If dynasty teams subsisted on illegal drugs:
Uppers
Joe Flacco: His stock has risen substantially with the acquisition of Anquan Boldin and the reupping of Derrick “old man” Mason. Donte Stallworth could prove to be helpful as well, but I’m reserving judgment for now. Also having one of the top pass catching running backs in Ray Rice also doesn’t hurt. Flacco had a hip injury last season that slowed him down after a hot start. The question for dynasty owners is, will the Ravens change their strategy from run first and play hard defense to pass first and play little to no defense? The way the money is now being funneled it’s hard not to see them throwing more next season. Cam Cameron knows how to throw the ball, or at least how to tell others to thrown the ball. It’s hard to imagine the unibrowed one throwing for 4k yards and 25+ TD’s, but it’s looking more and more like a possibility.
Larry Johnson: He was signed by the Redskins which unfortunately means he could become their starter unless they grab somebody, anybody! Clinton Portis will probably go into the season as the starter if he can stay healthy through training camp, which is a monumental if. Portis of course had the concussion problem last season, but maybe more importantly, he had about 37 injured body parts. We could see a fairly split backfield to start the season to keep Portis upright, but eventually LJ will probably have to take over. All this is to say he is a possible starter, which is meaningful in fantasy, but he still ain’t good.
Jamaal Charles: Yes, I pushed him down a few spots in my redraft rankings, but I’m leaving him where he is in the dynasty rankings. You can see my thoughts on Tom Jones coming to town, but the reason I have him taking uppers is his perceived value has fallen more than his actual value. It might be a good time to try to trade one of your aging backs for him. Steven Jackson maybe?
Downers
Derrick Mason: With his age he wasn’t a high dynasty pick, but he is so steady that it was worth the possible 2 more years of 80 receptions and 1,000 yards, but now with Anquan Boldin on board his stock is falling quickly. He might be had at some value late, but with his age and role shrinking, his upside is going down side.
Wes Welker: It was revealed that Welker also has a torn rotator cuff. It should heal by the time his knee is healed, but yet another body part that could have a set back. He should drop a couple slots in the dynasty rankings and even further in the redraft rankings. Which means Edelman could get a little booster shot.
Chad Henne: His future is still bright, but I was expecting the Dolphins to get Boldin or Bryant and both have signed with teams not named after a water dwelling mammal. They will once again be run first and second and then bring in Pat White to run the wildcat unless we see a move that doesn’t look to be in the works right now.
