Hello Razzballers! Allow me to introduce myself – I’m Clint, and I’m the primary writer for a little fantasy football site called You Heard It Here First. I’ve been playing fantasy football for more than 9 years now, and I’ve been writing about it for a little over a year. Doc has given me the opportunity to drop some knowledge about this game we all love on his website, which I’ve humbly accepted. So prepare yourself folks – it’s about to get nuttier than squirrel turds up in here, up in here.
Despite the CBA talks not going so well, preparing for the 2011 fantasy football season is still important. February is a slow month in the NFL, but I have to keep talking NFL to keep my sanity. I just have to. All this NASCAR and NBA business this past weekend made my head hurt. I’ve been specifically looking at the wide receiver position quite a bit over the past week or two, and there are certainly some wide receivers I’ve got my eye on more than others.
Calvin Johnson: Saying I have my eye on Megatron is kind of like saying Charlie Sheen needs rehab or Lady Gaga needs fashion help, but I’m going as far as saying he’s my #1 WR for 2011. He’s only 25 years old and already has two seasons of 12 TD’s under his belt, and that’s with a carousel of quarterbacks chucking him the rock. In PPR leagues I would lean towards Andre Johnson or Roddy White, but in all other leagues, Megatron is my horse. His 9 catch, 101 yard, 3 TD game against Washington with Matthew Stafford under center has my eyes popping at the potential of this duo. I’d take him at the tippy-top of round two in my fantasy draft and feel better than Charlie Sheen on a goooood day about it.
Mike Wallace: Upon Ben Roethlisberger’s return from his suspension for being less than awesome, Wallace averaged 4.25 catches and 87.2 yards per game, while catching 8 TD passes. Let’s do the math here – project that over a full 16-game season and you’re right in the neighborhood of 70 catches, 1,400 yards and 11 TD’s. The scary part is he’s only going to get better.
DeSean Jackson: DJax comes with risk since his value is so dependent on Michael Vick, who tends to never ever ever slide. The numbers just say too much – With Vick, DJax averaged 89.0 yards per game with 5 TD’s (11 games). Without Vick he averaged 25.6 yards per game with 1 TD (3 games). A lot of fantasy footballers will shy away from Jackson on draft day for this risky reason. I recommend you don’t do that.
Santonio Holmes: This one is a bit of a hunch, but I think he and Mark Sanchez will really start to click in 2011. The Jets have already said publicly their #1 concern this off-season is getting Holmes re-signed, so that speaks volumes as to how highly regarded he is in the organization. He’s easy to overlook on draft day, but don’t forget about him in the middle rounds. Bargain city.
Austin Collie: His concussions are well documented, but when on the field, all he does is produce. Peyton Manning loves him (not in that way), as evident by is 8 TD receptions in 9 games last year to go along with his 57 receptions. I like him in the middle rounds as a WR3, but he does come with some risk. The guy seems to have a target on his helmet for defensive backs.
Derrick Mason: Mason is the Rodney Dangerfield of fantasy football. No respect, I tell ya! All he did was finish as a top 25 fantasy wide receiver again in 2010 (standard scoring). Yes he’s aging, but I challenge you to find a better WR4 fantasy wide receiver. We all could use 800 yards and 6-7 TDs on our fantasy teams.
Jerome Simpson: Cincinnati is the model organization for dysfunction right now, but I’m optimistic. By optimistic I mean Carson Palmer stays, Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens do not. Maybe that’s too optimistic. Anyway, without those two clowns in the line up, Simpson caught 18 balls for 247 yards and 3 TD’s in two games. I have him as the early front-runner for the 2011 Brandon Lloyd award if the chips fall his way. Stay tuned.
I keep it simple. Check the numbers. The numbers don’t lie. After all, this fantasy football stuff is all about numbers, right? I don’t care if players produce better on turf or grass, or if they produce better at home or on the road, or if they produce better if they got lucky the night before or not. The more intense analysis comes later when the season starts. Based on what I saw in 2010, which is all we can really go off of right now, I like what I see out of these players and I’ll eyeballing them in my drafts.
