by SMM

Created on: February 09, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Wide Receivers may not have as big a role on your fantasy team as a running back, but in many cases they can be the players who make or break your team. Here are my top 5 wide receivers for the 2007-2008 fantasy season, along with 5 others who could easily slip into the top 5.

1) Steve Smith-Smith started the year with a hamstring injury and missed the first 2 games of the 2006 season. While he showed flashes of brilliance in 2006, I felt like he might have still been injured and not leading on. I expect him to bounce back and have a statistical year similar to his 2005 season in 2007. There are some rumblings that maybe Jake Delhomme wont be back in Carolina in 2007, but I don't believe it and the chemistry between Delhomme and Smith will lead to a huge fantasy year.

2) Chad Johnson-Johnson in my mind had an off year in 2006 as well. He never missed any games because of injury, but he did get rocked by a Brian Russell hit early in the season that he is probably still shaking off. He had a few huge games that helped his stats for 2006, but in 2007 I think Chad is going to play an even larger role in the Bengals offense.

3) Marvin Harrison-Mr Consistent, just makes catches and scores TD's year after year. With some people you might wonder if they are going to have an off year after winning a Super Bowl title, but I don't see it happening with Harrison. With a QB like Peyton Manning and another top flight receiver in Reggie Wayne to take pressure off, the Colts offense should be explosive again in 2007 and it should lead to big things from Marvin.

4) Terrell Owens-Terrell Owens led the NFL in drops in 2006, but you cant argue with the numbers he put up. Next year he will have a healed finger, and should be able to work with Tony Romo all offseason. Owens can dominate a game like no other receiver in the NFL, but he also has a tendency to get himself in trouble on and off the field as well. The risk is always high when drafting Owens, but the rewards can be great too.

5) Larry Fitzgerald-You could easily sub in Fitzgerald's teammate Anquan Boldin here, but I feel like Fitzgerlad has more natural talent of the two. An entire summer working with Matt Leinart could do wonders for Fitzgerald in 2007. It will also be interesting to see how much Fitzgerald's role increases in Ken Whisenhunt's system. Expect big things from this Cardinals wide receiver.

5 more who could slip into top 5:
Anquan Boldin-Former college QB continues to develop as a WR, tremendous upside
Reggie Wayne-After scoring a TD in the Super Bowl and making his first Pro Bowl, Wayne should be able to build off the momentum and have a huge 2007
Torry Holt-Consistently puts up 1,300 yard seasons, shows few signs of slowing down
Andre Johnson-Only receiver with 100 catches in 2006, will have to wait to see who his QB will be in 2007
Javon Walker-Looked like he worked well with Jay Cutler in games together, will have to bounce back from Darrent Williams situation.

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