2009 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: #6, Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

Don’t sleep on Roddy “Rowdy” White. He was an animal in his 4th year in the NFL, and I don’t expect that to stop in his 5th.

2009 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: #6, Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

Last year, with rookie quarterback Matt Ryan at the helm, White evolved into one of the elite receivers in the game. Putting up 88 catches, 1,382 yards and 7 touchdowns, is nothing to sneeze at. Those numbers were better than elite receives like Reggie Wayne, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson.

White proved to be a ballhawk last year. Despite being 6’0” and 212 pounds, he snagged down everything that came his way. If the ball was in the air he was going to get it, and he was probably going to score after he caught it too. White made some of the biggest plays of the 2008 season. And the numbers prove just how explosive he was, as he put up 18 plays of 20 yards or more, which ranked 6th in the NFL last season.

Besides White himself, the best things going for White’s fantasy football value derive from his other star teammates. Matt Ryan has brought a stability to the quarterback position that the Atlanta Falcons haven’t seen in years. He has also brought stability to White’s targeting numbers. Matt fell in love with throwing the ball to White, almost to the degree that he wasn’t forcing it too him way too much. Over 34% of Ryan’s passes were to White, which is too high of a percentage for even a #1 wide receiver. But don’t expect it to stop, because if it worked last year, why fix it.

Perhaps, the best reason to rank White this high in the fantasy football rankings is because of another fantasy football stud on his team. With running back Michael Turner running the hell out of the rock, there is absolutely no reason why White won’t continue to see single-man coverage all season long. As long as Turner can keep grinding out those 3 and 4 yard gains, defenses are going to have to do everything they can to stop Turner, and worry less about White. And as many teams found out last year, that’s a recipe for disaster, because White will burn you.

So, once again, don’t sleep on White. There is not a receiver in more of a perfect situation for success than him, and I didn’t even get to the fact that Tony Gonzalez will take away some of the coverage he’ll see as well. It just keeps getting better for this guy, and if you draft him on your fantasy football team, I’m sure he’ll make things better for you, too.


Other Wide Receiver Rankings
1. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans (8/3/09)
2. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (8/1/09)
3. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers (7/31/09)
4. Randy Moss, New England Patriots (7/30/09)
5. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts (7/29/09)
6. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons (7/28/09)
7. Terrell Owens, Buffalo Bills (7/27/09)
8. Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals (7/24/09)
9. Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers (7/23/09)
10. Wes Welker, New England Patriots (7/22/09)
11. Not Top Wide Receivers (7/21/09)

More Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections:
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Quarterbacks
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Running Backs
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Wide Receivers
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Tight Ends
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Defenses

TSW Preseason Fantasy Football Rankings - Quarterbacks
1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
3. Peyton Manning, New England Patriots
4. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
6. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
7. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks
9. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
10. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

TSW 2009 Fantasy Football Rankings - Running Backs
10. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans (7/6/09, 9AM)
09. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants (7/6/09, 4PM)
08. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers (7/7/09, 9AM)
07. Deangelo Williams, Carolina Panthers (7/7/09, 4PM)
06. LaDainian Tomlison, San Diego Chargers (7/8/09, 9AM)
05. Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams (7/8/09, 4PM)
04. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons (7/9/09, 9AM)
03. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars (7/9/09, 4PM)
02. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears (7/10/09, 9AM)
01. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (7/10/09, 12PM)

Related Posts by Categories

Check out our... Homepage | Podcasts