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WR Wes Welker, New England Patriots

HT: 5-9, WT: 190, Born: 5-1-1981, College: Texas Tech, Drafted: ---

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Welker saw nine total targets as well, hauling in six of them for 61 total yards and the game's first touchdown. On a third and eight from the Jets' 11 yard line, Welker caught a 5 yard hook pass and did the rest by foot, racking up seven hard fought yards to find the end zone. He seemed to be always open and Brady did not hesitate to look his way early and often.

Week 2 - The clear second choice in the passing game, Welker caught eight passes for 91 yards and gained six more yards on a reverse. His quickness was too much for the San Diego cornerbacks.

Week 3 - Welker caught several balls over the middle and helped to spark the Patriots after some early team struggles.

On his longest reception of the day, he lateraled the ball to WR Randy Moss as he was going down which resulted in an additional eleven yards on the play. That type of heads-up play is going to make him a favorite of the coaching staff, his quarterback, and the fans.

Week 4 - Welker only had three catches for 22 yards in the first half but, was the most targeted New England receiver in the half getting six balls thrown his way. Welker showed his versatility by having a 27 yard run on a reverse to start the second half. That would be the only time Welker would touch the ball in the second half, as he saw no passes thrown his way in the second half.

Week 5 - Welker caught four passes 19 yards, and also returned two kickoffs for 51 yards.

Week 6 - Welker was targeted a game high 17 times and had a breakout game. Welker established new career highs with 11 receptions, 124 yards, and two touchdowns. Welker did fumble twice, but recovered the first one himself. The second one went out of bounds and New England retained possession.

Welker averaged 12 yards on three punt returns including a hard charging 18 yard return where he ran with his pads low to the ground and broke tackles. The return set up the Patriots in Dallas territory and led to a field goal.

Week 7 - Welker had another big game for the Patriots. He continued to work mostly over the middle on slant and in routes but with the attention paid to WR Randy Moss he is easily able to create separation and make big plays for his team.

Week 8 - Welker had another great game, taking advantage of short underneath routes that the Redskins cover two opened up. He was first on the team in both receptions, yardage, and touchdowns..

Week 9 - Welker totaled five receptions for 38 yards, including a three yard touchdown in the passing game and also made nice contributions on special teams in the return game. He continued to be a reliable option for both Brady and fantasy owners.

Week 11 - Welker took an end around handoff for only three yards but dodged a tackle in the backfield that prevented the play from being a loss. Late in the third quarter, with his team up big, Welker did not let up. He broke a few tackles and ran hard on a 24 yard screen pass from QB Tom Brady.

Week 12 - Welker's big night was his third 100 yard receiving game of the year and his 13 catches is a career high. His longest reception of the game came in the third quarter when he took a wide receiver screen 42 yards down to the Philadelphia four yard line. He was Tom Brady's go to guy in crunch time as caught three passes for 39 yards on New England's go ahead drive. Welker was targeted once in the end zone on that drive, but the pass fell incomplete.

Week 13 - Welker had a tough night, unable to get much done. The Ravens defended him well, only allowing him to catch three of the ten targets he received. On top of that, he only gained 18 yards on those three catches.

Week 14 - Welker was quiet for the first half of the game -- reeling in only one reception on three targets. Once the third quarter started, however, Welker was unstoppable. He caught eight passes in the second half including an incredible five receptions on consecutive plays. He did have one drop early in the game.

Tom Brady often hit Welker often over the middle on quick passes up the seam to exploit the Steelers blitz packages.

Week 15 - With the running game taking firm hold for all four quarters, Welker was only able to see five looks come his way as he brought in three balls for 30 yards. He also added one rush for a negative gain.

Week 16 - Welker was again a favorite target of WR Tom Brady but Patriots' average play overall left the clutch wide receiver with just average numbers on the day.

Week 17 - Wes Welker caught a workmanlike 11 passes for 122 yards, most of which were on short passes that Welker was able to take for nice gains. Tom Brady has the utmost confidence in Welker, as the pair play the game like they've been doing it together for years. His precise route running and flawless hands make for a perfect compliment to the big play ability of Randy Moss.

Week 19 - Welker was the featured receiver in the second half, when seven of his targets were directed to him. Welker was used exclusively on short routes, and as a result averaged six yards per reception. He did show very good running in traffic skills, including a reverse he ran for a first down. He also had what might have been a costly drop late in the game but it wound up not hurting the team.

Week 20 - Once again, Welker quietly went about his business of getting open underneath and piling up receptions. He seems to be to this Patriots team what Troy Brown was to the Super Bowl winners of recent years. That is, the player who may not put up the flashiest stats in the game but still the guy who will get open and make the key plays when they need to be made. In this game, that key play was a touchdown grab to put the Patriots up by two scores for the first time all game. He got wide open near the end zone and Brady found him for the six yard score to put the game out of reach.

Week 21 - Welker was targeted 14 times on the night, catching an amazing 11 of those targets. He showed great hands and ran great underneath routes the entire game. He was the only receiver to gain over 100 yards on the night and tied an NFL record with 11 receptions. Six of the 11 catches he had were for first downs.