Fantasy football owners love it when their wide receivers record 150 yards and one touchdown. But the true test of a player's value exists not in one performance but in his level of consistent production.
|
With that in mind, we've examined which players were the most consistent last season, and whose final numbers were deceptive overall. The parameters of our examination revolves around the final numbers of the position's top players based on a 12-team league that utilized NFL.com's standard scoring system. Since most fantasy leagues are over before the final regular-season week, we've use the numbers from the first 16 weeks. All the wide receivers listed started at least 10 contests, but time missed due to injuries counts against a player's final percentage.
The foundation for consistent production was based on the average points of the 12th-rated (or middle wide receiver of the top 24) on NFL.com last season. That wideout is Greg Jennings, who averaged close to 11 points per game. Wide receivers that recorded 11 or more points in a week were rewarded for their numbers, but 10 or fewer points were rated as less than consistent based on the average of Jennings.
Also remember that a consistent level is relative to the position's overall production, so 40-50 percent can be labeled as consistent in some cases.
More positions: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Tight ends | Kickers | Defenses
Most consistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Cleveland Browns |  Braylon Edwards (67 percent) | One of the better draft values of last season, Edwards recorded career bests across the board in 2007. He finished third in fantasy points on NFL.com among wideouts, and his 16 touchdowns were tied for the second most at the position. Edwards scored 11 or more points 10 times and had 20-plus points in four contests. His best performance came in Week 2, when he torched the Cincinnati Bengals for 146 yards and two touchdowns. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 New England Patriots |  Randy Moss (67 percent) | Moss went from an inconsistent and unreliable wideout in Oakland to a must-start option in that football nirvana called New England. He led all wideouts in fantasy points on NFL.com, opened the season with four consecutive performances with 20-plus points and scored 11 or more points 10 times. Moss also broke the NFL record for touchdown catches (23). His best stat line came in Week 11, when he scored 36 points against the Buffalo Bills. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Dallas Cowboys |  Terrell Owens (67 percent) | He might be controversial at times off the field, but Owens can sure produce enormous numbers for fantasy football owners. He finished second to Moss in fantasy points among wideouts and scored 11 or more points 10 times in 15 contests. He also posted 20-plus points five times, averaged an incredible 29 points in Weeks 9-11 and had just four single-digit weeks. T.O.'s best stat line came in Week 11, when he scored 41 points in a win over the Washington Redskins. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 New Orleans Saints |  Marques Colston (53 percent) | So much for a sophomore slide with Colston, as he recorded career bests across the board as the No. 1 wideout in New Orleans. He did have a slow start with one double-digit performance in his first five starts, but Colston turned it on with 11 or more points in seven of his final nine contests. While he didn't have a bunch of monster stat lines, Colston's best performance was a 24-point explosion in Week 8 that saw him post three touchdowns against San Francisco. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Green Bay Packers |  Greg Jennings (53 percent) | Donald Driver was the first Packers wide receiver selected in most 2007 drafts, but it was Jennings that emerged as the best fantasy option. A touchdown machine, Jennings scored 12 times in 13 starts and recorded a career best 920 yards for the season. Despite the fact that he missed two games, he still recorded eight weeks with at least 11 points. With Aaron Rodgers under center this season, however, Jennings could produce lesser numbers in 2008. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Indianapolis Colts |  Reggie Wayne (53 percent) | With Marvin Harrison out of action for most of last season, Wayne recorded career bests in receptions (104) and yards (1,510). He was also a consistent option in fantasy land, as he finished with 11 or more points in eight of his 15 starts. While he did have a few less attractive stat lines, most of Wayne's weeks didn't kill an owner's chance to win. His best numbers came in Week 8, when he made Carolina feel black and blue with 168 yards and one touchdown. |
Consistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 St. Louis Rams |  Torry Holt (47 percent) | Holt's 2007 numbers weren't super impressive, but it's hard not to commend his efforts in a season that saw the Rams lose several offensive lineman -- and Marc Bulger -- for different parts of last season. He had seven performances with 11 or more points but finished with no such stat lines in the fantasy postseason. His best numbers came in Week 13, when he totaled 135 yards and one touchdown in a win over the Atlanta Falcons. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Cincinnati Bengals |  T.J. Houshmandzadeh (47 percent) | Houshmandzadeh was Mr. Consistent to start last season, as he recorded double-digit points in his first eight games. However, the return of Chris Henry from suspension and a decrease in the success of Cincinnati's pass attack caused his numbers to fall. Houshmandzadeh's best stat line came in Week 6, when he went for 145 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Kansas City. He'll be seen as a surefire No. 1 fantasy wideout this season. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 New York Giants |  Plaxico Burress (40 percent) | Burress was a touchdown machine for fantasy footballers in the first half of 2007, as he recorded eight touchdowns in his first six starts. He couldn't retain the pace, however, as he would score in just three games the rest of the season. Still, Burress came out on the consistent end based on our rules with six starts with 11-plus points. His top performance came in Week 1, when Burress went for eight catches, 144 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Dallas. |
Inconsistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Arizona Cardinals |  Larry Fitzgerald (33 percent) | It was a surprise to see Fitzgerald land on this end of the meter. But when we look inside the numbers, we see that the former Heisman runner-up finished with eight single-digit performances and one zero (he missed one week due to injuries). Fitzgerald also had his best performance in Week 17, which didn't count in our scale since most fantasy leagues had ended. With Matt Leinart under center in 2008, don't be shocked to see Fitzgerald's numbers fall a bit. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
Cincinnati Bengals |  Chad Johnson (33 percent) | Ocho Cinco posted a career-best 1,440 yards last season, but he was still one of the most inconsistent wideouts in fantasy land. He recorded 55 percent of his points in the fantasy season in four starts, and he finished with 10 single-digit performances. What's more, one of his best stat lines came in Week 17, which was meaningless in most leagues. It appears he won't be traded or hold out of training camp, so Johnson should still be seen as a No. 1 fantasy wideout in 2008. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Denver Broncos |  Brandon Marshall (33 percent) | Marshall recorded 102 catches for 1,325 yards and seven touchdowns in a breakout 2007 season, but he still lands on our list of inconsistent wideouts. He had 11 or more fantasy points five times and totaled nine single-digits weeks (that includes six such performances in Weeks 4-11). Marshall's best stat line came in Week 14, when he scored 24 points on a 115-yard, two-touchdown performance in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
Arizona Cardinals |  Anquan Boldin (27 percent) | Owners had to love his 28-point performance in fantasy championship week, but Boldin was a disappointment overall last season. He did score a career-best nine touchdowns, but Boldin also posted just four starts with 11 or more points. What's more, 47 percent of his fantasy points came in two contests (Weeks 3 and 16). Injuries cost him some time as well, but overall Boldin wasn't worth his draft position. He'll be a high-end No. 2 fantasy wideout in 2008. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Carolina Panthers |  Steve Smith (27 percent) | Smith scored a combined 40 points in NFL.com's standard format (non PPR) in his first two starts, but the loss of quarterback Jake Delhomme proved to be the nail in his statistical coffin. With Delhomme out of action, Smith recorded double digits in just three of his final 13 starts. He had single-digit points 10 times and scored four or fewer points seven times. Delhomme will be back in 2008, so look for Smith to rebound and remain a No. 1 fantasy wideout. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Detroit Lions |  Roy Williams (20 percent) | Williams started last season on absolute fire with a combined 49 points in his first three weeks, but the wheels fell off his fantasy wagon. He squeezed out one more stat line with 11 or more points after Week 3, but an injured knee ended his season. With Mike Martz now in San Francisco, the talented wideout from Texas also loses a bit of his total fantasy luster. He still has all the skills to be a No. 1 fantasy wideout but will be seen as more of a No. 2 option. |
