Ranking the Divisons By WR

I was reading a post on www.buffalowdown.com that ranked the divisions from worst to best and thought I should take it one step further. I’m going to rank the divisions by each position. Here’s my look at the quarterback position.

8.N.F.C. West

Larry Fitzgerald

Mike Williams

Danny Amondeloa

Steve Breaston

Josh Morgan

Ben Gibson?

Yuck. I don’t like to put the N.F.C. West last in everything, but very early on it’s trending that way. Fitzgerald is a top, top player and Michael Crabtree could become that kind of player in time, but right now he’s still a ways away. After the top two it gets dicey and arguably none of the other listed players in the top six would make it in the top six rosters of WR on any other team.

7. A.F.C. West

Top Six

Dwayne Bowe

Vincent Jackson

Brandon Lloyd

Eddie Royal

Malcolm Floyd

Louis Murphy

First Cuts: Jacoby Ford, Jabar Gaffney

Rookie: Jon Baldwin

I wanted to put the A.F.C. West higher lest I be accused of having a west coast bias, but I can’t justify it. The top three are very good players, but Bowe has a lot of inconsistency in his game. Vincent Jackson missed a ton of time last year and there’s some turmoil there and Brandon Lloyd has to do what he did in more than one season for me to believe in him. If the Raiders young WR corps had a good quarterback like Peyton Manning they may look more impressive.

6. A.F.C. North

Hines Ward

Anquan Boldin

Mike Wallace

Chad Ochocinco

Jordan Shipley

Josh Cribbs

First cuts: Mohammad Massaquoi, Emmanuel Sanders, Antwan Randel El

(Rookies Torrey Smith, A.J. Green, Greg Little)

This ranking will be hurt a lot if, as it seems likely, Ochocinco and T.O. leave the division which is why they are down here right now. There is a lot of young talent in this division, but the Ravens WR talent from last year is all old. Hines Ward is getting older, Ochocinco and Terrell Owens is old.

5. N.F.C. South

Roddy White

Mareques Colston

Steve Smith

Mike Williams

Lance Moore

Robert Meachem

Rookies Julio Jones

This ranking is the one that makes me the most uncomfortable. Marques Colston is pretty good. Roddy White is one of the top wide receivers in the league, but Steve Smith is on his way out and I think the Buccaneers wide receivers can be good with time, but last year only one of their wide receivers even had more than 400 yards receiving and they had no 1,000 yard receivers. After The top six the depth isn’t as impressive as you’ll see moving forward.

4. A. F.C. South

Top Six

Andre Johnson

Reggie Wayne

Kenny Britt

Mike Thomas

Pierre Garcon

First Cuts: Kevin Walter, Nate Washington, Austin Collie,

Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson are great, the rest of the top WR are nothing inspiring. I need to see Kenny Britt be more about football and less about trouble before I give him more love. Mike Thomas is solid, but not great. Still the depth here is better than most divisions. Garcon has a lot of inconsistency as well, but he’s not counted on as a top player.

3. A.F.C. East

Top Six

Brandon Marshall

Santonio Holmes

Stevie Johnson

Wes Welker

Lee Evans

Braylon Edwards

First cuts: Devone Bess, Jerricho Cotchery, Deion Branch

The Top Dogs aren’t the greatest because they have some issues you don’t love but the depth is excellent. Devon Bess and Cotchery are arguably the two best ‘cuts’ so far in this look at each division. There is a very nice blend here as well if people were looking for how the players would fit together. Welker is an excellent possession guy, Marshall as well. Holmes and Edwards can really get deep as can Evans and there isn’t a ton of age. There is not a TD machine in this division which hurts as well, unless you believe Stevie Johnson can be that kind of player moving forward.

2.N.F.C. North

Top Six

Calvin Johnson

Greg Jennings

Syndey Rice

Donald Driver

Percy Harvin

Devin Hester

First Cuts: Johnny Knox, Nate Burleson, Jordy Nelson

Greg Jennings, Calvin Johnson, Sydney Rice are three very good number one wide receivers. The depth here is also tremendous. Percy Harvin has migraine problems, but when he’s on the field he’s deadly. Devin Hester and Johnny Knox aren’t the greatest players ever, but have excellent speed and I’ll take into consideration Hester’s role as a return ma which bumps them up. Driver has been a top player for quite some time, but he’s getting older. The numbers the Lions WR put up last year without a great QB last year should speak volumes. This was a tough call between the A.F.C. East and the N.F.C. North, but I gave the nod to the North because they don’t have as many “character” issues and the younger players have shown it more than one year and overall this group is more productive. Percy Harvin and Hester are dominant special teams players. Calvin Johnson is a Red-Zone Machine (which the A.F.C. East lacks) and Greg Jennings can really rack up the yards after catch.

1. N.F.C. East

Hakeem Nicks

DeSean Jackson

Jermey Maclin

Santana Moss

Steve Smith

Dez Bryant

First Cuts: Miles Austin, Mario Manningham, Jason Avant

That’s a pretty tough corps to beat. Hakeem Nicks is one of the best all around wide receivers in the league. He racks up the yards after the catch, he’s dangerous in the red-zone and he can beat people up the field. They have great speed with Maclin and Santana Moss. Excellent return ability with Jackson and Dez Bryant and good possession wide receivers with Steve Smith and the under appreciated Jason Avant on the Eagles. What a talented group of wide receivers this division has for the future. In full disclosure I am a fan of a team in the N.F.C. East, but I think I’m being fair (and wait until we get to the secondary and we’ll really see far). Just look at it this way, Miles Austin and Mario Manningham aren’t one of the top six WR in this group and last year Mario Manningham had 944 yards receiving with 9 touchdowns and Austin had a 1,000 yards receiving and another 7 touchdowns.

This is my take. What’s yours?

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