1. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings
Consistency had been a major issue for the former first-round pick in his first couple seasons in the NFL. Not so much in 2012. He is fourth among wide receivers in fantasy points and has not yielded an effort of under eight points through the first six games of the season.
He leads NFL wide receivers with 49 receptions and is seventh in the league with 540 yards. This is a far cry from where ESPN had him ranked at the start of the season. He was ranked 19th overall, which represents bottom feeder WR2 production. Through the first six games of the 2012 season, Harvin is a clear top threat at this position.
2. James Jones, Green Bay Packers
This enigmatic fantasy performer has burst onto the stage the last three weeks, compiling a total of six touchdowns during that span. Despite not being terribly consistent as it relates to receptions and yards in his career, James has always found a way to find the end zone. He now has 27 touchdowns in 80 career games.
What makes James a better fantasy option this season is the fact that he is on pace for a career high in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Look for Aaron Rodgers to continue going in his direction. Before long, Jones could end up being an actual WR2 option this season. Give it a week or two more.
3. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
The single fact that Wayne was able to put up nearly 1,000 yards last season with the likes of Dan Orlovsky and Curtis Painter throwing him the ball should have told us something about his ability to still make an impact.
Despite what seemed to be indicators that Wayne was going to have a stellar season, he was ranked 39th at the wide receiver position by ESPN at the start of the year, behind the likes of Michael Crabtree and Santonio Holmes.
Through the first five games of the season the future Hall of Famer has tallied 41 receptions for nearly 600 yards and two scores. In fact, Wayne is currently on pace for 131 receptions and over 1,900 yards. While those stats are not sustainable, they do go to show us how good he still is.
4. Brian Hartline, Miami Dolphins
Hartline was starting to make an under-the-radar impact last season for Miami. But, it was a 254-yard Week 4 performance that netted the young receiver popularity around the world of fantasy football. The 31.3 fantasy points he put up in that game against the Arizona Cardinals was nothing less than extraordinary.
For those who think Hartline was a one week wonder, that couldn’t be further from the truth. He had another 100-yard receiving game and two more outings with over 50 yards. While Hartline is nowhere near the level of a WR2 option, he could be utilized as a solid FLEX guy. Not too shabby for someone what was a waiver-wire pickup during the season.
5. Andre Roberts, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona has long been looking for a solid second option on the outside opposite Larry FItzgerald. They drafted Michael Floyd in the first round of April’s draft to be just that, but the former Notre Dame standout has been just too inconsistent to be relied on.
Instead, they turned their focus to another young receiver. Roberts has four touchdowns through six games and is on pace to rack up nearly 800 receiving yards this season. Definitely a solid FLEX option moving forward. It just remains to be seen if Arizona’s quarterback situation will hinder him.