Chris Cooley & Fred Davis, TEs, Washington Redskins (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

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.

Each week we will post a list of players to be discussed. Those threads will remain open for the entire preseason, and should be a central point to discussion expectations for the player in question. Importantly, analysis done in the first week of posting will be part of the permanent record in two ways. 1) At the end of the week, we will tally the projections into a consensus. 2) We will select a number of pull quotes from forum contributors who make a compelling statement or observation. Both the projections and pull quotes will be part of a published article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Chris Cooley & Fred Davis, TEs, Washington Redskins

Player Page Link: Chris Cooley Player Page

Player Page Link: Fred Davis 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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[*]Focus commentary on the player (or players) in question, and your expectations for said player (or players)

[*]Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"

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While not a requirement, we strongly encourage you to provide your own projections for the player (players):

Projections should include:

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

[*]For RBs: Rushes, Rushing Yards, Rush TDs, Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs

[*]For WRs & TEs: Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs

Now let's get on with the conversation! We look forward to your contributions and let me offer a personal thanks in anticipation of the great debate and analysis.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I don't think Cooley is the lock to be a go-to guy that many do. New GM + new OC + new head coach + new QB = you can throw away anything that has happened in the past in terms of predictive value going forward.

Fred Davis in his little stretch last year was just as effective as Cooley has ever been over a similar stretch. He's younger, faster, and ostensibly healthier. Cooley has the track record for sure, and I do think he's a talented receiver. I just think Davis is ALSO a talented receiver and if he looks a little better out there, I don't think the current regime is going to give the vet Cooley as much of the benefit of the doubt as the previous regime might have.

I think either one of them COULD have a nice season though, because the system uses TEs, and the QB has a history of liking his TEs. My fear would be they split the pie more evenly than is ideal for fantasy purposes.

I think Davis is nice sleeper, and Cooley might be a SMIDGE overrated right now in terms of perceived floor.

 

[Jason Wood]

Bumping this on a slow holiday. I think with Cooley currently coming off the board at TE11, this is a situation that needs some analysis. While Cooley, when healthy, has been a steady producer in spite of different offensive systems and supporting casts, he has never quite been considered a true elite option against folks like Gates, Witten, Gonzo and Dallas Clark. Then, upon going down last year, Fred Davis emerged as the Redskins most important receiving outlet in his own right. Logic would argue that both Cooley and Davis should be on the field this year A LOT because they're the team's two best pass catchers, but will Mike Shanahan do that? If not, there's a very real chance that both could commoditize one another at best, and Davis (the younger player) could end up being the top dog.

How do you see this unfolding? And what does the state of the offensive line and the new QB in town mean to your analysis?

 

[southeastjerome]

With all the changes in Washington this season, I expect there to be at least one familiar face leading the way offensively and that's Chris Cooley. He is still their best offensive weapon and now he has an upgrade at the QB position and a reworked offensive line that could allow him more freedom in the passing game. Make no mistake, Cooley will be on the field a lot and he will likely remain the team's best player in the passing game. He is a proven pro bowl caliber TE with an improved QB situation and he's coming off of the board as the 11th TE. The emergence of Fred Davis will probably prevent Cooley from being a top 3 TE, but if healthy, I do not see a situation where he ends up outside the top 10 which is where he is being drafted.

 

[Jason Wood]

Bump

 

[KellysHeroes]

Until we see Davis ace those blocking assignments I wouldn't worry about Cooley coming off the field much. Hes the best value at TE right now.

about 70 Recs / 800 yds / 7 TDs

 

[dgreen]

Both TEs are extremely talented receivers. Cooley's the veteran who has proven he can string together top fantasy seasons. Davis is a guy with limited exposure to the starting role in the NFL. In his 10 games during Cooley's injury last year, Davis posted 41 receptions for 464 yards and 6 TDs. I have to think that was pretty much tops in the league at TE over the final 10 games of 2009.

This is a tough one. The main reason it's tough is because they are both TEs and offenses simply don't feature two TEs. If they were both WRs (or one was a TE and one was a WR), we might be predicting good years for both of them. But they aren't WRs.

A lot of talk this offseason from Kyle Shanahan has focused on using the talent you have and finding ways to get them both involved. For now, I believe him. I don't think one of them is going to be relegated to the "backup" TE position to see only 15 receptions. But, I also just can't bring myself to predict total TE receptions to exceed 100. It has happened on occassion, and it could happen here, but that's just a tough prediction to make.

I think receptions are going to be spread out on this team. This team doesn't have that one top WR to hoard 100 receptions. It's even possible that Cooley and Davis are two of the team's top 3 receiving options. Right now, I'm going with...

Cooley: 50-575-6

Davis: 40-450-4

If one of these guys goes down to injury, the other will be gold. As it stands, though, I don't see either being a must-have fantasy TE.

 

[fatness]

A recent article by Rich Tandler, who has covered the Redskins for years and who is usually pretty informative:

Redskins In-Depth Chart: Tight Ends

Cooley, acting as the harassed and harried Jason Campbell’s primary safety valve, had 14 catches in the first two games of the season. In Week 4, his 17-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter prevented what would have been an embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay. He was on pace to catch 72 passes for almost 900 yards until his season came to an end after breaking his ankle in the first half of a Week 7 game against the Eagles.

At that point, Davis had seven catches on the season, and there was some doubt as to whether or not he could adequately fill in for Cooley. He quickly dispelled those doubts, catching eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in that game. Embracing the starting role, Davis spent part of the bye week at Redskins Park working on his blocking. Davis did not turn into a devastating blocker, but he was adequate most of the time.

Although the Redskins, of course, did not reveal just how Cooley and Davis would be used when on the field at the same time, we got some hints during OTAs. For the most part, Cooley ran the shorter patterns that we are accustomed to seeing tight ends run. Davis frequently was seen running deep down the seam and hauling in a pass over a safety.

With the caveat that what is tried out in May and June may not ever see the field in September, Cooley is the possession receiver while Davis is the big-play guy. That doesn’t mean that Cooley can’t go down the seam, or that Davis won’t be sent out to pick up five yards on 3rd-and-4. But the basic roles seem to be taking shape.