Derrick Mason, WR, Baltimore Ravens (1 Viewer)

2010 Player Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The Shark Pool is, in our view, the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things fantasy football. In what's become an annual tradition, the Player Spotlight series is a key part of the preseason efforts. As many of you know, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. This year, we plan to publish more than 140 offensive spotlights covering the vast majority of expected skill position starters.

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Thread Topic: Derrick Mason, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Player Page Link: Derrick Mason Player Page

Each article will include:

[*]Detailed viewpoint from a Footballguys staff member

[*]Highlighted member commentary from the message board threads

[*]FBG Projections

[*]Consensus Member Projections

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[*]For QBs: Attempts, Completions, Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Attempts, Rush Yards, Rush TDs

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Derrick Mason has been a great football player. He's done the little things over the years that makes the difference of just being good and great. He runs great routes, he knows how to get both feet in bounds when near the sideline and he can run the deep route or the short curl. Great player, the kind we usually see end up on New England at some point in their career.

In Baltimore, he's quitely gone over 1000 yards in each of his 3 seasons. His first year, he had 100 receptions so going over 1000 yards is basically a no brainer. However, even last year with just 73 receptions he went over 1000, showing us some of his big play ability.

However, in those seasons he's been the No. 1 guy. This year enters Anquan Bolden, a serious threat to that No.1 status. There will only be so many passing yards to go around and I'll be as shocked as anyone if Baltimore has 2 WR's go over 1000 yards this season, so something has to give.

I think Mason has a good year but finds himself as more of a role player this year.

71 receptions for 850 yards and 4 td's

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.

I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.

In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

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I don't think Mason is a bad pickup @ WR43, but as I said in a Flacco thread- if you have a rushing offense that was top 5 in TDs, yards and yards/attempt last season- would you start slinging the ball? A small uptick in passing attempts could happen but Boldin has earned himself 353 targets the past 3 years in 39 games (9/game) while Mason has 411 over 48 games (8.5/game) - I don't think there are going to be nearly enough attempts to go around with their RBs getting a bunch of looks and some decent options at TE. Both will probably disappoint on the target side.

The Ravens threw over 500 times last year, including 101 times towards Ray Rice.

Mason is going to be up against the 2nd corner against defenses rather than their top option.

Mason may not get 130 targets again, but I could see a 70 catch year on 115-120 targets and another push towards 1,000 yards.

Driver is a solid comparison - although this isn't a pass-happy offense.

baconisgood said:

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

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I don't think Mason is a bad pickup @ WR43, but as I said in a Flacco thread- if you have a rushing offense that was top 5 in TDs, yards and yards/attempt last season- would you start slinging the ball? A small uptick in passing attempts could happen but Boldin has earned himself 353 targets the past 3 years in 39 games (9/game) while Mason has 411 over 48 games (8.5/game) - I don't think there are going to be nearly enough attempts to go around with their RBs getting a bunch of looks and some decent options at TE. Both will probably disappoint on the target side.

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This is a misconception actually - Baltimore threw 500+ times last year and had 21 passing touchdowns. I think Mason is the 2nd option in an offense that threw 500+ times last year. Even if they throw 450 times, Boldin won't get more than 1/3 of that (and likely less). Mason should get 100+ targets.

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

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Boldin is the top target for Baltimore. Mason was the top choice last year and he had 134 targets. Boldin last year? 128 targets.Doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me to have Boldin get similar numbers as last year.

Jeff Pasquino said:

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

Click to expand...

Boldin is the top target for Baltimore. Mason was the top choice last year and he had 134 targets. Boldin last year? 128 targets.Doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me to have Boldin get similar numbers as last year.

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Right, but Boldin was WR23 last year. He's going Top 15 (and higher) right now.

Jason Wood said:

Jeff Pasquino said:

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

Click to expand...

Boldin is the top target for Baltimore. Mason was the top choice last year and he had 134 targets. Boldin last year? 128 targets.Doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me to have Boldin get similar numbers as last year.

Click to expand...

Right, but Boldin was WR23 last year. He's going Top 15 (and higher) right now.

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Boldin was WR23 (WR17 in PPR) in 2010, with 85-1029-5. He was WR7 (WR6 in PPR) in 2009, 89-1038-11.Almost identical receptions/yards, but 6 more TDs. I'd say WR15 is just about right. I think Boldin's floor in BAL is right around his numbers last year. They essentially knew they had to trade for a legit WR with Mason aging, and Flacco was absolutely slinging it in the first half of the season last year, was on pace for 565 pass attempts halfway thru 2009.

TaxMan said:

Jason Wood said:

Jeff Pasquino said:

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.

I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.

In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

Click to expand...

Boldin is the top target for Baltimore. Mason was the top choice last year and he had 134 targets. Boldin last year? 128 targets.Doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me to have Boldin get similar numbers as last year.

Click to expand...

Right, but Boldin was WR23 last year. He's going Top 15 (and higher) right now.

Click to expand...

Boldin was WR23 (WR17 in PPR) in 2010, with 85-1029-5. He was WR7 (WR6 in PPR) in 2009, 89-1038-11.Almost identical receptions/yards, but 6 more TDs. I'd say WR15 is just about right. I think Boldin's floor in BAL is right around his numbers last year. They essentially knew they had to trade for a legit WR with Mason aging, and Flacco was absolutely slinging it in the first half of the season last year, was on pace for 565 pass attempts halfway thru 2009.

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I don't have a major problem with taking him there, I have him close behind at WR19: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/v...p;howrecent=300But ultimately I like other WRs going in the same range more including both Steve Smiths, Chad Ochocinco, Michael Crabtree and Hakeem Nicks (a round later).

Jeff Pasquino said:

The Ravens threw over 500 times last year, including 101 times towards Ray Rice.Mason is going to be up against the 2nd corner against defenses rather than their top option. Mason may not get 130 targets again, but I could see a 70 catch year on 115-120 targets and another push towards 1,000 yards. Driver is a solid comparison - although this isn't a pass-happy offense.

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RBs had 150 targets on the Ravens last year and Todd Heap had 75. Scatter in some targets for the #3/#4 receiver and a few more for their newly acquired TEs and I think 80-85 targets sounds a lot more reasonable for Mason in that offense (barring injuries).

Jason Wood said:

It's fascinating to jump into this discussion right after checking out the Donald Driver spotlight thread. Most are on the "Driver is still great value" train making the same argument that many of us have made for each of the last few years. Good QB, passing offense, clear starting job, perennially undervalued by fantasy owners. And yet, for reasons I'll leave to the Driver thread, I'm not so much on that bandwagon in 2010 (after helping champion it in prior years). Yet Mason, who has an ADP of just WR43 (117th overall) which presents opportunity.I think people are looking at the Boldin situation in a bit of a skewed manner. It seems to me that people are expecting Boldin to step into the Ravens offense and produce as though he was still a Cardinal, and at the same time eat significantly into Mason's targets. I'm not sure I'm buying that in so much as it strikes me that when the dust settles, Boldin so going to fall somewhere short of his consensus view and Mason, while not likely to be a star this year, is going to put together a respectable Top 25-30 season in his own right.In drafts, I've found myself avoiding Boldin and targeting Mason on the cheap.

Click to expand...

I view the Boldin situation pretty close to how you describe it here Jason but I'm not looking at Mason the exact same way you are. I'm pretty much looking at it like this: Mason finished 22, 17 and 20 (something like that according to the FBG player page for Mason) at WR in fantasy football the last 3 years. Those are impressive numbers but he is entering his 12th year and he is now NOT the NO. 1 WR on the team. At some point every WR starts to take a back seat, we saw it with Jerry Rice, we are seeing it with Donald Driver. Derrick Mason has been a great football player and he'll be an asset to the Raven football team again this year. I just don't think he'll finish in the top 25 again this year being the NO. 2 on Baltimore and more than likely won't finish in the top 30. I don't think you'll get crushed if you draft Mason, but I don't think he'll be a guy who helps you win a fantasy championship this year.

i just got Mason as my WR3 in a 10 team league (non-ppr).

i am hoping Flacco doesnt forget his boy Mason now that Boldin is in town.

i would really like around 900-5 out of him this season.

(after my top 3, my WR's are shaky at best - if Mason bombs with Boldin around, yikes!)

leave a whisper said:

i am hoping Flacco doesnt forget his boy Mason now that Boldin is in town.

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I am not high on any Baltimore WR, given all the options Flacco has. Clayton and Stallworth aren't world-beaters, but they are experienced hands. Witness how Flacco spread it around the other night. I do like Mason's potential to step up in the event of the eventual Bold injury.

Anyone want to readjust projections now that Housh is a Raven now?

leave a whisper said:

i just got Mason as my WR3 in a 10 team league (non-ppr).i am hoping Flacco doesnt forget his boy Mason now that Boldin is in town.i would really like around 900-5 out of him this season.(after my top 3, my WR's are shaky at best - if Mason bombs with Boldin around, yikes!)

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TDavi118 said:

Anyone want to readjust projections now that Housh is a Raven now?

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i have no clue what is going to go on in B'more .... i need a weekly starter at WR3 between Mason, Collie, & Manningham tho, so if i got previously mentioned 900-5 out of Mason this season i would take it.

Will Mason start the season as a WR2 and slowly be replaced by TJ? With all the targets in Baltimore now, s he still capable of posting WR2 (FF) numbers? Is he worth rostering or would you rather take a flier with someone like one of the Jones'? Struggling to get a good grasp on the situation.