Year: 2012

New York Jets Fantasy Football Projections

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I wouldn’t recommend drafting Mark Sanchez because he could easily lose his job to Tim Tebow midseason and I wouldn’t recommend picking up Tebow until he’s actually starting.

RB Shonn Greene (NY Jets)

7/1/12: Greene has he has been led to believe by the coaching staff that he will exceed the career high 253 carries he had last year. They don’t seem confident in backup Joe McKnight with LaDainian Tomlinson gone and they want to get back to running the football more. Greene isn’t very talented, but he’ll get you volume yardage as he could be one of the league leaders in carries if he stays healthy.

The Jets didn’t add another back until the 6th round this year, even though they lost LaDainian Tomlinson, who was their #2 back. Some take this as a sign that they believe in Greene’s ability to take the next step as a back, but I take it as more of a sign of confidence for Joe McKnight than anything. Remember, this team had a lot of interest in moving up for Trent Richardson, which would have made Greene the #2 back. Greene should have similar production to last year, maybe a little better if Tebow takes over as the starting quarterback and forces front 7s to focus on his ability to run the ball as well. Just ask Willis McGahee how valuable that is. Tebow would probably vulture some touchdowns though, but Mark Sanchez could too. He scored 6 times last year on the ground.

Projection: 270 carries 1220 rushing yards 8 total touchdowns 30 catches 220 receiving yards (192 pts standard/222 pts PPR)

RB Bilal Powell (NY Jets)

Bilal Powell looks like the favorite to be Shonn Greene’s primary handcuff. He’ll only see passing downs at first, but Greene is a pretty average runner who only has fantasy value on volume. It wouldn’t shock me if Powell impressed and started eating into his workload on a run heavy team. He’s an interesting handcuff for career and late round sleeper.

Projection: 90 carries 410 rushing yards 3 total touchdowns 22 catches 180 receiving yards (77 pts standard/99 pts PPR)

WR Santonio Holmes (NY Jets)

8/21/12: Holmes has missed a lot Training Camp and the Preseason with various injuries. The Jets’ passing offense isn’t going to be very good anyway so I’d like him be someone else’s problem.

Holmes will be limited by the Jets’ poor offense, but he should have a bounce back year after last year. Remember, this guy had 52 catches for 746 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games in 2010 with the Jets. He’s spent this offseason working out with Mark Sanchez so he’ll play better if Sanchez is the starter. And if Tebow is the starter, well he’ll have an upgrade at quarterback in that situation.

Projection: 50 catches 650 receiving yards 6 receiving touchdowns (101 pts standard/151 pts PPR)

WR Stephen Hill (NY Jets)

8/21/12: If I were to own a Jets wide receiver, it probably would be Hill. Holmes can’t seem to stay healthy and while Hill is incredibly raw, he’ll be targeted around the goal line an awful lot at 6-5, just like Plaxico Burress last season, who caught 8 touchdowns. Burress caught 45 passes for 612 yards and 8 touchdowns last year. Hill, even as a rookie, should be able to get those numbers, with upside if Holmes misses any time with injury and/or Tebow becomes the starter. If Tebow becomes the starter, Hill could very well be his top target because, with Tebow, it doesn’t matter so much if you aren’t a great route runner, as long as you are athletic (see Thomas, Demaryius).

The Jets most likely won’t be a very good passing offense no matter who the starter is and Stephen Hill is incredibly raw. However, if Tebow takes over, he could have the same chemistry throwing to Hill as he did throwing to a similar player in Demaryius Thomas last year. Hill will also be a red zone threat the way that Plaxico Burress was last year. Burress didn’t play well, but still managed to score 8 times. There’s some upside here late.

Projection: 42 catches 670 receiving yards 7 receiving touchdowns (109 pts standard/151 pts PPR)

TE Dustin Keller (NY Jets)

8/21/12: Dustin Keller had a breakout season last year, catching 65 passes for 815 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading a miserable receiving corps. I thought his production would go down this season because the receiving corps around him would be improved, but it doesn’t look like it. Keller should once again lead this miserable bunch in receiving. If you miss out on one of the top tight ends, Keller is a nice fall back option in the mid rounds.

Keller had a career high 65 catches for 815 yards and 5 touchdowns last year, but with Holmes bouncing back and Stephen Hill coming in, I expect those numbers to dip, especially if Tebow, who rarely threw to tight ends, takes over as the starter at some point.

Projection: 60 catches 760 receiving yards 5 receiving touchdowns (106 pts standard/166 pts PPR)

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New England Patriots Fantasy Football Projections

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QB Tom Brady (New England)

8/7/12: I’m moving Brady’s production up a little with Brandon Lloyd dominating in camp. Tom Brady was 346 for 470 (73.6%) for 4420 yards (9.4 YPA), 39 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions when throwing to Welker, Gronkowski, and Hernandez. Throwing to everyone else, he was 131 of 216 (60.6%), 1719 yards (8.0 YPA), 7 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions (the rest were throw aways and other non-targets). Brandon Lloyd will undoubtedly help, as will the presence of Josh McDaniels.

Tom Brady threw for 5235 yards last year on the strength of 611 passing attempts, but he’s only twice gone over 580 attempts in a season and the Patriots should have a better defense next year. I also think his 8.5 YPA from last year is unsustainable as he’s only gone over 8 twice in his career. The other time he did that was 2007, when Josh McDaniels was his offensive coordinator.

McDaniels is back, but Brady is also aging, turning 35 in August. He had noticeably diminished arm strength in 2011 and completed just 16 passes that went further than 20 yards in the air. He has a strong receiving corps, but I like Brees and Stafford a little bit more because of how much their offenses pass. They won’t have to average more than 8 YPA to approach 5000 yards.

Projection: 4730 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 50 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown (332 pts standard/408 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

RB Stevan Ridley (New England)

8/7/12: Of the Patriots two 2nd year backs, Stevan Ridley has been the most impressive. He looks poised to take over almost the entirety of BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ old work load (410 carries in the last 2 seasons), leaving Vereen as most a change of pace back. He’s much more explosive than BJGE too and could have double digit touchdowns on this explosive offense.

7/26/12: Joseph Addai was cut. Move Ridley up slightly.

It’s always tough to know what Belichick is going to do with his backs. As it stands, it sounds like Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen will fairly evenly split the early down carries and Woodhead will stay in his very specific role as a pass catching/3rd down back. Ridley and BenJarvus Green Ellis combined for 268 carries last year. Ridley and Vereen should split those carries this year with Ridley probably being the lead back. Ridley has the most value in fantasy leagues because he’ll probably be the lead back and the goal line back. Bill Belichick is known to be a very frustrating coach for Fantasy Football owners, however.

Projection: 180 carries 850 rushing yards 9 total touchdowns 14 catches 100 receiving yards (149 pts standard/163 pts PPR)

RB Shane Vereen (New England)

8/7/12: While Ridley is impressing in Training Camp, Vereen is struggling to distance himself from undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Bolden. He’s not worth a whole lot in fantasy circles, except as a handcuff to Ridley.

7/26/12: Joseph Addai was cut. Move Vereen up slightly.

Vereen will get a good amount of carries. Remember, he was actually a 2nd round pick in 2011, whereas Ridley was just a 3rd round pick. However, Ridley averaged 5.1 YPC last year and Vereen averaged just 3.8. Ridley should get more carries and the goal line carries, but there’s some sleeper value with Vereen if you can get him late.

Projection: 100 carries 410 rushing yards 3 total touchdowns 18 catches 140 receiving yards (73 pts standard/91 pts PPR)

RB Danny Woodhead (New England)

Woodhead is probably the easiest New England back to project. He had 77 carries last year in a very specialized role and he should continue in that exact role this year. He may get a few more carries because Kevin Faulk is gone, but he could still have to contend with Joseph Addai. He’s got a career 5.1 YPC and should catch closer to the 34 passes he caught in 2010 than the 18 he caught in 2010, but he’s still got very limited fantasy football value.

Projection: 80 carries 400 rushing yards 3 total touchdowns 25 catches 250 receiving yards (83 pts/108 pts standard)

WR Wes Welker (New England)

8/7/12: Brandon Lloyd should have a strong year, which will eat at the aging Welker’s targets. He doesn’t average a lot of YPC or score a lot of touchdowns. He’s mostly a volume receiver, who ranked 2nd in the league in targets this season, and he should see a smaller volume of targets this season. Tom Brady is good, but he’s not good enough for Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez ALL to have their normal levels of production at the same time.

Welker had a career year last year, but wasn’t quite as good down the stretch. After surpassing 100 yards 4 times in his first 5 games, he only had 4 more 100 yard games, including the playoffs, and after scoring 5 times in his first 4 games, he scored just 5 times the rest of the way, including playoffs. He’s getting older and he has a ton of competition for receptions, so it’s likely he regresses to his 2007-2009 self, which is still very good, but not elite in fantasy.

Projection: 100 catches 1040 receiving yards 5 receiving touchdowns (134 pts standard/234 pts PPR)

WR Brandon Lloyd (New England)

8/7/12: Brandon Lloyd is reportedly dominating in Patriots Training Camp. He’s their best deep threat since Randy Moss gave a shit and he is obviously very comfortable in Josh McDaniels’ system. Remember, this guy led the league in receiving two years ago. He won’t do that because the Patriots just have too many options, but he could easily go for over 1000 yards receiving.

Before McDaniels was fired as Head Coach in Denver in 2010, Lloyd caught 60 passes for 1153 yards and 9 touchdowns in 12 games with Kyle Orton as his quarterback. In 2011, he was traded to St. Louis, where McDaniels was the offensive coordinator. He caught 51 passes for 683 yards and 5 touchdowns in 11 games with an injured Sam Bradford, AJ Feeley, and Kellen Clemens at quarterback. In the last 2 years, he has 111 catches for 1836 yards and 14 touchdowns in 23 games with McDaniels.

Over 16 games, that’s 77 catches for 1277 yards and 10 touchdowns. With Kyle Orton, AJ Feeley, Kellen Clemens, and an injured Sam Bradford throwing him the football. Now he has Tom Brady throwing him the football. However, he’s also got a ton of competition for balls around him. Welker and Gronkowski should both go over 1000 yards again, so I’d be surprised if Lloyd did so as well. 3 1000 yard receivers on one team is unheard of, even for the Patriots. He’ll still have a good season.

Projection: 65 catches 1000 receiving yards 9 receiving touchdowns (154 pts standard/219 pts PPR)

TE Rob Gronkowski (New England)

8/7/12: Same thing with Welker. Welker, Gronkowski, and Lloyd could all have 1000 yard seasons, but it’s unlikely that any of the 3 will have much more than that.

Gronkowski should also lose some production to Brandon Lloyd and I like Jimmy Graham more than him in fantasy, but he’ll still have a fantastic season. He caught 90 passes for 1327 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. That’s insane.

Projection: 72 catches 1070 receiving yards 11 receiving touchdowns (173 pts standard/245 pts PPR)

TE Aaron Hernandez (New England)

8/7/12: My previous projections for Hernandez, who is reportedly dominating in Training Camp, were too low. He’ll take a statistical hit with Lloyd coming in too, but not a huge one. Remember, he’s never played a full 16 game season either, playing 14 a piece in his first 2 seasons, so if he does that, he could have a career high in yardage. He’s also being used as a fullback and could get you yardage on the ground. He had 45 yards on 5 carries last year in the regular season and then rushed for 61 yards on 5 carries in the playoffs against the Broncos. He could surpass 100 yards rushing.

This might seem a little low for Hernandez. However, the Patriots added a ton of wide receivers this offseason. They ran more two-tight end sets in passing situations than any team in the league last year. With guys like Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney coming in, that number should go down. Whereas Gronkowski’s production will be hurt because he’ll have more competition for balls, Hernandez figures to actually see the field less.

Projection: 65 catches 800 receiving yards 7 total touchdowns 100 rushing yards (132 pts standard/197 pts PPR)

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Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football Projections

stevenlourie 2012 Fantasy Football Preseason, 2012 Team Fantasy Football Previews, Browns

QB Brandon Weeden (Cleveland)

It’s going to be a rough rookie year for Weeden in Cleveland. He’s not a talent like Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Joe Flacco, etc. He struggled under pressure and with his decision making at Oklahoma State, two things that Big 12 opponents also mentioned they noticed about Weeden. He has little to no receiving help. It’s not advisable to have him on your fantasy team.

Projection: 3250 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 50 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns (167 pts standard/201 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

RB Trent Richardson (Cleveland)

8/27/12: Trent Richardson is expected to be back for week 1, so I’m moving him up slightly, but I’m still down on him because he’s a rookie on a poor offense and coming off an offseason in which he had 2 knee surgeries. He’ll be overdrafted.

8/13/12: Poor Browns. They just can’t catch a break. Trent Richardson will have to undergo surgery on his left knee. That surgery is just a scope so it’s as minor as it comes, but this is the 2nd time that knee has been operated on this year, so it’s not what you want to see from the player you just spent the 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft on.

The Browns expect Richardson to be back for the opener, but that’s not certain and it’s definitely possible he’ll miss a couple games at some point this season with lingering knee pain. The Browns could also scale back his workload early in September. As talented as Richardson is, rookie running backs have had trouble adjusting to a 16-game NFL season in recent years as 1st round pick running backs have averaged just have just averaged 165 carries as rookies since 2007. It’s important to keep fantasy projections for him conservative as a rookie.

Richardson will be the feature back in Cleveland, but I’d be wary of drafting him too early. These are the 1st round rookie running backs since 2007 and how many carries they had as rookies, as well as their yards per carry. Mark Ingram- 122 (3.9), CJ Spiller- 74 (3.8), Ryan Mathews- 158 (4.3), Jahvid Best- 171 (3.2), Knowshon Moreno- 247 (3.8), Donald Brown- 78 (3.6), Chris Wells- 176 (4.5), Darren McFadden- 113 (4.4), Jonathan Stewart- 184 (4.5), Felix Jones- 30 (8.9), Rashard Mendenhall- 19 (3.1), Chris Johnson- 251 (4.9), Adrian Peterson- 238 (5.6), Marshawn Lynch- 280 (4.0). Richardson is better than most, if not all of those backs, but I’d still temper my expectations because he could hit a rookie wall in his first 16 game season. He also doesn’t play on a very good offense, so his YPC and touchdown potential isn’t great.

Projection: 230 carries 980 rushing yards 7 total touchdowns 32 catches 260 receiving yards (166 pts standard/198 pts PPR)

RB Montario Hardesty (Cleveland)

8/27/12: Hardesty is moving down, but is still an interesting handcuff for Richardson because of Richardson’s two knee surgeries.

8/13/12: Largely a bust as a 2010 2nd round pick for the first 2 years of his career, Montario Hardesty is reportedly finally healthy and looked it in their first preseason game, starting in the absence of Richardson. Because we need to keep projections for Richardson conservative as a rookie, Hardesty makes for an interesting handcuff and potential late round sleeper.

Projection: 100 carries 440 rushing yards 4 total touchdowns 18 catches 120 receiving yards (80 pts standard/98 pts PPR)

WR Greg Little (Cleveland)

8/20/12: In essentially Cleveland’s 3rd preseason game (they used their 2nd preseason game as their regular season tune up instead of their 3rd because they play the Eagles in week 3 of the Preseason and week 1 of the Regular season), Little looked great and led the way with 4 catches for 45 yards. He was actually 17th in the league in targets last year, but only managed 61 catches for 709 yards and 2 touchdowns for two reasons, his quarterback play and his own play.

Browns quarterbacks completed just 56.1% of their passes for 5.8 YPA and 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Brandon Weeden, at the very least, should be an upgrade. However, Little also dropped 14 passes last season. If he had caught half of those, he would have had something like 68 catches for 800 receiving yards. He was incredibly raw as a rookie, after missing his final year at North Carolina with suspension, but he’s gotten himself into better shape this offseason and seems poised for a breakout season. He’s still, by far, his team’s best receiver and could approach 1000 yards if Weeden is better than I think and is even a league average starter.

Little was really raw as a rookie and should only be better in his 2nd season, especially since they got him an upgrade at quarterback. Besides, who else is Weeden going to throw to? Little is a solid WR5 or so with upside if both he and Weeden prove to be better than expected.

Projection: 72 catches 850 receiving yards 6 receiving touchdowns (121 pts standard/193 pts PPR)

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Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Projections

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QB Andy Dalton (Cincinnati)

I’m expecting a sophomore slump for Andy Dalton. Dalton played well to start last season, completing 61.5% of his passes for an average of 6.6 YPA, and 12 touchdowns to 7 interceptions, leading the Bengals to a 6-2 record. However, in the 2nd half of the season, teams seemed to catch on and the Bengals went just 3-5 as Dalton completed just 54.6% of his passes for 6.6 YPA, and 8 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.

The Bengals also didn’t beat a playoff team all last year, going 0-8. Against a tougher schedule and with the league catching on to his game, Dalton could have a down season this year. I think he’s one of the most overrated quarterbacks in the league. There was a time when Colt McCoy had a decent rookie year, but teams caught on eventually and now he’s a backup. Dalton was a similar player coming out of school.

Projection: 3280 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 130 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown (192 pts standard/228 pts in 6 pt TD leagues)

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Cincinnati)

8/27/12: BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be the clear starter in Cincinnati, at least early in the season. He’s not very talented and could easy lose carries or his job to Bernard Scott sometime this season, but he moves up a little bit.

It’s hard to get excited about either of Cincinnati’s backs. Both averaged under 4 yards per carry last year and neither of them catch passes all that well. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is currently expected to be the lead back, but I really think Scott could surpass him in carries by the end of the season. I really don’t think BJGE is that good. The Patriots’ offense made him look a lot better than he is and even then he didn’t look that good. He’ll get the goal line carries, however.

Projection: 200 carries 740 rushing yards 7 total touchdowns 14 catches 100 receiving yards (126 pts standard/140 pts PPR)

RB Bernard Scott (Cincinnati)

8/27/12: Bernard Scott will start the season as a pure backup, though he could end up stealing BJGE’s job by the end of the season. The problem is that Scott isn’t very talented either. I would stay away from Cincinnati’s backfield entirely.

Scott will probably be the Bengals’ lead back by the end of the season because he’s the more talented of the two backs, but he’s still not very good. He won’t get the goal line carries or catch a lot of passes for you either. His biggest value is his rushing yardage. I wouldn’t want either of Cincinnati’s backs in my starting lineup, but Scott does have some sleeper potential as a RB5 or so.

Projection: 150 carries 570 rushing yards 4 total touchdowns 17 catches 130 receiving yards (94 pts standard/111 pts PPR)

WR AJ Green (Cincinnati)

With Andy Dalton having the sophomore slump I’m predicting for him, Green’s production will obviously dip a bit. He’s still too talented not to be a fantasy starter, however. He could still see his touchdowns increase next season. The 7 he had in 2011 seems awfully low for someone as talented as Green, however much Dalton does like targeting tight end Jermaine Gresham in the red zone.

Projection: 62 catches 1000 receiving yards 7 receiving touchdowns (142 pts standard/204 pts PPR)

TE Jermaine Gresham (Cincinnati)

Gresham should also see a small dip in his production this season, particularly his touchdowns. AJ Green is way more talented than Gresham so it wouldn’t surpass me if Green became Dalton’s favorite red zone target over Gresham.

Projection: 52 catches 560 receiving yards 5 receiving touchdowns (86 pts standard/138 pts PPR)

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Jets’ Joe McKnight admits he gained 15 pounds from eating McDonalds

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Earlier this offseason, it was revealed that Joe McKnight added 15 pounds to his frame in an effort to handle more of a load this season with LaDainian Tomlinson gone and Shonn Greene still yet to prove himself as a true feature back. However, McKnight admitted today that those 15 pounds were added as a result of eating a lot of McDonalds, never a good sign. It’s possible McKnight might not be in shape. He’ll have to get in shape by the regular season or it’ll sap his explosiveness. Perhaps he can ask Head Coach Rex Ryan, who has lost 90 pounds in the last 2 years, for some advice.

Bengals’ Andy Dalton bulks up to 225

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Coming out of TCU, arm strength was the biggest knock on Andy Dalton and the main reason why he fell to the 2nd round, but he proved as a rookie that he had adequate arm strength and above average everything else, leading the Bengals to the playoffs. However, he is not satisfied. In an attempt to increase his arm strength and his mere 6.6 YPA, Dalton has spent the offseason bulking up and is now at 225, up 10 pounds from his Combine weigh in of 215 and up 18 pounds from the 207 pounds Dalton admits he was at last season.

We’ll have to see how this affects him on the field, if at all. One might expect Dalton to continue to improve as a 2nd year player, but sophomore slumps are common in sports and Dalton only surpassed 200 yards in 1 of his last 5 regular season games last year, a stretch the Bengals went 2-3 over. They went 3-5 over their last 8 overall, 3-6 if you count playoffs, and didn’t beat a single playoff team all year.

Titans’ GM comments on quarterback situation

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The Titans’ quarterback battle between Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck might be the most intriguing quarterback battle of the preseason for the sheer reason that both are solid quarterbacks and that the Titans might be the best team in the league with an unresolved quarterback situation. Hasselbeck is the proven veteran, but turns 37 in September, while Locker is inexperienced, but impressed in limited action as a rookie after being the 8th overall pick on the 2011 NFL Draft. Adam Schefter among others believe Hasselbeck will be the starter week 1.

Today, Titans GM Ruston Webster weighed in on the situation saying that it will be more on “gut feel” than stats or anything else. This might hint at Matt Hasselbeck. The stats say Locker is the better quarterback. He averaged 8.1 YPA last year, completed 51.5% of his passes, and threw 4 interceptions to no interceptions, while Hasselbeck averaged 6.9 YA, completed 61.6% of his passes, and threw 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. However, Hasselbeck is an experienced veteran with savvy and leadership that Locker cannot yet possess because of his age. The Titans are set pretty well to compete for a playoff spot this year and might not want to jeopardize that by putting out a young quarterback that will have growing pains.

Titans’ Kenny Britt has another surgery

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When healthy, Kenny Britt is one of the most talented receivers in the league. In his last 14 full games, he’s caught 56 passes for 1146 yards and 12 touchdowns, which would be very good stats over a 16 game season. However, he missed most of last season with a torn ACL and today needed surgery again on that same knee.

The Titans don’t seem overly concerned and it doesn’t sound like he’ll miss any more time. It was a relatively minor procedure, one that GM Ruston Webster even called “common.” However, it’s a setback in his recovery nonetheless and that’s never a good thing. Even if he’ll probably be good to go week 1, there will be questions about his ability to play all 16 games and play at 100%. Derrick Morgan had the same surgery last offseason and managed just 2.5 sacks in 14 games. It’ll be worth monitoring his progress because Britt could be a fantasy steal if he’s close to 100% this season.

Varying opinions on how Bears’ wide receivers stack up on depth chart

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The Bears acquired Brandon Marshall for a pair of 3rd round picks this offseason to be their #1 receiver. That much is known. However, that’s about all that’s known. There are varying opinions on how Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Alshon Jeffery stack up 2-4 on the depth chart. ESPN Chicago reported earlier this month that Devin Hester was penciled in at the #2 receiver spot, leaving rookie 2nd round pick Alshon Jeffery in the slot. However, they’ve since backtracked, saying that Hester will only be used in special packages.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Hester will still return kicks and punts, which doesn’t make it sound like he’ll be heavily involved at receiver. At the same time, the Chicago Tribune is reported that they’d be “stunned” if Alshon Jeffery started the season opposite Brandon Marshall. The most natural fit for the 4 receivers would be to put Alshon Jeffery opposite Brandon Marshall, line Earl Bennett up in the slot where he’s best, and use Devin Hester as a 4th receiver so he can focus more on what he does best, special teams. This is definitely a situation to monitor in Training Camp, however, because it seems like no one knows for sure what’s going on right now.

Vladimir Ducasse could compete with Wayne Hunter for Jets’ right tackle job

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Depending on who you ask in the Jets’ organization, Wayne Hunter is either definitely the week 1 starter or he’ll have competition for his job in Training Camp. Hunter, one of the league’s worst statistical tackles last season, has the full support of offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo, who says that Hunter is the starting right tackle until they “ship him out of here” or “shoot me dead.” Meanwhile, GM Mike Tannenbaum admits that Hunter is their right tackle, but added “for now”. Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was noncommittal on the issue, leaving the door open.

The Jets didn’t draft an offensive tackle at all, but there was some speculation that they’d try to cut or trade Hunter earlier in the offseason, which obviously didn’t happen. In my opinion, I’d say Hunter is probably going to be the week 1 starter at the position, but he’ll have competition in camp and a short leash should he continue to struggle. His main competition would be Vladimir Ducasse, a bust of a former 2nd round pick, who has spent most of his career at guard. Ducasse has worked out exclusively at right tackle in OTAs and figures to be 2nd on the depth chart, for now.