08/28 Update: A new Seahawk enters the ranks, and other notes…
Russell Wilson: As a Seattle native, I have paid plenty of attention to the Seahawks’ QB competition and am extremely excited to see what Wilson does in the regular season after being named Seattle’s week 1 starter. Wilson is an exciting and athletic quarterback capable of throwing touchdowns and running them in as well. The ‘Hawks still favor the run game, but when you are looking for that high upside backup QB, look mighty close at Russell Wilson.
Ryan Tannehill: Tannehill will be the starting quarterback for the Dolphins when they begin the regular season. That is about as excited as I can get about this news. His wide receivers are forgettable, and the road may be bumpy for the youngster. Leave him alone except for 2 QB leagues.
Josh Freeman: I really want Freeman to be awesome. Unfortunately, he has been pretty craptastic this preseason. I am holding his projection steady for now, as it is only preseason action, but he could be sliding in the next update.
Arizona Cardinals: I would bet on Skelton in this pillow fight, but both he and Kolb remain below for now.
More updates to come…
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let them fly in the comments, or hit me on Twitter @Orangebru.
Jeff was the only 7th grader at Sumner Jr. High playing fantasy football in 1995. When he isn't on the diamond playing softball or on the couch watching NFL RedZone, you can catch him on Twitter @Orangebru.
@Mike Braude: I appreciate the feedback. I agree with you, the Pats passing attack will be tough once again this season. If you look at the actual point totals, the entire tier after Rodgers(Brees/Cam/Staff/Brady) is only only separated by 16 total points, and that is on the season. It would not be a shock to anyone, including me, to see them shake out differently at the end. However, I am not as impressed with NE’s WR additions, and Brady has only cracked 4,500 yds twice in his career. Although a repeat of his monster 2011 is certainly possible, it was hard for me to expect it…even as tough as the Pats offense will be. I feel that Cam can repeat his passing totals and even with dropping his unsustainable rushing stats, he will still be tough to top. Stafford is a personal favorite of mine, and I think that he will continue the progress he made last season with MegaTron at this disposal. Only a few short months unitl we get to see how it plays out!
I know, I cannot wait for the season to start – only two months till fantasy drafting time! Interesting, maybe I’m just biased because I’m a New England fan. I love the addition of Lloyd/McDaniels – we’ve seen what they can do in Denver with Kyle Orton and Brady seems to have made the most of his opportunities – it’s very tough to crack 4,500 yards with the receivers Brady had early in his career (Reche Caldwell, Deion Branch, Jabar Gaffney, etc.) – but when Moss and Welker were added, we could see what Brady was really capable of. The Patriots have arguably the best receiving core they’ve had during his tenure with Hernandez, Welker, Gronk, and Lloyd. They don’t have a dynamic guy like Moss but they have four guys that will be impossible to stop with single coverage. Brady just seems like the more logical choice to me with Stafford’s injury history but there’s no question that Stafford has a lot of upside. I’m very excited to see how Megatron plays this year because in PPR leagues I think he has to be the pick after Arian, McCoy and Rice – he’s just too good, watching him play the Saints in the playoffs only cemented that notion. I love Cam’s upside and potential because of the goal-line back ability but the prospects of an injury are just too great. We’ve seen how banged up running quarterbacks get and they haven’t done enough to upgrade his pass-catchers. Only 82 more days!
Hey Jeff,
I was just wondering if you will be coming out with projections for other positions and if so when can we expext them.
@brian: Yes, projections will be coming out for all positions. I will be done with the Running Backs in the next couple days.
Predicting Stafford will throw more than he did last year is interesting. All I’ve heard all off-season from fantasy types is that the Lions will transform into the ’77 Steelers this year, running and running and running some more. It makes no sense, clearly, but a lot of analysts have had a tough time accepting Stafford’s 2011 numbers. They’re convinced it was all a fluke.
@Faith: I don’t feel that Stafford’s 2011 was a fluke by any means. We all saw the potential, although he was banged up during his first two years in Detroit. The Lions have the best WR in the universe, a solid TE, and Titus Young should continue to improve alongside Burleson. In addition, all their RB have the ability to catch the ball out of the back field. I see no reason why Stafford can’t have another monster year.
great work on moving cutler up,i would put him him above freeman myself
@BRENT: Thanks. I like both Cutler and Freeman as well. I’ve got Stafford as a keeper in my main league and I think I’ll be trying to snag one of them as my backup in case Stafford goes down.
What is your schedule to update these projections? Or will you be updating these any more?
@Chris: A bit of a delay, but here ya go. Updates will be more frequent as we near the season.
Possibly another update on projections before the season now that preseason is under way? Would like to know what to expect update-wise because I totally agreed with all your original projections!
@Jordan: These will be updated within the next day or two. Thanks for reading!
Matt Ryan sitting at 9??? Guys if you can’t get a top 3 QB this year, (Brady, Brees, Rodgers, maybe Stafford) Go after Matty ICE in the mid rounds. Taking him in the 5th is not 2 early for me. With the Falcons new OC, and a healthy receiving core, the best in the NFL, (imo) I see him having a career year. Could finish in the top 5.
@NFLNOSTRADAMUS: Agreed. He definitely has a TON of upside in that next tier of QB’s. I’ll be right beside you waiting on my QB until I can scoop him up.
1:29:34 pm
Hey Jeff,
Interesting that you put Brady all the way down at 6. In my opinion that’s ludicrous, I can’t find myself putting him any lower than 3, although with all the Saints problems I’d put him at 2. Romo and Stafford make worse decisions, have worse pass-catchers, have had worse careers, have worse offensive lines and have worse coaches. Brady did better than Romo and Stafford last year and I don’t think Newton will be as successful with all the gametape now out, what he did is simple unsustainable. Not only did Brady beat them last year but he arguably gained more this off-season than anyone with the additions of Lloyd and Gaffney. I expect the Patriots offense to be nearly unstoppable with Welker, Gronk, Hernandez, and Lloyd – at least two will get single coverage and with Brady at the helm, other teams are going to be in deep trouble.