily be convinced that the Jets are #11, but only if there are health concerns for the…
11). Cincinnati Bengals. (Chad Ochocinco 72-1047, Laveranues Coles 43-514, Andre Caldwell 51-432, Brian Leonard 30-217) With a healthy Ochocinco, I think the Bengals receiving corps slightly edges out that of the Jets. Ochocinco had a truly great season, but it is clear how much this team misses T.J. Houshmanzadeh and the late Chris Henry. Also, they got nothing in the passing game from their tight ends and next to nothing from the running backs. This is a pretty bad group of receivers for Carson Palmer.
10). Baltimore Ravens. (Derrick Mason 73-1028, Ray Rice 78-702, Todd Heap 53-593, Mark Clayton 34-480, Kelley Washington 34-431) I have been on the Ravens group of receivers all year because I really don’t think they are very good, with the obvious exception of the ultimate pro Derrick Mason (though he has clearly lost a step). Ray Rice is a monster receiver out of the backfield, but Todd Heap is no longer a Pro Bowl caliber tight end. Clayton and Washington are average, at best. Then again, I ranked Sanchez, Palmer, and Flacco as #12, 11, and 10 in quarterbacks, and now I’m ranking their “weaponry” in that same order. Hmm, I wonder if one of these rankings is off because of the poor play of the other side?
9). New England Patriots. (Wes Welker 123-1348, Randy Moss 83-1264, Benjamin Watson 29-404, Julian Edelman 37-359, Sam Aiken 20-326, Kevin Faulk 37-301) If I didn’t believe in the abilities of Randy Moss, I may have pushed the Patriots down even more significantly with the loss of Welker. But, Moss is that good. He demands double-teams, at all times, and I think that Julian Edelman will be able to find many of the same holes that Welker found. I’m not saying he will replace ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE CATCHES IN FOURTEEN GAMES, but he has shown that he can be productive. I do not have much confidence in Watson or Aiken, but Kevin Faulk always seems to be there when the Pats need a short pass on 3rd-and-4.
8). Dallas Cowboys. (Miles Austin 81-1320, Jason Witten 94-1030, Patrick Crayton 37-622, Roy Williams 38-596) I’ll be honest here, these middle four teams, #5-8, were incredibly tough to rank. I wouldn’t argue with any rearrangement of the next four teams. I put Dallas at #8 just because they get nothing from their running backs, and Crayton and Williams have done nothing to instill any confidence. Granted, Austin had a ridiculous season and Jason Witten is one of the best in the game at tight end, but if a team can just live with 7-8 catches from Witten and somehow stop Austin, the Cowboys could be in for a long day throwing the ball. Again, I could have easily put them as high as #5, but come on, they’re the Cowboys.
7). Philadelphia Eagles. (DeSean Jackson 63-1167, Brent Celek 76-971, Jeremy Maclin 55-762, Jason Avant 41-
587, LeSean McCoy 40-308) Nice that we are ranking the best set of “weapons” in the league and the Eagles are not at the bottom of this list. Wow, have times changed? The one reason I have the Eagles slightly ahead of Dallas is that, while I think the #1 receivers and tight ends cancel each other out (Jackson is slightly better than Austin, while Witten is slightly better than Celek), I think the Eagles have a significant receiving advantage out of the backfield. We all know what Westbrook can do, and we have seen that McCoy and even Weaver are solid targets. Plus, I think the 2-3 combo of Maclin and Avant are far superior to Crayton and Williams in Dallas.
6). Green Bay Packers. (Greg Jennings 68-1113, Donald Driver 70-1061, Jermichael Finley 55-676, James Jones 32-440, Jordy Nelson 22-320, Donald Lee 37-260) Another tough decision, as I have the Packers slightly ahead of both the NFC East playoff teams, as far as receiving corps. Jennings and Driver give the Pack a really solid, almost go-to guy, on both sides of the field–something that neither Dallas nor Philly has. Plus, throw in an excellent season from Jermichael Finley and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice set of weapons for Mr. Rodgers.
5). Minnesota Vikings. (Sidney Rice 83-1312, Percy Harvin 60-790, Bernard Berrian 55-618, Visanthe Schiancoe 56-566, Adrian Peterson 43-436, Chester Taylor 44-389) Again, this could have gone any way, but I decided to put the Vikings at the front of this very close pack of four teams. Sidney Rice has become a bonafied #1 receiver. Percy Harvin is a legit deep threat, and Bernard Berrian is almost the forgotten man on this team, but he can still play. Add in to that a solid tight end in Schiancoe and two excellent receiving backs in Peterson and Taylor, and I feel pretty confident that this Vikings team has a really nice set of receivers.
4). New Orleans Saints. (Marques Colston 70-1074, Devery Henderson 51-804, Robert Meachem 45-722, Jeremy Shockey 48-569, David Thomas 35-356, Reggie Bush 47-335, Pierre Thomas 39-302) Seven guys with 35+ catches this year! That is incredible. It is still hard to say whether or not these guys are made by Drew Brees or if they have really helped make him the star that he is. I would lean towards the former, but it’s really hard to know. Either way, this is a very talented group, which belongs in the upper echelon of receiving corps in the NFL. The one problem with all this spreading the ball around is the absence of a true #1 receiver. While I really like Colston, there is something to be said for having a guy like Randy Moss or Steve Smith or Reggie Wayne that can really take a game over, at times. Colston is not that guy. Regardless, as long as Drew Brees continues with the philosophy that his favorite receiver is whoever’s open, then this squad is definitely deep enough in talent to contend for a Super Bowl title.
3). San Diego Chargers. (Vincent Jackson 68-1167, Antonio Gates 79-1157, Malcolm Floyd 45-776, Darren Sproles 45-497) Don’t get me wrong, I like the Austin-Witten combination in Dallas as well as the Jackson-Celek combination here in Philly, but when we talk WR-TE combinations, it’s hard to argue that Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates are not at the top of that list. They are both absolute stars at their positions and with a guy like Rivers getting them the ball, the two of them can absolutely dominate games by themselves. Throw in the size and speed of Malcolm Floyd and the shiftiness of Darren Sproles and this team is loaded with weapons. Oh, and by the way, LaDainian Tomlinson, though well past his prime, might be the best second all-time behind only the great Marshall Faulk when it comes to receiving ability out of the backfield.
2). Indianapolis Colts. (Reggie Wayne 100-1264, Dallas Clark 100-1106, Pierre Garcon 47-765, Austin Collie 60-676, Joseph Addai 51-336) Okay, well if Jackson and Gates are #1 in WR-TE combos, Wayne and Clark are #1A. Reggie Wayne has not missed a beat in moving from the second banana behind Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison to being the complete focal point of this offense. And, Dallas Clark is so dangerous at every point on the field. Add in the emergence of youngsters like Garcon and Collie and the pass-catching ability of Joseph Addai, and you’ve got another absolutely stacked set of weapons here in Indy. It was a very close decision for me between San Diego and Indy, but I went with the Colts because the Chargers lack that #3 receiver, while the Colts have Collie. I also think that Addai provides slightly more than Sproles in the passing game, from an all-around perspective.
1). Arizona Cardinals. (Larry Fitzgerald 97-1092, Anquan Boldin 84-1024, Steve Breaston 55-712, Tim Hightower 63-428) Now maybe I’m just completely enamored by this pair of receivers. Maybe, when looking at the entire set of weapons, this team is not the best. But, there is no way that I am going to rank receiving corps and not put the Cardinals #1. It might be wrong, but I can’t do it any other way. There are very, very few receivers in the league that would legitimately relegate Anquan Boldin to #2 receiver, and Larry Fitzgerald is one of them. In fact, I’m not sure I can remember a better second-best receiver on his own team than Boldin. He and Fitzgerald are just that good. I think that even if I was the #3 receiver and Doogan was the pass-catching tight end, I would still rank this team #1 in receiving corps. Fortunately for the Cardinals (and us), we are not on the team; Steve Breatson is. Breaston is better than a lot of teams’ #2 guys. The one criticism with this team could be that they do not have a good pass-catching tight end, but with their style of offense (and Warner, who rarely ever utilizes the tight end), it is not a huge detriment.
