15 for ’15: Top Power Five Fantasy Football Wide Receivers

    The top Power 5 college football fantasy and statistical wide receivers

    In the arithmetical world of college fantasy football, it’s all about the numbers. Consistently spit out gaudy statistics, and you’ll be the target of owners throughout the regular season. The following Power Five wide receivers are poised to post monster numbers this fall as one of the prolific cornerstones of their school’s offensive attack.

    15. Artavis Scott, Clemson

    Scott isn’t Sammy Watkins just yet. But the similarities are unmistakable. Scott made an overnight transition from East Lake (Fla.) High School, earning Second Team All-ACC with a team-high 76 receptions for 965 yards and eight touchdowns. Testament to his quick-twitch explosiveness, he was also dangerous on jet sweeps, weaving in and out of defenses with speed and suddenness. Scott is a 5-10, 190-pound bolt of lightning capable of stretching defenses like taffy in all directions. And he’s only just begun in his development as a Tiger.

    14. KD Cannon, Baylor

    The 6-0, 175-pounder is more than just a running mate to the other top Baylor targets – he might deserve to be considered among the most talented receivers the program has ever had. A superstar recruit with track star speed, elite leaping ability, he produced right out of the gate by finishing second on the team with 1,030 receiving yards with eight touchdowns on 58 catches, averaging 17.8 yards per grab. While his production tailed off – he managed just 20 catches for a total of 182 yards and no scores over a six-game stretch to close out the regular season – but he dominated Michigan State for 197 yards and two touchdowns on eight grabs. Expect him to be among the nation’s top deep threats.

    13. Duke Williams, Auburn

    The superstar JUCO transfer came in early from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and turned in a big first year, leading the team with 45 catches for 730 yards and five scores despite missing two games. He might not have been as explosive as Sammie Coates, but he made plenty of plays down the field, averaging over 16 yards per catch and doing a good job with the ball in his hands as well as going after the deep passes. At 6-2 and 224 pounds, he has the size, leaping ability and athleticism to go along with the talent and the deep speed to be the top target again. Expect massive numbers with Jeremy Johnson the full-time starting quarterback now.

    12. Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma


    The key part of the receiving corps for the last three years, he made 96 grabs in his first two years before exploding last season. He made 51 catches in 2013 for 603 yards, but last year he made more and more big plays with 970 yards on the same 51 grabs with five touchdowns. Even more impressively, he did all of that in just nine games, missing the back half of the season with a groin injury. At 5-10 and 191 pounds, he has decent enough size to go along with excellent speed and NFL potential, and now he should do even more as a deep threat with more help around him. Really quick, he can be used as a punt returner and can make plays in the open field, but he’s at his best as the No. 1 target. Steady throughout the year, he blew up against Kansas State with 15 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown and nailed TCU with 215 yards on seven carries.

    11. Leonte Carroo, Rutgers

    It’s not like the 6-1, 205-pounder came from out of nowhere, but he went from good to indispensable with a team-leading 55 catches for 1,086 yards and ten scores – the No. 2 receiver caught just 25 passes. He’s a fighter who’ll get after the ball when he gets down the field, averaging close to 20 yards per catch, even though he was the one everyone keyed on stopping. A true home run hitter, he came up with six 100-yard games and often made a huge impact when he got his chances. Rutgers won all three games when he came up with multiple scores, topping out with three touchdown grabs against Tulane, and came up big against Washington State in the opener with a season-high 151 yards on six catches. The goal will be to spread out the workload more, but it all starts with him.

    10. JuJu Smith, USC


    One star receiver leaves for the NFL, and another prepares to take his place. Smith left few doubts during his smashing rookie debut that he’ll be the next elite pass-catcher at Troy, supplanting NFL-bound Nelson Agholor. Just a few months removed from high school, Smith was second on the team with 54 receptions for 724 yards and five touchdowns. He’s an imposing 6-2, 210-pounder, whose long arms and acrobatic grabs make it distinctly harder for opposing defenders to keep the ball out of his large mitts.

    9. D.J. Foster, Arizona State

    Foster can do a little bit of everything for the Sun Devil attack, which is exactly what his role will be in 2015. The senior is a running back by trade. But his soft hands combined with the emergence of sophomore Demario Richard has enticed the staff to audition its best weapon at wide receiver. Regardless of where Foster lines up, he’ll touch the ball plenty in 2015. The dynamic 5-11, 205-pound homerun hitter rushed for 1,000 yards, caught 62 passes and scored a team-high 12 times last year. If someone wants to be anointed the most versatile weapon in college football, he might have to go through Foster first.

    8. Cayleb Jones, Arizona

    Jones’ debut as a Wildcat was a memorable one. The Texas transfer quickly emerged as Anu Solomon’s favorite target, catching a team-high 73 passes for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns to earn honorable mention All-Pac-12. At 6-3 and 215 pounds, Jones is tough to defend, especially since his vertical ability can make DBs feel even smaller. Now that he’s been on campus for two years, and developed chemistry with Solomon, Jones is poised to be one of the Pac-12’s most lethal wideouts of 2015.

    7. Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M

    Just an okay recruit by A&M’s ridiculously high standards for wide receiver prospects, Reynolds came in from junior college and turned into the team’s top target in a crowded group. At 6-4 and 190 pounds he has excellent size to go along with the right deep speed and fluid route running ability. A pure scorer – if there is such a thing as a wide receiver – he knows how to make things happen to get into the end zone, coming up with 13 touchdowns on 52 catches for a team-high 842 yards. While he was consistent and steady, he came up with 125 yards – his only 100-yard game of the year – on five catches with two scores against Missouri. There might be other Aggie receivers with a bit more raw talent, but Reynolds will still be the top option.

    6. Josh Doctson, TCU

    The 6-3, 195-pounder can jump out of the stadium, has the deep speed to make big things happen, and he has become the reliable No. 1 target for Trevone Boykin. With 65 catches for a team-record 1,018 yards and 11 scores, he blew up in the new offense after making just 36 grabs for 440 yards the year before. Unstoppable at times, he caught seven passes for 225 yards and two scores against Oklahoma State, and he blew up late in the regular season with 16 catches for 266 yards and two scores against Texas and Iowa State. Now he’s a veteran main man for an experienced group of receivers. Expect even more.

    5. Tyler Boyd, Pittsburgh

    Even in an offense that leans so heavily on the running game, Boyd’s next-level set of skills were once again impossible to miss. After a smashing debut in 2013, he took his game up a notch in 2014, earning First Team All-ACC with 78 receptions for 1,261 yards and eight touchdowns. The 6-2, 190-pound Boyd is an ultra-consistent performer, with one of the best work ethics on the team. Plus, his advanced hand-eye coordination allows him to make difficult grabs look easy, effortlessly plucking the ball out of the air. It’ll be an upset if he remains on campus beyond the 2015 campaign, though he’ll miss the opener following a DUI arrest in June.

    4. Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

    The all-star do-it-all playmaker led the team with 69 catches for 1,136 yards and nine scores, averaging 16.5 yards per catch, ran for 200 yards and two scores, and served as the primary punt returner at times. With good size, the 5-11, 208-pounder is built like a running back, but he’s lightning quick and does big things whenever he has the ball in his hands. He destroyed Tennessee for 233 yards and two scores on 11 catches, and had a ten-grab day against Vanderbilt, and now there’s no question he’s the No. 1 target. The coaching staff will keep on inventing ways to get the ball in his hands.

    3. Nelson Spruce, Colorado


    Spruce’s decision to remain in school for his senior year is the best thing to happen to Colorado so far this offseason. The 6-1, 195-pound Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and team MVP shattered all kinds of Buffalo records in 2014, catching a Pac-12-high 106 passes for 1,198 yards and 12 touchdowns. Spruce is the kind of polished receiver who makes his quarterback better by running tight routes, securing anything within his catch-radius and knowing where the markers are at all times. Even though defenders know he’s the target, he’ll still be up around 100 receptions again this year.

    2. Corey Coleman, Baylor

    Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood came into last season as the team’s top receiving stars, but Coleman was the one who took over and became the main man with a team-leading 64 catches for 1,119 yards and 11 scores, despite missing the first three games with a hamstring injury. Also used as a kick returner and a runner, he’s dangerous no matter how he gets the ball in his hands, with a touchdown run against Oklahoma to go along with 15 catches for 224 yards and a score. Steady, explosive, and devastating on the inside, he looks the part of a No. 1 target. One of the team’s best athletes on a team full of athletes, he has sub 4.4 speed in a 5-11, 190-pound frame, with the ability to jump out of the stadium.

    1. Will Fuller, Notre Dame

    Where did that come from? The 6-0, 180-pound Fuller didn’t do much as a freshman, making six catches for 160 yards and a score, but he blew up last season as a steady scorer and all-around top target with 76 grabs for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns. He didn’t get into the end zone against Stanford or USC, but he had at least one touchdown in every game, with three against Northwestern and two against both Syracuse and North Carolina. He was a good recruit, but not an elite one. However, he has quickly figured out how to produce at a high level as the key part of the fantastic receiving corps.

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