Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Miles Austin only had five catches for 81 yards and one touchdown through the first quarter of the 2009 NFL season. Needless to say, he broke out in a big way after that. And this wasn’t just some normal, minimum-security prison type of breakout. No, this was an Alcatraz in the 1950’s type of breakout for Austin (which also calls into question why the Dallas coaching staff had not been using him more; hello, Jason Garrett?). After his middling start, Austin went on to haul in 81 receptions for 1,320 yards (third-most in the NFL) and 11 touchdowns (tied for fourth-most in the NFL). Not bad for what amounted to three-fourths of a season.

Since the Roy Williams experiment looks like an utter failure, the Cowboys went ahead and drafted themselves a big, fast wide out with a pimp for a daddy (allegedly) in Dez Bryant. The 6-foot-2, 225 lb. Bryant was the 24th pick in the draft, and he’s already turning heads deep in the heart o’ Texas. According to ESPN Dallas, head coach Wade Phillips loved what he saw, remarking that “You don’t get to be around that many players that come in and look that good that early. ... He’s pretty natural, got great body control, great hands, quickness, power and speed.”

Bryant being there is a good thing for Austin, and even the presence of Williams won’t hurt, because he does have some talent and can be a presence at times. But, the more weapons the Cowboys have, the less attention opposing defenses can pay to Austin. And pay attention they will, considering the damage he did last season. But, the schedule also plays into Austin’s advantage. Nine times he and the ‘Boys will face a team that was in the bottom half of the league last season, with four of those games coming against squads that were 26th or worse. True, those teams could improve, but a drastic shift from bad pass defense to quality pass defense usually doesn’t happen in just one off-season.

All of which makes Austin a very solid WR1 for any fantasy team in the 2010 season. And though Bryant’s presence should be beneficial to Austin, don’t worry about Bryant coming in and taking catches away from him, as it’s rare that rookie wide outs make too much of an impact statistically. In all, look for Austin to be one of the first five wide outs taken in fantasy drafts this summer, somewhere about the third round.

 
Have an opinion on Miles Austin’ prospects for 2010? If so, let us know!

To see more Crystal Balls predictions go here… 2010 Fantasy Football Crystal Balls

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