The fantasy football season is almost upon us, and like every year, there are several topics that can get heated in some fantasy circles. Even here at Rant Sports, writers have disagreements, and we thought with the looming elections, this would be the perfect time to host our own fantasy football debates. Below is our third 2012 fantasy football debate between two number one fantasy receivers, Andre Johnson and Greg Jennings:
Candidate Corey Walker – Andre Johnson
The kickoff of the NFL regular season is only days away, which means that many armchair General Mangers are busy putting together and drafting their rosters for fantasy football leagues across the country. One position where there is a plethora of players to choose from is the wide receiver. Two of the best, most consistent wideouts in the game over the past five seasons have been Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans and Greg Jennings of the Green Bay Packers. Despite coming off of an injury-plagued 2011 season, Johnson will be a much better fantasy option this season than Jennings.
You wonder why I say Johnson will put up better fantasy numbers than Jennings in 2012. I thought you’d never ask. After all, Johnson only played in seven games last season and finished with 33 receptions for 492 yards, a 14.9 yard average and two touchdowns, the lowest totals of his career. Jennings, on the other hand, had 67 receptions for 949 yards, a 14.2 yard average and 9 touchdowns. Of course, Johnson missing nine games factored into the discrepancy in those numbers. He went down in week 4 vs the Pittsburgh Steelers with a hamstring injury. He returned week 12 at the Jacksonville Jaguars, only to go down with a hamstring injury in his other leg the next week vs the Atlanta Falcons.
Johnson returned for the playoffs and had a huge postseason his first time on the big stage. In two postseason games, Johnson had 13 receptions for 201 yards, a 15.5 yard average and a touchdown while Jennings had a quiet postseason game vs the New York Giants with only four receptions for 40 yards. Keep in mind that Johnson put up those numbers in the playoffs with TJ Yates at the helm for the Texans. This season, Johnson will have Matt Schaub back from injury and the two have matured into a lethal fantasy combination.
That’s no slight to Yates, who did an outstanding job filling in for Schaub as a rookie signal-caller last season. However, there’s no denying that the Texans’ offense will be markedly better and more dangerous with Schaub under center. In the 10 games Schaub started last season, the Texans averaged 27.3 points per game. In the six games he missed, they averaged 18.9; almost a 10 point per game drop. Schaub has looked fully recovered this preseason, which is great news for Johnson. In his last two preseason games alone, Schaub combined to go 26-32 and has shown that he is ready for the 2012 season to start.
Why does a fully healthy Schaub bode well for Johnson’s fantasy prognosis? Let’s look at Johnson’s numbers the last two seasons prior to last season, when both players were fully healthy. In 2009, Johnson finished with 101 receptions for 1,569 yards, a 15.5 yard average and nine touchdowns. He followed that in 2010 with 86 receptions for 1,216 yards, a 14.1 yard average and eight scores. The 2011 season was injury-shortened for both Johnson and Schaub as they both missed significant time. This season, look for them to put up numbers similar to those put up in 2009 and 2010. There is no doubt that Johnson is the number one receiver for the Texans and that Schaub will look to him early and often.
The Packers have one of the best, if not the best passing offenses in the league, but it may work against Jennings for fantasy purposes. Last year Jordy Nelson was the Packers’ number one receiver as he lead the team in both receptions and touchdowns. Add Jermichael Finley, Donald Driver and James Jones to the mix, and Green Bay has quite the arsenal for QB Aaron Rodgers. While Jennings’ fantasy numbers may stay the same or decline slightly from last season, Johnson’s number will more than double from 2011. All of these factors combined make Johnson a better option at WR in fantasy football this season. The nation will get the chance to see both Pro Bowl receivers in action on the same field during Week 6, when the Texans host the Packers in primetime on NBC on Oct. 14.
Candidate Adam McGill – Greg Jennings
During this fantasy football season, many owners have struggled with the decision to draft either Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson or Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings. It is a very difficult decision, but after looking more closely, the answer could not be clearer.
Johnson was once considered the best receiver in the game, but some recent injuries have all but killed his first round potential. Johnson has missed a staggering 12 games over his last two years and now has the “injury prone” tag tattooed on his forehead.
Jennings has only missed three games, all of which were last season, in the last four NFL seasons. He may be coming off a MCL sprain, not to mention his concussions problems, but Johnson’s injury rap sheet is still much longer.
Despite the fact that Packers receiver Jordy Nelson hauled in an ungodly 15 touchdowns in 2011, Jennings is still hands down the number one receiving option in Green Bay and for superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Jennings will always be a threat to score, especially with the NFL MVP throwing him the ball.
Green Bay led the entire NFL in points last season (35 points/game), while the Texans averaged a much more mediocre 23.8 points per game. The Pack amazingly scored around two more touchdowns per game than Houston, which only gives Jennings more chances to catch touchdowns. t is better to have fantasy players in higher scoring offenses because they can simply score more.
Jennings is an amazing number one fantasy option and the fact that he is featured in the high-scoring Green Bay offense only helps his overall fantasy value. Jennings will have more chances to score than Andre 3000 and will thus be able to put up bigger fantasy numbers, not to mention the fact that Johnson is much more likely to finish the season on the DL.
Jennings is clearly the better receiver at this point in his career and will show it every week throughout the 2012 season. Start him as your number one receiver with confidence this season.
Who do you think won this fantasy football debate? Leave a comment below to vote.
Make sure to check back this week for the rest of our Rant Sports Fantasy Football Debates.
