Fantasy Football Picks 4 thru 8
Talented Young Players Enter Upper Tier of Fantasy Football Elite
Peyton Manning,Steven Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson are gone, who to pick now? The NFL is full of quality fantasy football players, try adding these stars to your team.
After looking at the top 3 picks, it was deemed necessary to go deeper into the fantasy draft. Perhaps by doing this some questions will be answered, such as where is Larry Johnson? Can Shaun Alexander bounce back? The next five picks will help answer some of those questions:
The number four pick has to be Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (2199 total yards, 16 receptions, 21 TDs, with 2 lost fumbles). L.J. no doubt has 2nd pick talent, but the retirement of Will Shields, the QB situation (Damon Huard is not the answer) and the lack of outside receivers (no catches in the playoff loss) will have teams stacking the box once again. Another obstacle will be the schedule: 2 games against the Chargers, and Raiders combined with outer conference games against the Bears, Vikings, Jets and Jaguar defenses, will make it tough sledding for L.J. this year. Still expect 1800 total yards and 17 total touchdowns.
The fifth pick is Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (1916 total yards, 77 receptions, 11 TDs and 2 lost fumbles). The top thing Brian Westbrook has going for him is the system that the Eagles use. The offense that Andy Reid employs seems tailor made for Westbrook’s skill set. The litany of screens, draws, flare passes not only get the ball to Brian Westbrook, but often gets Westbrook the ball in open space. The healthy return of Donavan McNabb helps to back teams off the line of scrimmage and allows the Eagles to spread the field creating mismatches for Westbrook to exploit. Look for Westbrook to have another highly productive season with another 1850 total yards and an increase to at least 15 total touchdowns.
Now to the second 5:
Another player that has moved up in the rankings is Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers (2180 total yards 61 receptions, 9 TDs and 5 lost fumbles). ‘The Inconvenient Truth’ should have another banner year for the 49ers. As Alex Smith continues to grow and make wise decisions, (read throw the ball to Gore), Frank’s production will remain the same yardage wise, with an increase in touchdowns. The schedule also favors Gore, as his division features run defenses ranked 16th, 22nd, and 31st in the NFL. The departure of Norv Turner shouldn’t affect the stats that Gore will put up. Gore should still accumulate 1800 total yards and 12 touchdowns.
Can anyone say bounce back year? That’s what Edgerrin James, RB, Arizona Cardinals (1376 total yards, 38 receptions, 6 TDs and 3 lost fumbles) can expect. The Kurt Warner experiment is officially over, and Matt Leinart keeps defenses honest enough so that the box can’t be overloaded. The biggest change that will impact ‘The Edge’ is the hiring of Russ Grimm as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach. Grimm is the architect of the great lines that paved the way for running backs in Pittsburgh for the past six seasons. Having an improved offensive line and a hungry again Edge is a scary combination for opposing defenses. Bank on this, 1500 total yards with 12 touchdowns.
The eighth pick is ‘Fast’ Willie Parker, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers (1716 total yards, 31 receptions, 16 TDs, and 5 lost fumbles). Last year, with Ben Roethlisberger struggling horribly, Parker motored his way to productivity. The roadblock this year may be the status of All-Pro guard Alan Faneca, if the Steelers can hold onto Faneca for one more year Parker’s stats should soar higher than last year’s output. As Santonio Holmes improves providing the deep threat to keep the safeties off the line of scrimmage, look for ‘Fast’ Willie to speed his way to 1800 total yards and 14 touchdowns.
Next up…… finishing the top 10 and some surprises.
