Once all those starting receivers are taken, you are faced with a daunting task. After the first 36 or so receivers are gone, there is still a pool of about 150 more receivers you can draw from. Last season there were 188 wideouts that had at least one catch in a game. Rankings help make sense of those final 100+ players but the very nature of rankings do not address some realities that you should. Most rankings are merely spit out as the fantasy point value of what someone thinks the most likely production will be from a player but that by itself is already fraught with problems. How likely? 90%? 25%? What is the risk? What is the upside?

A further complication comes after you secure those starters. Does it make sense to continue to draft using the "most likely production" scenario or are there other factors that you should be considering? Remember - receivers are unlike most any other fantasy position. Most leagues never exceed 32 QB's drafted, so you can go by strict rankings and be fine - heck, you never got past the starting QB's anyway. Considering the sharing situations with RB's, there's maybe 40 and at most 50 running backs out there that you could truly consider starters. By the time you reach Tier 5 for RB's, about all you are hoping for is someone to get injured and your guy get the shot.

But receivers, ah yes, those always dynamic wideouts that develop in and out of a starting job. Figure with every team using three receiver sets at least occasionally, there are 96 starting receivers at any moment. Some teams use four receiver sets. On the right team, the #2 receiver will outperform the #1 of many other teams. And with so many potential fantasy stars in the position, no wonder there is such movement every year.

It is the one position where "sleepers" are most found. Old guys get older and young guys get hot. Mr. Stud Boy gets in the doghouse and suddenly all the passes go to the other side of the field. There is a myriad of reasons why it happens but the beautiful thing is - it always happens. And hopefully, the "Step Up" guy is YOUR player.

The Huddle Tier 5 rankings are the picks that should be made if no other receivers existed because, most likely, this person should deliver better than the rest. However, even the Tier 5 rankings have been tweaked away from those "projected stats generated" rankings to take into account upside and risk. And yet, allow me to let you in on a little secret I hope does not shock you. After projecting over 300 players every summer and then following them all year and after spending 365 days a year since 1997 on the NFL, I can still safely say that I have never followed my own rankings exactly. Never. Ever.

Say what?!? What do I use? I still use mine (puh-leeze) but I certainly do not follow them in order by Tier 5. By the time that I am acquiring depth and back-ups players, I am looking for different characteristics from my receivers. I categorize receivers into three types by this point:

Upsiders - These are "sleepers", the guys I feel have the best chance to turn in the big surprise year, get the starting job mid-season or if things are just right, far exceed the expectations of a Tier 5 receiver. It is probably not MOST likely to happen or they would not be in this tier but they are in a situation with just the right conditions and talents to have that wonderful shot at making me happy and more importantly, making me look smart. These are the guys with the best shot of eventually turning into fantasy starters that might make a difference.

Safe Players - These are the guys that, you know, probably will start and end the season in the same place. The sort of player that never kills you and never really makes a difference. They are safe. Possession receivers that regularly turn in good yardage or #3 receivers for a team that use them enough to warrant starting them for your team. There is no shame in a safe player, it's pretty smart and necessary if you have drafted some riskier players with your starters. If you stocked all your depth with risky upsiders, you might end up with nothing when you need them. It is not unheard of for one of these to turn in a big year but that is not what you are really drafting them for anyway.

Roster Fodder - The players that I consider "fodder" are all the rest. They do not appear to have the upside that warrants them as a good calculated risk and they are not safe plays either. They are Roster Fodder. They are #3 receivers that turn in the occasional big game but not likely when you want need them to do it. They could be #2 receivers on teams that do not like to throw that much anyway. They lack the upside due to talent and/or situation and they are not used consistently enough to be considered safe. There is a reason why most Tier 5 receivers are roster fodder - because there is about 150 of them.

Categorizing the Tier 5 receivers into these three types is more of an art than science but therein lies the fun and excitement of fantasy football. If it were just numbers we could let the computers play each other while we go get a beer. There is art in Tier 5 and if you are using your depth to merely look at the first name not crossed off of your list, you are missing one of the biggest attractions of the draft.

Here is how Tier 5 falls out with the three types of receivers. If you do not agree with how the categories are drawn, that's okay, Make your own. I love this stuff. You should too.

Upsiders

I would like to get maybe one or two of these guys. It's a swing at the fence and probably to fall short but at least a couple will likely surprise. These are the hunch guys I do not want to rely on as starters but would like to take the chance on them.

Safe Players

There is nothing wrong with any of these as backup players. They can even be starters if you have injuries to your lineup but their upside is limited. Their attractive quality is that they should produce something every week. These are not guys I want to rely on but if I had to I would still feel okay while I searched the waiver wire. I want at least one of these and maybe two. Much more and I am limiting myself.

Roster Fodder (worth ranking anyway)

Admittedly, these are not likely choices I want to make.

As events happen in the preseason, some players may switch between any of the three categories for me personally. But going into a draft and looking for backup receivers, this is the basic thought process I carry in for the players. I am looking for one or two safe players with bye weeks I like. I am looking to take at least one flyer on a player and preferably two. And the Roster Fodder? That is the reason I try to wrap up my receivers before I have to reach inside that bucket. I already have kickers and defenses before I want to tread on this ground.

Take a look at the Tier 5 players and try to categorize them in your own way, blending some safety with some upside and you'll be much better off than just crossing off the next open name on your cheatsheet. You might just end up endorsing the back of that championship check instead.