Fantasy Fixx
FF Radar
With the 2009 fantasy football still about four and a half months away before the diehards start heating up, continuing with my Fantasy Football Radar watch I'd like to highlight a couple of the receivers that should be on your scopes this coming draft.
The Good Hands People...
The Vikings shook things up a bit in Minneapolis when they traded for the services of quarterback Sage Rosenfels, indicating that the team did not have full confidence in either Gus Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson to be the starter in 2009. Despite all the chatter that Jackson will have the shot at the starting position, the smart bet is Rosenfels. His presence in the pocket and under center should legitimize the Vikings passing game, enough to elevate wideout Bernard Berrian. Last season Berrian caught 48 passes for 964-yards and seven touchdowns with pedestrian play at the QB position at best. Rosenfels is no Brady, but he'll upgrade the position and should elevate the Berian's productive to a solid WR2 level. The Vike's receiver is a shoe-in to catch 60-70 balls next season and with his big play ability (20-yards/catch), he'll easily top 1,000-yards and figures at worst to duplicate his seven scores from a year ago. Owners will need to eye Berrian as a solid mid-round selection.
Another receiver that should benefit greatly from off-season changes is the Chief's wideout Dwayne Bowe. With the recent acquistion of quarterback Matt Cassel to the lineup, Bowe should only improve his 86-catch and 1,000-yards in 2008. New head coach Todd Haley has been noted as saying he believes Bowe is "a work in progress" and it sounds like the new head chief believes Bowe can only get better. Cassel had a breakthrough season in 2008 and is expected to elevate the Chiefs passing attack in 2009 which will be be good news for fantasy owners looking to snag the Chiefs top receiver. Bowe will also benefit from the addition of Bobby Engram, who will likely see a lot of work in the slot position. If Tony Gonzalez remains a Chief in 2009, with the new head coach implementing a heavy passing oriented offense, fantasy owners can expect a big season from Bowe. His numbers in 2009 should fall somewhere in the neighborhood of 90-95 receptions and over 1,200-yards receiving. Gonzalez has been the primary weapon of choice in the red-zone the last couple of seasons, but at 6'2" and 220 pounds Bowe could change all of that this coming season.
(Photo by Jarrett Baker/Getty Images)
The Bills made some big changes in the offseason or at least big noise by signing the modest and quiet wide receiver Terrell Owens. The soft-spoken wideout has never been shy about letting the world know just how good he is and may not waste that much time sharing this with his new team. With T.O. attracting so much attention off the field, he may even draw some extra coverage on it. This could very well help the Bills new "other receiver" Lee Evans. In recent seasons, Evans has been the go-to receiver basically flying with only one wing. Now that he'll have Owens lining up on the other side, the Bills leading receiver in 2008 that has averaged over 1,000-yards receiving the past three seasons could see a spike in his receiving totals from a year ago. Even with little help Evans averaged over 16-yards/catch and finished with over 1,000-yards receiving. He saw his touchdown numbers drop to a career-low total of three in 2008. Owens presence should lend some big help to the Bills big-play receiver who will undoubtedly see more single coverage deep and easily improve on his scoring totals from last season. A lot of folks are going to buy into the T.O. hype and believe he's going to be the man in Rochester, but fantasy owners will need to keep abreast Evans who could be a possible steal, as he will surely fall considerably in many fantasy drafts.
(Photo by Dilip Wanat/Getty Images)
As we continue to stroll out wide, we have to redirect our attention to St.Louis where one of the league’s worst teams will going small on the outside. With the departure of longtime receiver Torry Holt and free agent bust Drew Bennett the Rams young and unproven receiving corp has gotten very small. Inheriting the mantle of go-to-receiver will likely be 5'11" wideout Dennis Avery. The speedy receiver out of the University of Houston had moments of brilliance in first half of the 2008 season, exploding onto the scene in Weeks six through eight catching 14 passes for 291-yards and scoring twice. The rookie receiver then ran into a wall and disappeared at time in the second half struggling to get open and running sloppy routes. The kid is a work in progress, but with Holt gone he'll get a lot of offseason work and could be poised to spring board in 2009. Because of his late struggles, some fantasy owners may overlook the talented speedster and he could be available as a nice late round sleeper with greater reward in the latter half of the 2009 season. Mark your draft boards, Avery could be another steal in the upcoming drafts.
(Photo By Jiim Rogash/Getty Images)
And lastly...Larry Fitzgerald is number oneThe last receiver I will mention in the segment happens to be the undisputed and unanimous number one receiver in all fantasy drafts. If he's not, someone is drinking the wrong kool-aid. The Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald blew up last year down the stretch and well into the post-season. In four playoff games Fitz set a new NFL playoff record catching 30 passes for 546-yards and seven touchdowns in one of the most dominant receiving performances that we have seen in the modern day era. Fitzgerald's impressive run not only elevated to the top spot, but demonstrated just how good this incredible talent really is. With Warner signed and indications that the team could be on its way to resigning Anquan Boldin, expect nothing less than the best from Fitz in 2009!
(Photo By Kevin Terrell/NFL.com)
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