Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

It is a widely known theory in fantasy football that wide receivers, for whatever the reasons, tend to “breakout”  in their third NFL season.  With that in mind, let’s examine some third-year wide receivers that could be worth consideration on fantasy football draft day.

ELITE STATUS

DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles – Jackson’s arrival actually may have come in 2009, when he posted 62 receptions for 1,156 yards and nine touchdowns along with two punt return touchdowns.  His yards per-catch from last season (18.6) will be hard to repeat, but it’s easy to predict a slight bump in Jackson’s reception total in 2010 with Kevin Kolb taking over under center for the Eagles.  Jackson is a legit low-end WR1 in fantasy football leagues.

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Missed one of the preseason games this past week? Don’t worry about it. Instead take a look at our Preseason Week 1 Game-By-Game Recap in which we breakdown some of the best and worst performances in the NFL. Also, use this article to get a gauge on how some of the position battles are shaping up around the league.

New England Patriots 27 vs. New Orleans Saints 24

- Drew Brees was 9-for-13 for 55 yards, including a 20-play, 86-yard drive that lasted just over 10 minutes. That drive ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Reggie Bush.

- Tom Brady competed in the Patriots’ first two drives, going 5-for-8 for 67 yards.

- Wes Welker did not play, but is expected to suit up in the season opener. In his absence, Julian Edelman posted six catches for 90 yards. Edelman’s fantasy football value diminishes incredibly when Welker returns.

- Laurence Maroney, who at this time stands atop the Patriots’ running back depth chart, punched in two goaline scores.

- With Lynell Hamilton gone for the season, Pierre Thomas stepped in and rushed eight times for 27 yards and caught four passes for 26 yards.

- Robert Meacham didn’t play in the game, but he recently came off the PUP list.

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In 2002, the Oakland Raiders went 11-5, which was tied for the best record in the AFC, and represented that conference in the Super Bowl, which they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the seven seasons since, however, they have gone 29-83 (.349 winning percentage).

Though the team has had a series of coaches over the past seven seasons, a pair of constants has been in place for the Raiders – 1) horrific drafting (with the exception of Nnamdi Asomugha); and 2) the Crypt Keeper (Al Davis) is calling the shots. Just take a look at the players Oakland has selected in the first round from 2000 on. 2000 - Kicker Sebastian Janikowski (17th overall); 2001 - safety Derrick Gibson (28th overall); 2002 - cornerback Phillip Buchanon (17th overall) and linebacker Napoleon Harris (23rd overall); 2003 - cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (31st overall) and defensive end Tyler Brayton (32nd overall); 2004 – tackle Robert Gallery (second overall), 2005 – cornerback Fabian Washington (23rd overall); 2006 – safety Michael Huff (seventh overall), 2007 – quarterback JaMarcus Russell (first overall); 2008 – running back Darren McFadden (fourth overall); 2009 – wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (seventh overall).

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So the long-awaited 2010 NFL Draft is now over, and it’s time to figure out where the 2010 rookies factor into their respective teams. Besides how the particular rookies will do, it’s also important to see how their additions will impact the veterans. In this article, I’ll take a look at the major impact draft picks on each team and give an assessment on how it will affect that team from a fantasy football standpoint.

AFC East

New England Patriots

The pick that really stands out to me that the New England Patriots made was tight end Rob Gronkowski in the second round. Ben Watson has never really been up to snuff as a suitable weapon for Tom Brady. With Gronkowski in the picture now, I see him having fantasy relevance as a TE2 right off the bat. With Wes Welker out until possibly Thanksgiving, the door is wide open for Gronkowski to be a steady receiving option for Brady. Selecting three defenders in the first four rounds, including first-round pick cornerback Devin McCourty, could eventually propel the Patriots’ defense back to a level it was once at in the future years. The 2010 season might be a little too soon, though, to see this defense back at that level.

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So the long-awaited 2010 NFL Draft is now over, and it’s time to figure out where the 2010 rookies factor into their respective teams. Besides how the particular rookies will do, it’s also important to see how their additions will impact the veterans. In this article, I’ll take a look at the major impact draft picks on each team and give an assessment on how it will affect that team from a fantasy football standpoint.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

How bout them Cowboys? They did it again, acquiring a player with some baggage. Dez Bryant was one of the top wide receivers in this year’s draft and Jerry Jones made sure he got him on his squad. The addition of Bryant definitely doesn’t hurt Tony Romo’s fantasy football value, nor does it hurt Miles Austin. 2009 was such a breakthrough season for Austin, he will continue to be Romo’s top target. I wouldn’t be too worried about Jason Witten either, but this does hurt the already-falling Roy Williams. It also doesn’t help Patrick Crayton, who was already a borderline fantasy impact player. 

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We’ll get to more stats-driven and focused columns soon, but today, let’s riff.

- If the Rams sign Brian Westbrook he would be the perfect complement to Steven Jackson in St. Louis. He’d certainly be worthy of a selection in the later middle rounds of fantasy football drafts as well.

- I’ll go ahead and give Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland the benefit of the doubt for asking wide receiver Dez Bryant if his mother was a whore. Ireland was probably lonely.

- It’s official. With the impending release of JaMarcus Russell, he is now the biggest (both figuratively and literally) bust in the history of professional football, overtaking the former undisputed No. 1 in that category, Ryan Leaf.

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It’s your 2010 fantasy football draft and you landed yourself the first pick You know, the pick most fantasy die-hards hope to get every August. Who’s it going to be, Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson? Hopefully this article will help you make a decision if you do land that first pick. 

First, let’s narrow it down to how it has to be AP or CJ with the first pick. The next two best running backs are arguably Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew. While both of these backs are definite first-rounders and will go in the top 5 of most drafts, they don’t quite match up to the standards of Peterson and Johnson. You could make a bigger case for Rice than Jones-Drew, however I still think it’s a mistake to take Rice with one of the first two picks. 

Secondly, despite the increased relevance of the passing game in the NFL now, you’d still be wasting the first overall pick in a standard scoring draft if you took a quarterback or a wide receiver first. While drafting running backs early isn’t as much of a necessity as they once were in recent years, there are still an elite group of 7-8 RBs that you need to grab if you pick in one of those spots – Peterson, Johnson, Rice, MJD, Michael Turner, Frank Gore, Steven Jackson and perhaps Rashard Mendenhall. If you opted to take a QB or a WR before Mendenhall, I don’t think anybody would blame you.

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Instead of a straightforward, stats-driven column, I’m going to veer off the path a bit today and just give you some thoughts broken-up into blurbs. A little less formal, but a little more fun (I hope).

- Not only will I not be drafting Ben Roethlisberger on any of my fantasy football teams this season (nor have I ever, actually) due to his probable suspension, but also because he’s only been good enough to help fantasy teams when the year ends in an odd number – 2007, 2009. In 2006 he threw 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions; in 2008 he threw 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. That’s opposed to ’07 and ’09 when he combined for 58 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Maybe the trend won’t hold, but Big Ben also lost his best playmaker, Santonio Holmes, and I’m simply not going to take that chance.

- Look-alikes: Rams GM Billy Devaney and actor Dylan Baker (Spider-Man 2 & 3, Road to Perdition, The Hunting Party, Revolutionary Road, etc.).

- Brandon Marshall’s fantasy value clearly takes a bit of a hit with his move to Miami. The Dolphins are an unabashedly run-first team, with two good runners in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, and an inexperienced quarterback in Chad Henne. Marshall will get to 1,000 receiving yards for a fourth straight season, but his run of three consecutive years with 100 catches will come to an end, and he won’t score double-figure touchdowns again.

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The AFC South again figures to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts went to the Super Bowl last year and are stacked again this season. Both the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans finished with records of .500 or better and both teams are thinking playoffs for the 2010 season. That leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars, who finished 7-9 last season. The Jaguars have some nice pieces in place but face an uphill battle to earning a winning record and a playoff spot. Each team has a few key questions when looking towards the upcoming season so let’s take a look at what those are.

Indianapolis Colts

1. How will a healthy Anthony Gonzalez fit into the picture at wide receiver?

Indianapolis receiver Anthony Gonzalez appeared to be set up for a breakout season last year, only to be hurt in the first quarter of the first game and miss the entire season. The Colts were lucky that youngsters Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon were able to step up and play so well last year, but that also presents a conundrum for Indianapolis. Gonzalez was thought to be the clear-cut No. 2 receiver behind Reggie Wayne, but now it is not so clear. He will probably start the season as the team’s No. 2 guy but what if he struggles when the season starts? On the other hand, if Gonzalez is able to stay healthy and play well, then he will take some touches away from Collie and Garcon, and that could stunt their growth. If anybody can figure out how to maneuver through that situation it is Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

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