Forgive me if this has been discussed, but as I finalize my projections, I keep getting a little stuck on Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Let's start with the Eagles. I know Kelly will be very committed to the run. FBG has the Eagles projected for 525 total passing attempts, which is down almost 100 from last year and would have ranked as 23rd in the NFL last year. Not sure I'm buying it. While Kelly will run the ball more (FBG compensates for the drop in passing attempts with a lot more rushing attempts), I also think the fact that he wants to play fast and run a high-octane offense means they'll just run a lot more plays, period. So, while they'll run a lot, they'll also pass a lot. I was listening to a podcast, and Adam Caplan and Greg Cosell -- two people I think generally know what they speak of -- mentioned that Kelly had been purposefully running a very vanilla offense in the preseason and he will unleash a ton of different looks once the season starts. They mentioned that Brent Celek alluded to this in an interview and wouldn't elaborate but seemed very excited. Take it for what it's worth, but with no Maclin, there's clearly opportunity here. So, who emerges? I think a lot of people are warming up to DeSean Jackson as a value pick, and I agree. But, getting beyond him, who else will have value? Cooper? Avant? Damaris Johnson? Ertz? Celek? Casey? Or some combination of all of them, in which case it's entirely possible that no one aside from Jackson really becomes a reliable fantasy starter.
As far as the Steelers go, we know they're going to throw the ball a lot; probably even more than they'd like to with the Bell injury. Hard to believe, but they're missing 1,652 yards and 16 td's from last year with no Mike Wallace and Heath Miller. No one knows how much Miller will play this year and if he'll be the same guy initially, but he won't be in there right away. So, where does that production go? Not to say all of it has to go somewhere, but some of it does. So, does Antonio Brown become a legit WR1 and does Sanders become a WR2? Does Wheaton step up? Does Cotchery hang around and steal targets?
I think these are both interesting situations and there's potentially real value to be had here. Hard to say who will emerge -- if anyone -- but I think there's a chance you could see someone really step up and far exceed their ADP. My gut is that Brown and Sanders are both being drafted too low at the moment and that one of the TE's in Philadelphia will become an every week starter for most fantasy teams.
Would love to hear some thoughts.
Let's start with the Eagles. I know Kelly will be very committed to the run. FBG has the Eagles projected for 525 total passing attempts, which is down almost 100 from last year and would have ranked as 23rd in the NFL last year. Not sure I'm buying it. While Kelly will run the ball more (FBG compensates for the drop in passing attempts with a lot more rushing attempts), I also think the fact that he wants to play fast and run a high-octane offense means they'll just run a lot more plays, period. So, while they'll run a lot, they'll also pass a lot. I was listening to a podcast, and Adam Caplan and Greg Cosell -- two people I think generally know what they speak of -- mentioned that Kelly had been purposefully running a very vanilla offense in the preseason and he will unleash a ton of different looks once the season starts. They mentioned that Brent Celek alluded to this in an interview and wouldn't elaborate but seemed very excited. Take it for what it's worth, but with no Maclin, there's clearly opportunity here. So, who emerges? I think a lot of people are warming up to DeSean Jackson as a value pick, and I agree. But, getting beyond him, who else will have value? Cooper? Avant? Damaris Johnson? Ertz? Celek? Casey? Or some combination of all of them, in which case it's entirely possible that no one aside from Jackson really becomes a reliable fantasy starter.
As far as the Steelers go, we know they're going to throw the ball a lot; probably even more than they'd like to with the Bell injury. Hard to believe, but they're missing 1,652 yards and 16 td's from last year with no Mike Wallace and Heath Miller. No one knows how much Miller will play this year and if he'll be the same guy initially, but he won't be in there right away. So, where does that production go? Not to say all of it has to go somewhere, but some of it does. So, does Antonio Brown become a legit WR1 and does Sanders become a WR2? Does Wheaton step up? Does Cotchery hang around and steal targets?
I think these are both interesting situations and there's potentially real value to be had here. Hard to say who will emerge -- if anyone -- but I think there's a chance you could see someone really step up and far exceed their ADP. My gut is that Brown and Sanders are both being drafted too low at the moment and that one of the TE's in Philadelphia will become an every week starter for most fantasy teams.
Would love to hear some thoughts.
