High Risk-High Reward (Wide Receivers)

High Risk – High Reward

T.J. Houshmandzadeh- T.J. is a very good possession receiver who basically kept the Bengals at least from not having a season like the Lions did. But T.J. is in Seattle now and got paid a whole lot of money in Free Agency. But the QB situation is a huge mess in Seattle. Matt Hasselback has back problems and Seneca Wallace is more of a scrambling QB than a passing one. But I think T.J. Houshmanzadeh will have a phenomenal year. But there is always a risk of injury and the QB situation needs to be figured out before T.J. can be considered as an elite WR. Last year Houshmandzadeh caught 92 passes for 904 yards and 4 touchdowns. This year will be even better for Houshmanzadeh. Partly because he’s going to get a lot more Red-Zone looks. I predict 90 receptions for 1,001 yards and 7 touchdowns. T.J is ranked 44^th on my Top 200 and could be taken in the 4^th or 5^th round.

Brandon Marshall- Brandon Marshall is a very talented Wide-Receiver. He can do just about anything. He has speed, agility, soft hands, and is great at running routes. But this offseason has been rough for Marshall. Heading into the offseason Marshall and the Broncos looked great. They have a new coach in Josh McDaneils and he loves to pass the ball. This was the end of the good news for Marshall. Josh McDaneils started “secretly” having trade talks with the New England Patriots for QB Matt Cassel. That really angered Jay Cutler so he demanded a trade. He was traded to the Bears for 2 first round picks and QB Kyle Orton. Orton has nowhere near the arm that Cutler had and will have more trouble getting the deep ball to Marshall. Now that Cutler was traded Marshall wants to be traded and isn’t happy in Denver. He is also coming off hip surgery he had in the spring and might not fully recover from that. He also might get suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell. But aside from all of that, Marshall is a top 5 talent and you are welcome to take him early because he will put up huge numbers. Last year he caught 104 passes for 1,265 yards and 6 touchdowns despite missing a game due to a suspension. This year I predict that Marshall will catch 85 passes for 1,189 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Lee Evans- Lee Evans has been a good receiver for a couple of years now, and he has been a border-line fantasy starter. But this year there is a new show coming to town and that show’s name is Terrell Owens. That is good and bad for Lee Evans. The good news is that opposing defenses won’t double Evans as much and he will get more man-coverage. He can use his speed to exploit holes in the defense. But the bad news is that T.O. will be crying for the ball and young QB Trent Edwards might not be able to handle the pressure of getting the ball to both Evans and Owens. Last year Evans had 63 receptions for 1,017 yards and 3 touchdowns. This year’s stats should be very similar. I predict 1,033 yards on 65 reception and 4 touchdowns.