NFL Free Agency: Collateral Effects
March 12, 2009 at 1:11 am | Article by Paul Hickey |
Print This Page
| 
As the NFL Free Agency period continues, more and more names continue to end up in new places, not only affecting their own fantasy value, but also that of players they join, or leave behind in previous stops. We call these collateral effects - and it’s important you take them very seriously.
Rising - Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks QB - The 33 year old signal caller has plenty of weapons around him after T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a long term deal. Even though Jim Mora loves to pound the rock on the ground, expect Hass to spread out the offense and hit Housh, Deion Branch and John Carlson for close to 4,000 yard total if he stays healthy.
Rising - Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs WR (pictured) - The 6′2″, 221 lb. 24 year old racked up 86 catches for 1,022 yards and seven TDs with Tyler Thigpen tossing him the rock in 2008. Imagine his stat line as Matt Cassel throws him the ball in Tod Haley’s super powered offense. The third year man from LSU is a wanted commodity in 2009, as he should enter legit fantasy WR1 status.
Rising - Matt Cassel, Chiefs QB - Recent word out of Kansas City is that new head coach Todd Haley won’t simply hand 26 year old signal caller Matt Cassel the starting gig. Come on. Really? That’s not fooling anyone. The 6′4″, 230 lb. Cassel will absolutely start in 2009, and should blossom in the Chiefs’ spread attack after finishing with just less than 3,700 yards, 21 passsing TDs and two rushing TDs in 2008.
Rising - Fred Taylor, Patriots RB - The 34 year old was released by the Jaguars and added by the Patriots - the only team who could potentially save his fantasy value. Older backs like Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Corey Dillon and LaMont Jordan have all enjoyed at least some success in New England in recent years, and Taylor will get the same opportunity. He’s an interesting seasonal deep sleeper.
Rising - Martin Rucker, Browns TE - After trading Kellen Winslow, the Browns have three solid players competing for their starting TE role. Steve Heiden, newly acquired Robert Royal, and second year former fourth rounder Martin Rucker - a pass catching specialist - are all in the running to replace Winslow. Rucker is the flashiest guy, and the one that dynasty owners should monitor closest.
Rising - Laveranues Coles, Browns WR - The 31 year old signed a deal to become Cincy’s number two receiver opposite Chad Johnson, and despite slowing down the past couple of seasons, we believe he has another good one left in the tank. If both he and Carson Palmer are healthy, Coles could definitely fill the shoes of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and be a solid WR3 in points per reception leagues.
Rising - Derrick Ward, Buccaneers RB - Although there are mixed feelings about it on our forums, we absolutely love this landing spot for soon-to-be 29 year old Derrick Ward. A year and a half from now, he’s not going to be the typical 30 year old RB, due to the fact that he currently only has 342 career carries. He is by far the most talented and dynamic back on the Buccaneers’ roster, and will likely start over Earnest Graham. The concern is that Graham will see the goal line carries, but in PPR leagues, Ward should be a monster, as 50 catches isn’t out of reach in Tampa’s scheme. We expect Ward to rush for 1,000 yards for a second straight season as well, making him a legit RB3/flex option in 2009.
Falling - Earnest Graham, Buccaneers RB - A few weeks after things were looking up for Graham’s fantasy value, the Bucs signed Derrick Ward to be their lead back in 2009. Graham will still play, but will only see about 30-40 percent of the workload, rather than the 80-90 percent he’s seen over the last two seasons.
Related posts
Loading ...
