Which receiver would you rather have on your fantasy roster in 2013 - Greg Jennings or Mike Wallace?
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- Michael Fabiano NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Wallace gets the slight edge
I'm all about upside, and Wallace gets the edge because of his age - and the fact that he still has some room under his statistical ceiling is appealing. But at the end of the day, value at the wide receiver position has much to do with who is throwing you the football - just ask Larry Fitzgerald. If Wallace signs with the New England Patriots, for example, he's a lock to be valued more than Jennings because of Tom Brady. At this point, both have No. 2 fantasy wideout value if a draft were held now.
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- Marcas Grant NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Wallace's speed gives him advantage
I thought on this one for awhile but after some thought, I'm leaning toward Wallace. Jennings' age combined with him missing 11 games in the past two seasons due to injury gives me cause of concern. Not to mention that Wallace's gamebreaking speed is a dynamic Jennings doesn't offer. It manifested itself last season in eight touchdowns for Wallace. Things could change slightly depending on where each receiver lands, but in a vacuum, I'm going with Mike Wallace.
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- Jason Smith NFL.com Fantasy Analyst
Jennings is a No. 2 WR at best
Wallace is great at getting behind the defense, but he doesn't dominate games. Check this out - in the eight games in 2012 where he failed to score a touchdown, he had a total of 30.4 fantasy points. That means for half of your fantasy season he gave you less than four points per game. Jennings has his drawbacks as well. His last dominant fantasy season was in 2010, and he'll be 30 years old in September. For me it all depends on where Wallace signs. If he lands on a team that has a QB who keeps plays alive with their athletic ability, like Seattle? It's still a risk, but I'd rather have him because of his potential for big numbers. But if he winds up on a team that makes me skittish? I'll take someone else as my No. 1 WR and get Jennings as my No. 2.
There is one thing which really concerns me about Greg Jennings; his former coach Joe Philbin said he's not interested in his former receiver. And while this could be free-agent posturing, we saw something similar with Matt Flynn last year when most assumed he would end up in Miami. So this shocking vote of "no confidence" has me concerned. Well, that along with the injury history and the eyes on Hollywood. So I would go with Mike Wallace. Obviously we don't know where he's going to play next season, but Wallace is the kind of player who can walk into seemingly any situation in the NFL and contribute.
Right now I would be avoiding both. Someone in my league - Jason Smith - is going to overpay for them and I don't want to spend a pick in the high rounds acquiring question marks. That said, if you forced me to choose, which NFL.com Fantasy Editor Marcas Grant does on a regular basis, I would say Jennings at this stage. He has better hands, is more versatile, and will probably end up being the clear number one in Miami. My concern is how many touchdowns will he score in Miami? Five ... maybe seven if you're really lucky? So for me, I already know there's a strong possibility I won't be ready to go all in on him when the other guys in my league will.
