It's My Sports Fantasy

Brandon Marshall

The outlook on Marshall is still somewhat uncertain, as he is now coming to a Miami team who have relied heavily on their rushing attack to move the ball, and are led by Chad Henne, who has not had a ton of experience in the league. However, he is coming off a situation in Denver where Kyle Orton was his quarterback and led by a rookie coach, and still managed to put up his third straight 100 catch season.

On the outer surface, Brandon Marshall may not seem to be in an ideal situation: coming offa surgery, going to a new team with a recent history of running the ball, and paired with a quarterback who is still lacking in the experience department. But when looking at it more closely, the situation is a lot better than initially anticipated.

1. Chad Henne should see drastic improvements going into this season (a large part due to Marshall’s arrival).
2. The surgery is considered minor, and should not impede on any of his potential this season as an elite fantasy receiver.
3. The solid running game should be able to open things up for the passing  game, and could greatly benefit Marshall and his fantasy owners.

All in all, the surgery and the move to Miami should not have Marshall owners worried.  Expectations should still be high, and he should still be targeted as an elite receiver.

yep

Jamaal Charles is looking to repeat his impressive 2009 season

The second half of the season saw Charles breakout and become one of the most explosive backs in the league.  He finished the season with 4 consecutive 100 yard games, including a 154 yard performance, as well as a 259 yard performance to close out the year.  He also scored a total of 9 touchdowns (7 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 return) during the final 8 games of the season.  His 5.9 yards per carry were tied for the best in the league with Felix Jones, and .3 yards better than unanimous number one pick Chris Johnson.   Charles’ amazing finish to the 2009 season jumped him into the discussion as to a potential top ten pick, and possibly top five.

Soon after the season ended, and with Thomas Jones available on the market, the Chiefs snatched him up, and Charles fanatics saw the potential for a huge season take a turn for the worse.  With Thomas Jones in the backfield with Charles, carries will now be split.  Charles should get the majority of the snaps, but the addition of Jones, who finished third in rushing yards in the entire NFL, suddenly saw the Kansas City backfield get a little more crowded.  The fantasy potential of Jamaal Charles seemed to drop dramatically.  Also, on draft day, the Chiefs used their second round pick to take Chris Johnson’s doppelganger, Dexter McCluster, the elusive back out of Ole Miss.  While McCluster shouldn’t factor too much into Charles losing carries, it is still somewhat concerning to see the team use a very important pick on another running back.

So with the new turn of events, Charles’s draft stock seems to have taken a hit.  The addition of Jones continues the trend in the NFL of the use of a two back set.  As it becomes more common, and the value of running backs decrease, players like Charles are tough to guage.

So the question remains, is Jamaal Charles worthy of a top pick?

If you have the first pick in your fantasy football draft, it’s virtually a given who you will take. With Christ (that was a typo, but I’m going to leave it) Johnson’s huge numbers last year, he’s a lock for the top pick. The real fun is going to come with whomever is making the second pick in the draft. There’s always going to be a debate on who the is going to be taken, or who should be taken. At the time of the draft it is hard to say what is right and what is wrong, but there definitely is not a shortage of potential picks that should be considered.

1. Adrian Peterson

AD was the Chris Johnson of 2009; the consensus top pick. He, however, had a very uninspiring season for such a great back. The stats were not awful (1383 yards, 18 touchdowns) but the stat that really jumped out at you was the lack of 100 yard games. We were used to see A-Pete not only rack up 100 yard games, but 200 yard games were not uncommon. However, last year, Peterson went without a 100-yard game in the final 7 games of the regular season, and only had 3 during the year. He also had 7 fumbles (losing 6 of them), which can be a killer during tight fantasy match-ups. Peterson also lost his 3rd down back, Chester Taylor, who helped to take the load off. The biggest question mark, however, may be who will be playing quarterback come September. Brett Favre is pulling his annual yo-yo contest….will he or won’t he? We probably won’t know the answer to that until after training camp, so stay tuned.

Pros: Big play potential, great team, gawdy touchdown numbers, good YAC
Cons: Has a case of fumblitis, lack of 100 yard games in 2009

adrian peterson

2. Steven Jackson

You have to give S-Jax credit…he comes to play every week (if he physically can). On a struggling team, he never threw in the towel, and played in the most games since the 2006 season. Last year, Jackson finished with 1416 yards, but only hit paydirt 4 times on the ground. The lack of touchdowns is something to be concerned about, because touchdowns can make or break your team. However, touchdowns can come and go from year to year, so it shouldn’t be the most disconcerting stat to look at. Another aspect that makes Jackson so valuable is his ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Last year he had 51 catches for 322 yards. With Sam Bradford now in charge of the offense, he may defer to Jackson early on in his career as he is learning the ins and outs of the league, which could lead to huge numbers again.

Pros: Workhorse, focal point of offense, good pass catcher, good YAC
Cons: Injury prone, rookie QB, lack of big play potential

steven jackson

3. Ray Rice

Having to overcome a couple of backs ahead of him, Ray Rice not only accomplished that, but he blew right past them. Rice, one of the most dynamic backs in the league, was one of the top players in fantasy last season, and looks to remain there in 2010. The ground numbers were great (1339 yards and 7 touchdowns), but thats just the tip of the iceberg when talking about Rice. His ability to catch passes out of the backfield has been nothing short of outstanding, and the numbers (78 catches, 702 yards, 1 touchdown) prove it. In PPR leagues, depending on how many points catches will get you, Rice could be knocking on the door of the number one pick in many drafts. The addition of Anquan Boldin should help out the passing game, and could open things up a bit more for Rice.

Pros: Huge receiving numbers, solid all-around back, decent touchdown numbers
Cons: 3 fumbles in final 5 games of regular season, could lose carries to McGahee

ray rice

4. Maurice Jones-Drew

In his first year as the lead dog in the backfield, MJD had a solid 2009 campaign, amassing 1391 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also caught 53 passes for 374 yards and a score from the backfield, further bolstering his bid as a high draft pick. MJD’s low center of gravity makes tackling him such a tremendous feat, and helps him to put up large YAC numbers. On a team that struggles to pass the ball effectively at times, MJD should get a huge number of touches this year again, and could put up impressive numbers.

Pros: Good pass catcher, good YAC, huge touchdown numbers
Cons: Disappeared during a few games last season, underachieving offensive team

maurice jones-drew

So who is number 2?