Wide Receivers to Keep an Eye on

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley

This list is composed of WRs that can be had in the later rounds of your fantasy football drafts. These are all guys that have breakout potential; guys that can have huge games for you one week then disappear by the next. These are guys that you should store on your bench for the first few weeks to see if they are ready to star, or if they still need a little more maturing.

 

Mario Manningham- New York Giants

Manningham could be a surprise this season as he traveled back to where his career started in New York. He had some pretty impressive seasons with the Giants that earned him a bigger contract with the 49ers but an injury plagued his tenure there and he was never able to rekindle the fire he had in New York. Enter him into the Giants offense where they are lacking a true #2 behind Victor Cruz and you have a pretty decent 1-2 punch if Manningham can find the same connection he had with Eli Manning a few years back.

 

Tedd Ginn Jr- Arizona Cardinals

Ginn has bounced around the NFL the last couple of seasons but he has value amongst this Cardinals offense. He always brings a threat to the table when we talk special teams but I think Ginn could potentially be the deep threat the Cardinals have been lacking. He has the speed to beat even the best CBs in one on one coverage and the Cardinals have two much more important targets ahead of him to worry about in Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd.

 

Stedman Bailey- St Louis Rams

Some will question why Bailey makes this list and not his teammate from college, Tavon Austin, who was drafted much higher than Bailey. Truth be told; Bailey was the more productive WR in college and he seemed to be more productive in his first season in the NFL. I think Bailey is going to be a very productive and good WR in the NFL for a long time. The only issue I see is that the Rams have so much young talent on the roster at WR it could be easy for Bailey to get lost in transition.

 

Harry Douglas- Atlanta Falcons

Douglas had a career year filling in for the injured Roddy White and Julio Jones in 2013; but he is far better suited for the #3 WR role especially with those two monsters in front of him. The thing that really matters here is the relationship he was able to develop with Matt Ryan while the others were injured. Look for Ryan to look to Douglas far more often than he did in the past; plus opposing defenses are going to be worried about White and Jones more than they will Douglas.

 

Marquise Goodwin- Buffalo Bills

Goodwin brings the potential to score on special teams as well as being a pretty good #3 WR for the Bills. Goodwin has unbelievable straight line speed and he is the deep threat that could beat the opposing defenses #3 CB every time. He sits behind Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, and Mike Williams who are all forces to be reckoned with in their own manner so you know Goodwin is going to be dealing with a sub-par CB at best. Goodwin has the chance to shine especially if EJ Manuel’s progressions as a QB go smoothly in year two.

 

Mohamed Sanu- Cincinnati Bengals

Sanu is a big bodied slot WR who runs precise routes and has really good hands. The Bengal coaching staff has said all offseason how they underutilized him last year and have bigger plans for him in 2014. Line him up with AJ Green and Marvin Jones and that is a scary set of WRs to have to cover. Sanu can line up outside or inside and he creates mismatches when in the slot because of how strong he is. Sanu is a guy everyone should keep an eye on.