Fantasy Impact: Steve Smith

August 6, 2008 at 7:05 am | Article by Paul Hickey |

Fantasy Impact: Steve Smith Ever since his phenomenal breakout season in 2005, in which he racked up 103 catches for 1,563 yards and 12 TDs, something has held Steve Smith back from returning to that level. In 2006, it was nagging injuries that caused him to miss a couple games. In 2007, it was an early injury to signal caller Jake Delhomme that contributed to his slip in production. Entering, 2008, Smith has entered a whole new realm of issues - but will he bounce back?

Last Friday, Smith came to blows with teammate Ken Lucas while on the sideline at practice. Smith broke Lucas’ nose and had to be escorted from the facility. To make a long story short, he’ll miss the first two games of the 2008 regular season for his actions - but that’s only what’s on the surface. Seasonal owners know the damage - they need to replace Smith for two games - but dynasty and keeper owners could have a whole different problem on their hands.

Will Smith act out again? Or, will he adhere to a “zero-tolerance policy” that the organization could slap him with? Or, worse yet, what will happen if he breaks the zero tolerance policy? Will they cut him? Trade rumors have already started. The NFL is a relentless league these days. We’ve seen former MVPs get released, and legendary QBs not welcomed back by their teams. Star WRs, like Terrell Owens, have been dumped before, so we have every reason to believe Smith is on a tight leash.

Also, our sources have confirmed that this is not surprising with regards to Smith’s explosively dangerous personality. He’s intense on the field, and even more intense off the field. Basically, he’s a loose cannon.

So, how do we analyze the 28 year old’s fantasy value moving forward? Well, seasonal owners should still consider him a WR1, despite the suspension. D.J. Hackett, Muhsin Muhammad and even Dwayne Jarrett will be worth watching in Weeks 1 and 2 of the season. When Smith returns, he should be inserted into all starting line-ups. However, when looking at his dynasty and keeper value, there is a little bit of cause for concern now that we know this about his personality.

I’m not saying trade him, but I am saying don’t take him for granted and simply expect him to return to his 2005 form year after year. Obviously, there’s a pattern here with this player and at this moment in time, he is not representing himself as a key cog to a fantasy championship team.

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