Kelvin Benjamin vs. other top young receivers

Who will be better in 2014, Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina) or second-year wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins (Houston), Justin Hunter (Tennessee), or Terrance Williams (Dallas)? This question - and decision on who you should take in your fantasy drafts - is likely one you will be facing somewhere in the 7th or 8th rounds of drafts (assuming 12 teams). 

The Panthers have completely re-tooled their receiving corps heading into 2013, including Kelvin Benjamin who the team spent 28th pick in the draft to add to the roster. Benjamin no doubt gives Cam Newton a different type of weapon than he’s ever worked with as he towers at 6'5". Benjamin led the ACC last year with 15 receiving touchdowns and ranked tied for 3rd in the nation. 

At last, the Houston Texans finally have added a legitimate talent opposite Andre Johnson. It was a fairly successful rookie season last year for DeAndre Hopkins as he finished with just over 800 yards on 52 receptions. However, Hopkins was super light in the touchdown department hitting paydirt just two times. Hopkins was more effective than Johnson (per pass play Hopkins average about a yard more than Johnson and Hopkins averaged 15.4 yards per catch compared to 12.9 for Johnson).

Justin Hunter didn't get a ton of targets or have many receptions as rookie but he sure did make the most of them. On 18 receptions, Hunter averaged 19.7 yards per catch and scored 4 TDs, a TD every 4.5 receptions. Hunter scored 4 TDs on 18 receptions, compared to Kendall Wright who had just 2 TDs on 94 receptions. In fact, if you also include the 15 receptions Hunter has in pre-season last year and through three games this year, he has scored 8 times on 33 receptions since putting on a Titans' jersey.

It didn't take Terrance Williams long to displace Miles Austin from the starting lineup for the Cowboys, and letting Austin walk from the team. Williams finished his rookie season with a solid 44-catch, 736-yard, 5- TD season. Williams averaged 16.7 yards per catch last season (to 13.3 for Dez Bryant). In 2012, his senior year at Baylor, Williams led the nation with 1,832 receiving yards.

Over at Fantasy Football Warehouse, there is a fun - and free - competition going on, with final picks due August 31st at midnight. It is a series of polls - 30 of them ... I line them up and you knock them down. Think of it is a drafting boot camp, simulating decisions you will be making in your draft. The "Speed Bump Challenge", as it is called, pits NFL stars against one another where you vote on who will be the better fantasy player in 2014. Picking from this set of four receivers is one of the 30 polls included in the Speed Bump Challenge, helping you to put you through your mental paces of fantasy draft preparation.

In total, 123 players are covered in the Speed Bump Challenge, or just over 12 rounds of fantasy action in a typical 12-team league, with 25 quarterbacks, 35 running backs, 55 wide receivers and 8 tight ends. The final probability of getting all 30 polls correct came at an astronomical 1 in 513 Quadrillion, 587 Trillion, 385 Billion, 819 million, 546 thousand - but that's if you randomly guess! Also, each poll includes expert analysis from a guest fantasy football website. If you are curious, Kelvin Benjamin is a big underdog in this poll. Benjamin gets 11% of the vote. The leader is Terrance Williams with 54%, followed by Justin Hunter with 20% and DeAndre Hopkins with 15%.