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The rules have changed in Fantasy Football.

Running backs are out, wide receivers are in. Pass catchers offer more safety and upside than their less sophisticated counterparts, as evidenced by 2015.

Right?

Maybe.

I'm personally of the belief that the hype has gone a little bit too far on the demise of the running back . Yes, the league has changed. Yes, committees are now more prevalent. But still I find myself in drafts where everyone jumps on the new trend staring at huge value virtually everywhere but wide receiver. An extreme example was our recent IDP mock where I went five rounds without selecting a wide receiver.

That draft got me to thinking about the value plays at wide receiver and the best way to attack the position if you don't load up early.

To be clear, I think you should probably take at least one wide receiver in the first five rounds. But if you don't, I've put together a round-by-round guide to surviving the position while you thrive everywhere else.

Round 6

John Brown BUF • WR • 15 2015 stats REC 65 YDS 1003 TD 7 View Profile

I wrote in July that Brown was my favorite Cardinals wide receiver to own but according to Fantasy Pros he's still the last one being drafted at the end of the sixth round. Part of that could be his recent concussion issues, but as long as he's ready to play by Week 3 of the preseason I'm not concerned.

Brown was a borderline No. 2 WR in Fantasy last season and has legitimate No. 1 upside if either Larry Fitzgerald or Michael Floyd go down for an extended period of time. His low cost gives you the luxury of selecting only one wide receiver in the first five rounds and still feeling good about your No. 2.

Round 7

Tyler Lockett SEA • WR • 16 2015 stats REC 51 YDS 664 TD 6 View Profile

Like Brown, I wrote about Lockett earlier this year and his remarkably efficient rookie season. The fact is that Lockett is a supremely talented player that I believe to be the most talented pass catcher in Seattle. Lockett should be a borderline No. 2 this season but if you read the link you know that he has an elite profile.

If you could guarantee me that I'd get Brown and Lockett in Round 6 and 7 I might go with 0 WR through five rounds in every draft. This is probably a good time to mention that they won't last this long in some drafts. if you happen to find yourself in a league where receivers are flying off the board I'm okay with bumping any of these players up a round.

Round 8

Josh Gordon SEA • WR • 2013 stats - 14 games REC 87 YDS 1646 TD 9 View Profile

Didn't get a true No. 1 receiver? Not confident Brown and Lockett can deliver on my promises? Josh Gordon may just be your guy. The Browns phenom will miss the first four weeks of the season but for an 8th round price tag he offers immeasurable upside.

Gordon's 2013 season measures as one of the greatest ever by a player his age... and he missed two games. You don't need the historic pace he set two years ago to create value, but it could absolutely replace whatever No. 1 WR you're passing on in the second round for a running back. Gordon is a risk/reward pick that you can afford if you're going with the high quantity approach to receiver.

Round 9

Willie Snead BAL • WR • 83 2015 stats REC 69 YDS 984 TD 3 View Profile

Snead was one of the more impressive rookie receivers in a disappointing 2015 class and he was even better than the season long numbers suggest. Snead was the No. 24 wide receiver in standard leagues from Week 1-9 before suffering an injury in Week 10 and struggling a little bit down the stretch. For the season he finished No. 35 in standard and slightly better in PPR.

Snead is more of a safety pick as I feel very confident he'll be a quality No. 3 in 2016. The only real risk is rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas, but we're about ready to take care of that.

Round 10

Michael Thomas has been one of the stars of Training Camp and is in my opinion the only real threat to Willie Snead being a steal. Let me be clear, this is not handcuffing wide receivers. I don't really even like handcuffing running backs, so it's certainly not what I'm proposing.

I see a possibility that Snead is close to what he was last year and Thomas has a mild breakout campaign. That's just about the worst case scenario. The more positive possibilities involve Thomas becoming the star he looks like at camp, Snead taking another step forward or Drew Brees having the type of year that can support both of them.

This is a slight overpay based on Thomas' ADP but if I skimped on elite wide receivers I don't want to miss this type of upside.

Round 11

Vincent Jackson TB • WR • 83 2015 stats- 10 games REC 33 YDS 543 TD 3 View Profile

I'm going to give you a minute to come down from the high of imagining what could be with Michael Thomas to ... Vincent Jackson. I know, it's not exciting, but how is Jackson falling to the 11th round anyway? Yes, he was bad (hurt) most of 2015. Yes he's 33 years old. He also had four straight 1,000 yard seasons before last year, has an improving quarterback in a downfield passing attack and an elite receiver to take pressure off of him. The floor is low on Jackson but there's still a ton of potential here, especially in a contract year.

Round 12

Kamar Aiken PHI • WR • 81 2015 stats REC 75 YDS 944 TD 5 View Profile













We have a running joke on the podcast thanks to one of our listeners that it's "Kamar Aiken by default". The best part is it's not actually a joke. Breshad Perriman can't get on the practice field and Steve Smith just got off the PUP list. Smith is trying to come back from one of the worst Achilles injuries anyone has seen at the age of 37.

Aiken played eight games last season after Smith went down and averaged more than 10 targets per game. He was a solid No. 2 WR over that time. Aiken is an easy pick in Round 12 unless you think Steve Smith is going to make a miraculous recovery and be his old self.

Five to take late