Walker In Jeopardy - We Love Maroney…
June 17, 2008 at 4:12 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |
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| By now, you’ve heard what happened to Oakland Raiders WR Javon Walker, one of the NFL’s highest paid pass catchers. Walker and his fantasy owners had high hopes for a comeback season after an injury-riddled 2007 campaign in Denver. QB JaMarcus Russell was reportedly developing solid chemistry with him, and even though head coach Lane Kiffin was concerned about his conditioning, he was all be guaranteed a starting role heading into 2008. Now, he must fight back from an orbital fracture, and a bruised ego. Will he be able to comeback to the field, like former Seahawks FS Ken Hamlin did after a similar incident at a nightclub? Or, will he be done for the season?
Falling - Javon Walker, Raiders WR - The questions above represent Walker’s ever plummeting fantasy value. Even if he returns to full health in 2008 - which is extremely far-fetched - he still plays for the Oakland Raiders, and is on the wrong side of 30. There’s not much left to salvage of his dynasty value, and seasonal owners should simply look the other way.
Rising - Ronald Curry, Raiders WR - A week ago, Curry returned to practice after suffering a foot injury last season. He’s been the lone mainstay on Oakland’s receiving corps for the past four seasons, and is a very solid possession guy. With Walker likely out, Curry could now sneak back into the starting line-up, and be good for upwards of 60 catches.
Rising - Drew Carter, Raiders WR - Another Oakland pass catcher who definitely could see a rise in fantasy value based on Walker’s injury is fifth year man Drew Carter. The 6′3″, 200 lb. athlete had been Carolina’s third and fourth WR his entire career, never really having the opportunity to earn a starting role. However, when he did fill in for injured starters, he seized the opportunity, as seen in his Week 11 five catch, 132 yard, one TD performance in place of the injured Steve Smith. He’s a deep sleeper WR3, but now definitely worth watching.
Rising - Derek Hagan, Dolphins WR - We haven’t really been true believers, until now. Third year WR Derek Hagan, a 23 year old 6′3″ product from Arizona State, is apparently impressing everyone in Miami Dolphins practices, including head coach Tony Sparano and WRs coach Karl Dorrell. It should be noted that Dorrell is not the WRs coach who stated that Hagan needed to “get married” before he’d improve on the field. That regime has since been cleared out. Even though the Dolphins will be starting an unestablished signal caller in 2008, and don’t seem likely to pass the rock too much, Hagan has a great chance to start opposite Ted Ginn, and thus will see a rise in fantasy value. Dynasty owners may want to try and get something decent for him while there’s a little buzz going.
Falling - Jimmy Williams, Free Agent DB - We were looking at 2007 second round draft pick Jimmy Williams as a potential IDP deep sleeper in 2008 for the Atlanta Falcons, but the dirty birds cut ties with him this week. Given the fact that a high pick was spent on him, it was a bit of a shocking move. While he may land with another team, he’s lost all trust from fantasy owners and has no value at this point.
Rising - Adrian Peterson, Vikings RB - How can our number one overall player be a rising star, you ask? Well, AP recently told media that he really wants more receptions in 2008. What AP wants, AP gets, so expect to see even more production from this stallion in 2008. By the way, in case you haven’t read, No-Offseason.com officially endorses Peterson as the number one overall pick in all league formats.
Rising - Reggie Bush, Saints RB - We’ve always been big fans of Bush and his fantasy potential, but we definitely lost a little faith in him towards the end of last season when he missed the final four games with a knee injury. What we’ve seen from him this off-season though is a completely re-focused, re-dedicated man, with something to prove to himself. Expect Bush to be scary good in points per reception leagues, as a legitimate second round pick in seasonal formats. He plays for one of the league’s most high powered offensive attacks, which makes him a great dynasty player as well. After a bit of a slump, his value is back on the rise.
Rising - Laurence Maroney, Patriots RB - The Patriots 22 year old RB had six TDs during the final seven weeks of the 2007 regular season, as well as three TDs in three playoff games, meaning he finished with a total of 586 rushing yards and nine TDs during his final 10 games. Entering 2008, he’s expected to see the full rushing load in Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick’s offense, ahem, excuse me, Tom Brady’s offense. Maroney has earned the trust of coaches and teammates and is starting to run with a ton of confidence. He’s reminding us of his former Minnesota teammate Marion Barber, and even though he’s falling into the third and fourth round of some mocks, he should be considered a player with first round potential. For the record, we love Laurence Maroney, and consider him a huge potential difference maker in fantasy football in 2008. If you’re not convinced yet, consider the fact that he’s the featured back for the best team - let alone offense - in the NFL, and his best days are ahead of him.
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