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Now this is the section of wide receivers that’s interesting to review for 2013 reasons.  Many of these guys were hurt by their QB’s poor play or hurt themselves.  However, this section is also full of second half bloomers that just might be cheap options come draft day.  So strap on whatever you like to strap on to read this type of stuff because we’re going to review these wide receivers based off of my 2012 fantasy football rankings and compare my projections with their end of season rankings care of yahoo’s PPR system.  Now that we have that established, let’s take a look at the top 40 wide receivers that were for the 2012 fantasy football season…

Stats based on receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns

21. Steve JohnsonSure, you can’t name one game where you were like ‘yeah, I’ve got Steve Johnson on my team…suck it, snitches!’ but he’s been a steady WR2 for the last 3 years and is fairly easy to project for.  If you don’t believe me, look at what I said he’d do vs what he did.  If I can predict it that well, it must be pretty simple.  Preseason Rank #20, 2012 Projections: 80/1040/7/0/0, Final Numbers: 79/1046/6/0/0

22. Cecil Shorts, III – Cecil was a mid-season revelation for any of the teams that got in on him.  He was basically a low end WR1 from week 7 on until he started having concussion issues.  If he can shake the cobwebs out and have a healthy 2013 without Tim Tebow at the helm – yes, I’ve heard the threats of it happening – Shorts might be a 2013 draft day darling.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 55/979/7/-4/0

23. T.Y. HiltonIf you’re wondering why Reggie Wayne’s production tapered off near the end of the season, you can text TY to T.Y.  Pretty much like Cecil, Hilton was unknown outside of scandalous sex tapes and bad reality television until about mid-way through the season.  From week 9 on, he had 4 100 receiving games and solidified himself as Luck’s downfield threat.  Unlike Paris, the future looks bright and full of talent for this Hilton.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 50/861/7/29/0

24. Torrey SmithI honestly don’t fully understand this ranking care of yahoo.  He only had 2 100 yard receiving games and had 8 games on the year where he scored under 7 in PPR formats.  His inconsistency reminds me a lot of why I didn’t draft V-Jax this year and why I won’t be drafting Torrey next year.  Preseason Rank #30, 2012 Projections: 65/1040/5/50/0, Final Numbers: 49/855/8/9/0

25. Mike WallaceMister 60 Minutes himself was more derailed from having a truly successful year by Big Ben’s injury than how he was doing himself.  Though I do think he started the year with more dropped balls than a first grade class at an all boys school, it’s still hard to be a fantasy relevant wide receiver when Charlie Batch is throwing to you.  Hint: if Wallace is with the Steelers in 2013, Ima like him again.  Preseason Rank #4, 2012 Projections: 70/1275/9/50/0, Final Numbers: 64/836/8/7/0

26. Miles Austin – Couldn’t stay healthy and obviously tailed off when Dez came on in the second half.  It’s sad to see Romo throw for nearly 5000 yards and to have Austin not even reach 1000 on the year.  Promising start, disappointing end leaving many owners wanting to be miles from Austin next year.  Preseason Rank #15, 2012 Projections: 75/1125/7/0/0, Final Numbers: 66/943/6/0/0

27. Jeremy MaclinCan put Maclin in the same camp as Austin with regards to injuries and couple it with a dysfunctional team overall, Jeremy’s year wasn’t disastrous but it sure wasn’t the year his owners were expecting as he was touted as a sleeper nearly everywhere.  Well, everywhere but Razzball he says while polishing his nails on his jacket lapel.  Preseason Rank #25, 2012 Projections: 70/960/8/25/0, Final Numbers: 69/857/7/0/0

28. Brandon Lloyd – A bigger lie than Torrey’s ranking.  Lloyd went from basically unownable to playoff hero weeks 14-16 as he tallied 23 catches, 341 yards and a touchdown.  BTW, he went back to the usual during week 17 with a 1 catch, 9 yard dud.  Brandon played all 16 games.  That’s really the only reason he’s ranked this high.  Definitely not the value play I thought he’d be.  Preseason Rank #26, 2012 Projections: 65/1040/6/0/0, Final Numbers: 74/911/4/0/0

29. Justin Blackmon – Black-snake-mon was literally lying dormant and dead until week 11 as he nearly produced the same amount of yardage in one game – 236 – as he had all year up to that point.  From then, Justin went off and became another intriguing name to add to the 2013 list.  Preseason Rank #58, 2012 Projections: 50/550/3/0/0, Final Numbers: 64/865/5/23/0

30. Jordy NelsonProbably the biggest name so far in the rankings where injuries really took a bite out of their value.  I thought Nelson had a bit too dreamy of a season in 2011 with his 15 TDs and knocked him down in my rankings lower than many would’ve expected him to go.  In reality, his pace for the year was somewhere between 2011 and my lowballing numbers: 77 catches for 1176 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Let’s just split the difference and realize that James Jones is the best receiver ever…wait, what?  Preseason Rank #21, 2012 Projections: 65/1170/8/0/0, Final Numbers: 49/745/7/0/0

31. Anquan BoldinIt’s funny seeing Boldin this close to Blackmon in the rankings.  Funny in that of all the players I think to compare Blackmon to, Boldin is probably the closest in what I’d expect out of Justin moving forward.  And that’s about all I have to say about Anquan.  Preseason Rank #36, 2012 Projections: 60/840/5/0/0, Final Numbers: 65/921/4/3/0

32. Sidney Rice – The next two guys on this list are gonna be a little more exciting next year if @DangeRussWilson keeps his second half pace.  Truthfully, Sidney probably doesn’t move me as much as the next one but that’s more a pricing issue than anything.  Overall, you wanted solid and you got solid from Rice…but did you ever feel full once you were done?  Preseason Rank #45, 2012 Projections: 55/850/4/0/0, Final Numbers: 50/748/7/6/0

33. Golden TateFun fact: Tate was the only WR from Seattle to have a 100 yard receiving game in 2012 and it didn’t happen until week 17 of the season.  Fun fact #2: Green Bay tried to trade for Tate after week 3’s game just to shove him into a cheese processing vat to never be heard from again.  In all seriousness, Tate’s the homerun hitter between the two Seahawk wideouts.  For those of you who love a Jordy type on your team, Tate looks pretty golden for 2013.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 45/688/7/20/0

34. Denarius Moore – I liked Denarius many times this year.  I also hated Denarius many times this year.  It’s through all this love and hate why he was a fringe starting WR for most of 2012 and yet another reason you should be active in the free agent pool about wide receivers all year.  Can’t imagine Moore was started every week except in the deepest of leagues.  Preseason Rank #39, 2012 Projections: 45/810/5/0/0, Final Numbers: 51/741/7/-5/0

35. Brian Hartline – It’s fun to look back on a season from this vantage.  Hartline had the lone touchdown and nearly 25% of his season’s yardage in the one big game that got everyone buzzing about him.  Outside that he was pretty ‘meh’ but so where the Dolphins on offense so it’s not all his fault.  The one thing I can say is he’s the last receiver in our review with 1000 yards under his belt and the last one we saw in these rankings was Stevie Johnson at 21.  Let me reiterate: meh.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 74/1083/1/0/0

36. Malcom Floyd – I remember having a good pre-season debate about Malcom.  At the time it was whether or not it would be Floyd or Meachem as the star of the Chargers aerial attack.  Clearly Floyd won out but when I was ranking him I simply said ‘I understand I’m undercutting his value – 32nd best wide receiver in 2011 – but I’d like a bit better health history from a guy if I’m spending a draft pick on him.’  He finished the year on the IR and missed the last two weeks of the season and nearly nailed my projections.  It’s the little things in life that get me through.  Preseason Rank #41, 2012 Projections: 45/800/5/0/0, Final Numbers: 56/814/5/0/0

37. Andre Roberts – How terrible were the Cardinals QBs after Kolb went down, you ask?  Well we haven’t even come to Larry Fitzgerald yet and won’t for the top 40 wide outs for the season.  If they fine you for tearing tags off your mattress you should get jail time for doing that to one of the top receivers of his generation.  But enough about Fitz, in the midst of Larry’s lost season, Andre Roberts came along and bored all of his owners with a top 20 wide receiver start to the year and a major dump to finish 2012.  The fact he held value for this long into the season deserves some tip of the cap cuz the Cards were crizzap on offense this year.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 64/759/5/29/0

38. Josh GordonMuch like Marsupials, Gordon had pockets of usefulness.  Those pockets can be specifically stated: weeks 5-7 and weeks 13-14.  That’s pretty much it.  But hey, you go play catch with Weeden and see how well you do.  Overall, he’s a name I could get interested in if they ever stopped playing like things that are Brown and started playing like THE Browns in Cleveland.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 50/805/5/0/0

39. Danario Alexander – All year, Rivers was looking for someone to replace V-Jax and finally found him in week 9.  Then somehow he lost him in week 15.  Then found him again for the final two weeks.  Yep, he was a great V-Jax replacement.  Depending where he goes in drafts next year, he might be on my buy list but something tells me DX ain’t gonna come cheap.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers: 37/658/7/0/0

40. Antonio BrownRounding out the sad Steelers duo, Antonio actually set a career high in touchdown receptions in 2012.  That’s the lone positive.  There are too many negatives.  Let’s not dwell on the negatives.  Preseason Rank #17, 2012 Projections: 75/1200/6/0/0, Final Numbers: 66/787/5/24/0