NFL Fantasy Football: Is it time to think about a receiver with your No. 1 pick?

Is Adrian Peterson a safe choice for your #1 overall pick?

Who do you pick #1 in this year's fantasy draft? Usually there is a clear answer. For years it was LaDanian Tomlinson. Then it was Adrian Peterson. And when he got injured it was Arian Foster. Now though, the answer isn't so clear.

Adrian Peterson is back in consideration, but he hasn't played football for a year and his offensive line is poor. Le'Veon Bell is a stud, but he'll start the season in a tracksuit while he serves a three-game suspension. Marshawyn Lynch is hitting 30 and for the first time has a legitimate red zone touchdown (TD) vulture in Jimmy Graham lining up alongside him. Jamaal Charles is fragile and the Chiefs suddenly have a couple of receivers to throw to.

Eddie Lacy has his own injury concerns, and is fighting for the spotlight and enough touches in the NFL's most stacked offence. Arian Foster is coming off a down year and doesn't have the offensive line he had 4 years ago. Matt Forte isn't going to have another 100 catch season. DeMarco Murray finds himself in a committee and just came off a brutal 18 game, 500 touch season. Next on the list are CJ Anderson and Jeremy Hill, and neither can be justified as a #1 pick.

The receivers provide a good option as first choice picks

So the running back market is as murky as it has ever been. Everyone has a downside, and everyone has their question marks. So why not turn to your receiving options? Antonio Brown, Des Bryant, Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas don't have concerns like that. They're all studs. They're all true #1s who will never come off the field. They'll all most likely go for over 1000 yards and 8 TDs each.

Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, a fantasy gem

Last year, Brown scored more fantasy points than any running back. And if you don't think he can do it again, you're naive. Des Bryant just became the unquestioned single star of the Cowboys offence after DeMarco Murray's departure, and while some believe that will mean a drop in productivity because of added attention, I personally feel it will mean more opportunity; especially in the red zone.

Johnson is as close to a sure thing as it gets production-wise. In an injury-prone, down year for Megatron, the NFL's most dangerous receiver still caught 71 passes for 1,077 yards and 8 touchdowns. Thomas has over 1,400 yards and double digit touchdowns in each of his last three seasons and at 27 years old is still right in the middle of his prime performance window. That's what those in the business call ‘reliability’.

So is it worth considering bucking the trend and picking a wide receiver with the first pick this year? There's certainly some logic to it. You could end up with a bonafide star at wide receiver 1, while still picking up back to back starting running backs like DeMarco Murray, Frank Gore or Lamar Miller at the end of round two. It will take a brave man to do it, but the results could be well worth the risk.