Fantasyland: Offseason Musings

The Fantasy Football Championship trophy I won this last season FINALLY has arrived, so I guess it’s as good a time as any to start looking ahead to the upcoming season.  (And for the record, I won BOTH of my fantasy leagues last year, but the second one was too lame to work out a trophy.  Might just have to make one myself.  Shameless, I know.)

A few thoughts as I begin my title defense(s).

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ROOKIES I LIKE:

• David Wilson, RB, NY Giants:  Ahmad Bradshaw’s propensity for getting injured should give Wilson plenty of opportunities to shine.  He has elite burst and change-of-direction, yet is strong enough to shed tackles and run between the tackles.  If Tom Coughlin can learn to trust his rookier runner, Wilson could post solid numbers and provide big plays.
• Mohamed Sanu, WR, Cincinatti Bengals:  Sanu is a much more complete receiver than his 3rd round selection would make him appear.  He’s a good route runner with enough size and speed to be an able compliment to last year’s breakout rookie A.J. Green.  With all the attention Green is certain to command, Andy Dalton will gladly keep feeding balls to his new weapon.  Good looking young WR duo moving forward.
• Ryan Broyles, WR, Detroit Lions: If Broyles is fully healed from the ACL injury he suffered last year at Oklahoma, he could play an important role in the Lions offense.  The 4.4 second 40’s he ran just 5 months after the injury suggest he could be ready to provide the explosion the Lions need in the slot.  Try to cover him with a LB or a Safety.  I dare you.

POTENTIAL SLEEPERS:

• Josh Freeman, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Forget about last year’s regression, blame the now-departed coaching staff not him.  Freeman simply has too much talent to fail, and now he’s being surrounded by an exemplary supporting cast.  Rookie RB Doug Martin will compliment LeGarrette Blount in Greg Schiano’s balanced offense.  The addition of Vincent Jackson to the likes of Williams, Benn, and Winslow Jr. will give him plenty of targets.  Expect his TD/INT ratio to be closer to the 25/6 of his 2010 campaign as opposed to 16/22 last season.
• Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: Don’t look now, but the Bengals are putting together a potentially lethal passing game.  The aforementioned A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu, Jermaine Gresham, and new draftees TE Orson Charles and WR Marvin Jones.  Dalton had some growing pains, and his ceiling is limited.  What you see is about what you’re going to get.  But what you get is pretty damn good, his numbers will increase thanks to the new weapons, and he’ll be undervalued on draft day.
• Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens:  Smith showed his big play ability when he scored TD’s on his first 3 catches in a week 3 win over St. Louis.  After that he was inconsistent, but he’ showed enough to think he could be the big-play WR the Ravens need.  Potentially this year’s Mike Wallace.
• David Nelson, WR, Buffalo Bills:  The Bills didn’t do as much as expected to upgrade their offense in the draft.  They added speedy WR T.J. Graham in the 3rd round, but he’s only 5’10” and most analysts thought he a bit of a reach at that spot.  That leaves Nelson as the best candidate to compliment Steve Johnson.  He gives Ryan Fitzpatrick a big (6’5″) target.  He had 61 catches last year, but only 5 TD’s.  The Bills like to use him in the slot, and he could become a more significant red zone threat this year.
• Seattle Seahawks Defense:  Laughing?  Stop.  They finished 4th in fantasy scoring last year, mostly on the strength of their young, big, playmaking secondary.  Safetys Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor made the Pro Bowl, as did 6’4″ CB Brandon Browner. 6’3″  Rookie Richard Sherman may have gotten more votes if he had played sooner; he was the ‘Hawks best cover guy over the season’s second half after veteran Marcus Trufant went down.  Combined experience of those four?  7 years.  Pete Carroll went into the offseason pledging to improve the speed of his LB’s and the team’s pass rush as a whole, so they added penetrating DT Jason Jones in free agency and Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner and Korey Toomer in the draft.  As if that’s not enough, Leon Washington is one of the best return men in the league. Analysts complained that they spent too many draft picks on an already strong defensive unit, but Seahawks D fantasy owners will rejoice.

Follow me on Twitter @HawkCoug08