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Hut, hut, when that quarterback receives the hike, he is not turning to hand that football off as much as ten years ago. It’s a fast past league now, and in order to do that successfully with points on the board, it needs to come through the air. Here is the first installment of wide receiver rankings heading into the last week of preseason.

1. Calvin Johnson- Speed, height, freakish athleticism, and can out jump anyone in the secondary. Randy Moss when he had Randall Cunningham, except Johnson possesses better ability in crowds to corral the football.

2. Larry Fitzgerald- People want to lower his ranking based on the Cardinals quarterback situation. Just look at Fitz’s last two seasons and he still has flourished with poor quarterbacks. John Skelton and Kevin Kolb both performed last year. Whoever wins the job is going to perform better than a year ago. Fitz is the hardest working player in the game, and will continue to produce no matter who is throwing the football.

3. Brandon Marshall- Awfully high you say. Marshall has had the quietest off-season in recent memory. No antics in practice, selfish pouting, or off the field issues. He is revived with his old quarterback, and on an offense that should be potent. Behind Johnson, Marshall is the best height to speed receiver in the league. His Pro Bowl performance was not a fluke, and he will be targeted by Jay Cutler early and often.

4. Roddy White- Everyone is talking about last years quarterback class and this year quarterback class. Refocus back to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan. Both seem ready to bust out the gate and have career years. Why not? Roddy White is an outstanding receiver. With Ryan gaining confidence White could have a Victor Cruz type of year from 2011.

5. Steve Smith- Too high again you may think. Smith is the Hines Ward of receivers nowadays. He has the tenacity and toughness and is just a competitor on every play. Cam Newton is going to progress and that means more deep balls to Smith. He will shine in consecutive years with Newton.

6. AJ Green- Last year in the beginning of the season everyone was wowed by Andy Dalton’s readiness for the NFL. The pinpoint answer to that was AJ Green. He got behind teams secondaries with such ease that even Tim Tebow could of hit him. With an off-season to sharpen his route running and add some weight to his frame, Green should be a gold mine for fantasy owners once again.

7. Andre Johnson- It’s always worrisome when an athlete starts a trend with injuries. Will they go away? Johnson would likely be ranked second if it were not for his history. Even if he plays twelve to thirteen games he has the capability of putting together a top fifteen fantasy season. Houston is a team that’s primed to supplant the New England Patriots. In order to do so they’ll need Johnson all season.

8. Eric Decker- He is just the perfect type of receiver for Peyton Manning. Last year reports were that Decker was shining in practice. With the Tebow offense of a year ago, DeMaryius Thomas was the main guy because of his height. Quick throws were easy for him to corral in, and risky throws were to his advantage as well with his size. Decker though can run the type of routes that meshes with veteran Peyton Manning. Connections with Manning have always produced great fantasy seasons. Marvin Harrison, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, etc. The type of preseason Decker has had it’s a no brainer that it will continue in the regular season.

9. Torrey Smith- I profiled in an article a few weeks ago that Joe Flacco is ready for his breakout season. Lets face it, the Baltimore passing offense has been pedestrian every season. There one of the few teams that likes to run the ball continuously and rely on their defense. Their defense is aging and the Ravens know come playoff time, they’re going to need to score points to advance. Even with Baltimore’s toned down offense it still has been fantasy friendly for receivers. Imagine this season with more targets his way what Smith is going to do.

10. Wes Welker- Brandon Lloyd is going to hurt Welker’s value a bunch. Josh McDaniels has a chemistry with Lloyd and that will transfer over to play calling and on the field results. Not to mention that Tom Brady is going to continue eyeballing his dynamic tight end duo. Expect for Welker to be a high yardage guy and low touchdown performer ala Keenan McCardell. He is ranked this high now based on last season and not going to crazy on lowering him. I expect him to be a high teen receiver by the end of the season.

11. Jordy Nelson
12. DeSean Jackson
13. Hakeem Nicks
14. Greg Jennings
15. Victor Cruz
16. Stevie Johnson
17. Mike Wallace
18. Julio Jones
19. Dez Bryant
20. Marques Colston
21. Dwayne Bowe
22. Vincent Jackson
23. Justin Blackmon
24. Jeremy Maclin
25. Reggie Wayne
26. Anquan Boldin
27. Brandon Lloyd
28. Antonio Brown
29. Miles Austin
30. Percy Harvin
31. Santonio Holmes
32. Kenny Britt
33. Darrius Heyward-Bey
34. Michael Crabtree
35. Malcolm Floyd
36. Davone Bess
37. Lance Moore
38. Mike Williams
39. Pierre Garcon
40. Sidney Rice
41. Santana Moss
42. Robert Meachem
43. Randy Moss
44. Brandon Lafell
45. Demaryius Thomas
46. Kendall Wright
47. David Nelson
48. Titus Young
49. James Jones
50. Nate Washington
51. Austin Collie
52. Jonathan Baldwin
53. Stephen Hill
54. Greg Little
55. Laurent Robinson
56. Danny Amendola
57. Denarius Moore
58. Nate Burleson
59. Michael Floyd
60. Brian Hartline