Month: August 2014

Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Team Previews, Cowboys, Uncategorized

QB Tony Romo (Dallas)

Romo is once again coming off of a very strong season, completing 63.9% of his passes for an average of 7.16 YPA, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, a QB rating of 96.7. For his career, he completes 64.6% of his passes for an average of 7.83 YPA, 208 touchdowns, and 101 interceptions. The concern with Romo isn’t a lack of clutch (whatever that means). It’s that he’s going into his age 34 season coming off of a significant back injury with his YPA declining in every season since 2011 (8.02 YPA, 7.57 YPA, 7.16 YPA) and his completion percentage declining in every season since 2010 (69.5%, 66.3%, 65.6%, 63.9%).

4325 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 50 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns (260 pts standard)

RB DeMarco Murray (Dallas)

DeMarco Murray had the best season of his career in 2013, rushing for 1121 yards and 9 touchdowns on 217 attempts, an average of 5.17 YPC. He also added 53 catches for 350 yards and a touchdown through the air. I’m skeptical whether or not he can repeat that kind of season, given his injury history. He’s been banged up dating back to college, even missing 2 games last season, and missing a combined 11 games in 3 seasons in the league. He’s never played more than 14 games in a season and the 270 touches he had last season blew his previous career high of 196 out of the water.

200 carries for 960 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 45 catches for 360 yards (174 pts standard)

RB Lance Dunbar (Dallas)     

If Murray misses time, it’ll be a bigger role for Lance Dunbar, who could have a significant role either way. Scott Linehan, coming in from Detroit to essentially coordinate their offesne, sees Dunbar as someone who can be a Reggie Bush/Darren Sproles/Danny Woodhead type weapon so he’ll have a significant role on passing downs and make Murray largely a two-down running back. He won’t see a lot of carries unless Murray gets hurt, but he could see 40-50 catches.

100 carries for 450 yards, 4 total touchdowns, 40 catches for 350 yards (104 pts standard)

WR Dez Bryant (Dallas)

Dez Bryant has come into his own over the past two seasons, averaging 2.11 yards per route run and catching 185 passes for 2615 yards and 25 touchdowns in the past two seasons combined, while not missing a single game. I expect more of the same from him this season, as easily the top wide receiver in an explosive pass offense.

90 catches for 1200 yards and 11 touchdowns (186 pts standard)

WR Terrance Williams (Dallas)

The heavy favorite to be the #2 wide receiver is Terrence Williams, who was 2nd on the team in snaps played by a wide receiver last season with 700, ahead of the injury plagued Miles Austin, who is now gone. The 3rd round rookie caught 44 passes on 72 targets (61.1%) for 736 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns on 490 routes run, an average of 1.50 yards per route run, which isn’t great. Still, he has upside and he could easily be better in his 2nd year in the league considering rookie wide receivers rarely do anything.

51 catches for 770 yards and 5 touchdowns (107 pts standard)

TE Jason Witten (Dallas)

Jason Witten remains one of the best and most reliable tight ends in the NFL. Since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2003, he’s missed one game, missing one as a rookie when he broke his jaw. He played in the opener in 2012 less than 3 weeks after rupturing his spleen and needing to sign a waiver to get onto the field. Excluding his rookie year, he’s always been between 64 and 110 catches 754 and 1152 yards and 1 and 7 touchdowns. He is once again a solid TE1.

80 catches for 900 yards and 5 touchdowns (120 pts standard)

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Washington Redskins Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Team Previews, Commanders, Uncategorized

QB Robert Griffin (Washington)

As a rookie, Griffin completed 65.6% of his passes for an average of 8.14 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, while rushing for 815 yards and 7 touchdowns on 120 carries (6.79 YPC). Last season, he completed 60.1% of his passes for an average of 7.02 YPA, 16 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, while rushing for 489 yards and no touchdowns on 86 carries (5.69 YPC). This was all before being shut down for the season with 3 weeks to go. The good news is he should bounce back this season. Most of his struggles last season were the result of the torn ACL he suffered in January of 2013. He was able to make it back for week 1, but it clearly limited him. Even Tom Brady struggled, by his standards, in his first year back from his torn ACL and Griffin is much more reliant on his legs and had less time to recover (Brady’s injury was in September). He’s a great bounce back candidate.

3750 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 450 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns (289 pts standard)

RB Alfred Morris (Washington)

Morris rushed for 1613 yards and 13 touchdowns on 335 carries as a 6th round rookie in 2012, an average of 4.81 YPC. In 2013, he rushed for 1275 yards and 7 touchdowns on 276 carries, an average of 4.62 YPC. That’s obviously not a bad season, but he wasn’t as good as he was as a rookie. The good news is that he should find more running space with a healthy Robert Griffin functioning as a dual option at quarterback. The bad news is that Jay Gruden is coming in as head coach and wants to open up the passing offense. Morris has caught 20 passes in 2 seasons. Gruden is on record saying that he wants to give passing down back Roy Helu more snaps.

Last season, Helu played 547 snaps while Morris played 611 snaps. Morris will have a role similar to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who had 472 snaps in Cincinnati, as opposed to 627 snaps for passing down back Giovani Bernard. BJGE still had 220 carries last season and Morris is much more talented than him, while Helu is not as talented as Bernard. It could be a more even split in snaps and Morris could still see 240-260 carries this season, including all the goal line carries, and average a high YPC, but Helu will have a bigger role than last season.

250 carries for 1180 yards, 10 total touchdowns, 15 catches for 100 yards (188 pts standard)

RB Roy Helu (Washington)

As I mentioned, Roy Helu should have a bigger role this season, both in terms of carries and catches. He’s only averaged 4.26 yards per carry in 3 seasons in the league, but he’s caught 87 passes for 675 yards and a touchdown. He won’t do a ton of damage as a runner, but he could catch 40-50 passes. He has more value in PPR leagues than regular leagues.

100 carries for 420 yards, 4 total touchdowns, 40 catches for 320 yards (98 pts standard)

WR Pierre Garcon (Washington)

Garcon missed 6 games and was limited in others in 2012, in the first year of a 5-year, 42.5 million dollar deal that was highly speculative when he signed it because he had never had a 1000 yard season in four years with the Colts, three with Peyton Manning. However, Garcon still flashed in 2012 on 403 snaps, grading out well above average and catching 44 passes for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns on 215 routes run, an average of 2.94 yards per route run that was 2nd best in the NFL. Given that he did that with a bad foot, it was very promising for 2013.

He wasn’t quite as efficient in 2013, but that’s to be expected considering he had significantly more playing time and his quarterback play was significantly worse. He was still really good, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 26th ranked wide receiver. He caught 113 catches on 174 targets (64.9%) for 1346 yards and 5 touchdowns on 615 routes run, an average of 2.19 yards per route run, 12th in the NFL. He was largely a volume receiver, catching primarily underneath targets, with only 25 catches 10+ yards downfield, and finishing 2nd in the NFL in targets. He won’t get as many targets this season with DeSean Jackson coming in and Jordan Reed back healthy, but he should have more room to work with and better quarterback play.

88 catches for 1090 yards and 5 touchdowns (139 pts standard)

WR DeSean Jackson (Washington)

DeSean Jackson had a career year last year, catching 82 passes for 1332 yards and 9 touchdowns, all either career highs or tying career highs. The Eagles still cut him though, in favor of re-signing Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper. He’s highly unlikely to match those numbers now that he’s out of Chip Kelly’s system. He could easily be 3rd on the Redskins in catches, serving primarily as a deep decoy while Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed eat up underneath catches. Stay away for fantasy purposes.

60 catches for 960 yards and 6 touchdowns (132 pts standard)

TE Jordan Reed (Washington)

Reed, a 3rd round rookie last season, missed 7 games with concussions, but still caught 45 passes on 60 attempts (75.0%) for 499 yards and 4 touchdowns on 228 routes run, an average of 2.19 yards per route run, 3rd in the NFL. If he stays healthy, he could have a breakout year in 2014. He won’t get a ton of targets with Garcon and Jackson also on the team, but there will be plenty of room for him to work in and he should have quarterback play this season.

68 catches for 790 yards and 6 touchdowns (115 pts standard)

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Philadelphia Eagles Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Team Previews, Eagles, Uncategorized

QB Nick Foles (Philadelphia)

Foles broke into the lineup because of a Vick injury (what else) and took the starting job and ran with it, completing 64.0% of his passes for an average of 9.12 YPA, 27 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He led the league in QB rating at 119.2, ahead of even Peyton Manning, and finished with the 3rd best QB rating season all time. I don’t expect him to be that efficient again. He definitely won’t throw an interception on just 0.6% of his passes again (2 interceptions on 317 attempts). Opponents also now have a full season of tape of Chip Kelly’s offense, so they won’t catch opponents off guard as much, though part of what makes Kelly so great is his ability to adapt. Foles also lost DeSean Jackson, though they’ll attempt to replace him with Jeremy Maclin, Darren Sproles, Jordan Matthews, and a bigger year from Zach Ertz. Foles is still a QB1.

4000 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 300 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns (312 pts standard)

RB LeSean McCoy (Philadelphia)

Last season, McCoy rushed for 1607 yards and 9 touchdowns on 314 attempts, an average of 5.12 yards per attempt, and caught 52 passes on 539 yards and 2 touchdowns. He broke 75 tackles on 366 touches and averaged 2.38 yards per carry after contact, giving him the 9th best elusive rating in the NFL. There’s obviously no guarantee he continues that kind of success. It’s hard to repeat that at any position, especially at running back, especially when you’re a 5-10 198 pounder who had 366 touches (391 including post-season). However, he’s safely a top-3 running back in fantasy this year.

280 carries for 1340 yards, 12 total touchdowns, 50 catches for 450 yards (251 pts standard)

RB Darren Sproles (Philadelphia)

Darren Sproles is a “running back.” I put running back in quotations because he’s had 291 catches to 238 carries over the past 4 seasons combined and he wasn’t brought to Philadelphia to help in the running game. He’ll backup feature back LeSean McCoy, but McCoy played 890 snaps last season and his backup played 199 snaps, including 75 carries. Sproles will help out as a versatile weapon in the passing game and often play at the same time as McCoy, lining up in the other side of the backfield and in the slot primarily. I expect 6-8 touches per game from him.

50 carries for 240 yards, 4 total touchdowns, 50 catches for 400 yards (88 pts standard)

WR Jeremy Maclin (Philadelphia)

The most promising wide receiver for the Eagles is Jeremy Maclin. Maclin missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Maclin is actually a more versatile player as compared to Riley Cooper and even DeSean Jackson and I think he can be a strong fit in Chip Kelly’s offense, though he’s yet to play for Kelly in a regular season game. Injuries have been the problem for Maclin throughout his career as the 2009 1st round pick has missed 21 games in 5 years in his career, including all of last season and has only once played all 16 games. He’s averaged 1.57 yards per route run throughout his career. The 2009 1st round pick could have the best season of his career in 2014 if he can stay healthy.

70 catches for 1050 yards and 7 touchdowns (147 pts standard)

WR Riley Cooper (Philadelphia)

A year ago, Cooper was the Eagles 4th receiver and had 46 catches for 679 catches and 5 touchdowns in the first 3 years of his career. He struggled to start the 2013 season as well, catching 8 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown in his first 5 games in a starting role, before breaking out down the stretch. He had only played 1054 snaps before last season and graded out below average in each of his first 3 seasons in the league. He’s a great fit for the Eagles’ offense and Chip Kelly could easily continue to get the most out of him, but he’s a one-year wonder and he could struggle without Jackson opposite him. He’s certainly not the coverage changing receiver that Jackson was.

55 catches for 820 yards and 5 touchdowns (112 pts standard)

WR Jordan Matthews (Philadelphia)

I hate rookie wide receivers in fantasy. Since 2005, 31 receivers have gone in the 1st round. They’ve averaged 41 catches for 558 yards and 3 touchdowns per season. Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson were top-3 picks and they had 58/780/8 and 48/756/4 respectively as rookies. Matthews wasn’t even a 1st round pick. He’ll be the Eagles’ primary slot receiver this year, which was a big role last season, but he’ll cede snaps to both Darren Sproles and to more two-tight end sets, so he won’t play as much as slot man Jason Avant did in 2013. He’s only worth a look in deep leagues.

45 catches for 550 yards and 4 touchdowns (79 pts standard)

TE Zach Ertz (Philadelphia)

Zach Ertz impressed in limited action as a rookie and will be counted on to help replace DeSean Jackson’s production. Ertz caught 36 passes on 55 attempts (65.5%) for 469 yards and 4 touchdowns on 243 routes run, an impressive 1.93 yards per route run. Going into his 2nd year in the league, the 6-5 250 pound Stanford product will have a bigger role and be used all over the formation. The 2013 2nd round pick could have a breakout year.

50 catches for 680 yards and 6 touchdowns (104 pts standard)

TE Brent Celek (Philadelphia)

Brent Celek caught 32 passes on 47 attempts (68.1%) for 502 yards and 6 touchdowns on 319 routes run last season, an average of 1.59 yards per route run. He could have a bigger role in the passing game this season with Jackson gone, but Ertz is the Philadelphia tight end to own. Celek is a much better blocker than pass catcher.

40 catches for 550 yards and 4 touchdowns (79 pts standard)

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Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Fantasy Football Team Previews, Ravens, Uncategorized

QB Joe Flacco (Baltimore)

Joe Flacco was pretty consistently a slightly above average quarterback in the first 5 seasons of his career from 2008-2012. His QB rating had always fallen between 80.3 and 93.6. His completion percentages had always fallen between 57.6% and 63.1%. His YPAs had always fallen between 6.66 and 7.41. His touchdowns had always fallen between 20 and 25 (with the exception of his rookie year) and his interceptions had always fallen between 10 and 12.

He then had a fantastic post-season in 2012, en route to that Super Bowl, completing 57.9% of his passes for an average of 9.05 YPA, 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He followed that up with the worst season of his career in 2013, completing 59.7% of his passes for an average of 6.37 YPA, 19 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, easily a career worst QB rating of 73.1. Part of it was his fault but he really didn’t have much help. The Ravens made some changes around him so there’s some bounce back potential, but he’s still just a QB2.

3700 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 100 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown (224 pts standard)

RB Ray Rice (Baltimore)

From 2009-2012, Rice averaged 277 carries for 1267 yards and 8 touchdowns and 70 catches for 610 yards and 2 touchdowns per season, an average of 4.57 yards per carry. However, in 2013, he rushed for 660 yards and 4 touchdowns on 214 carries (3.08 YPC) and caught 58 passes for 321 yards. He broke just 13 tackles on 272 touches and averaged 1.52 yards per carry after contact, giving him easily the league’s worst elusive rating.

Rice isn’t over the hill, only going into his age 27 season and his struggles last year are being attributed to overwork over the previous 4 seasons (1387 touches), a nagging hip injury, and him being overweight. He says the hip injury is behind him and he’s slimmed down this off-season and he’s been looking better in practice so a bounce back year isn’t out of the question, especially with a better offensive line and a new offensive system in place. Hurting his chances at a bounce back year is a two game suspension he’ll face to start the season, after assaulting his now wife this off-season.

180 carries for 720 yards, 5 total touchdowns, 40 catches for 300 yards (132 pts standard)

RB Bernard Pierce (Baltimore)

The player who can take the most advantage of Rice’s potential suspension is Bernard Pierce. Pierce, a 2012 3rd round pick, proved to be very valuable as a rookie en route to a Super Bowl victory, totaling 734 yards and a touchdown on 140 carries across the regular season and post-season, an average of 5.24 yards per carry. However, thanks to the blocking, an injury of his own, and his own struggles, Pierce averaged just 2.87 yards per carry last season and was unable to take advantage of a struggling Rice. He had a better elusive though so more of his struggles can be attributed to the blocking. Healthier, in a new system in his 3rd year in the league, Pierce could have a bounce back year. If he impresses as the lead back in Rice’s absence, he could remain in that role.

160 carries for 670 yards, 5 total touchdowns, 22 catches for 130 yards (110 pts standard)

RB Lorenzo Taliaferro (Baltimore)

The Ravens are going to give both Rice and Pierce the opportunity to bounce back this season, but 4th round rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro is still worth monitoring in all leagues and drafting as a late round flier in deep leagues. At the very least, he’ll see action early in the season when Rice is suspended. He’s the definition of a deep sleeper.

90 carries for 380 yards, 3 total touchdowns, 15 catches for 110 yards (67 pts standard)

WR Torrey Smith (Baltimore)

Smith appeared to have a breakout year last season in his 3rd year in the league after being drafted in the 2nd round in 2011, catching 65 passes for 1128 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he’s a fairly incomplete volume wide receiver who wasn’t as good as his stats suggested last season. He only caught 51.2% of his targets (65 catches on 127 targets) and only caught 39 passes on balls that went 10 or fewer yards through the air, 71st most in the NFL. He’s pretty much just a deep threat who was overstretched last season. He’ll catch more passes in the Ravens’ new west coast offense under Gary Kubiak, but he’s not an ideal fit for the offense because of his limited route running ability. It’s possible he develops more this season, only going into his age 25 season.

71 catches for 1050 yards and 6 touchdowns (141 pts standard)

TE Dennis Pitta (Baltimore)

Pitta missed 12 games with a hip problem last off-season and was limited upon his return. Still, he caught 20 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in 4 games, which extrapolates to 80 catches for 716 yards and 4 touchdowns over 16 games. He did that on 128 routes run, an average of 1.32 yards per route run. He caught a lot of passes in those 4 games, but showed little explosiveness. Now he should be completely healthy and he’s going into a system under Gary Kubiak that benefits tight ends. The Ravens obviously believe in him, giving him a 5-year, 32.5 million dollar deal ahead of free agency this off-season. He’s never had more than 61 catches for 669 yards and 7 touchdowns in a season, which he did in 2012, when he averaged 1.69 yards per route run, but I see him exceeding that this season.

65 catches for 760 yards and 6 touchdowns (112 pts standard)

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Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football Projections 2014

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QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh)

Roethlisberger’s 2013 season was right in line with his career averages as he completed 64.2% of his passes for an average of 7.30 YPA, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions, a QB rating of 92.0. In his career, he completes 63.3% of his passes for an average of 7.85 YPA, 219 touchdowns, and 122 interceptions, a QB rating of 92.6. He takes fewer shots downfield now under offensive coordinator Todd Haley, which has lowered his YPA, but he completes a higher percentage of his passes and has a better touchdown to interception ratio. One thing Roethlisberger did last season that was unusual is play all 16 games, something he had only done once in his career prior. He’s missed 17 games in 10 seasons and will probably miss a game or two with some sort of injury this season, as his playing style leads him to take a lot of hits.

Projection: 3800 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 120 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown (254 pts standard)

RB Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh)

Le’Veon Bell, a 2013 2nd round pick, returns as the starter. He only rushed 860 yards and 8 touchdowns on 244 carries last season, an average of 3.52 YPC, but he broke tackles (46 broken tackles on 289 touches), got yards after contact (2.11 YPC after contact), and moved the chains (48 rushing first downs, 14th in the NFL). He also added 45 catches for 399 yards through the air. He missed 3 games and struggled through an injury at times, but now he’s going into his 2nd year in the league and he should be healthier. He rushed for 578 yards and 5 touchdowns on 164 carries (3.52 YPC) and caught 28 passes for 252 yards in his final 8 games. The issue is LeGarrette Blount is now around to steal carries, especially near the goal line.

240 carries for 960 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 55 catches for 480 yards (186 pts standard)

RB LeGarrette Blount (Pittsburgh)

LeGarrette Blount is a big name after what he did to the Colts in the playoffs, rushing for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns. However, people forget he had just 6 yards on 5 carries the following week in a loss in Denver. Blount averaged 5.19 yards per carry last season, including playoffs, on a combined 182 carries, but he was also available for a late round pick and a minimal salary the off-season prior, after averaging 4.14 yards per carry on 225 carries in 2011 and 2012 combined. His career average of 4.68 yards per carry is pretty solid, but he offers nothing as a pass catcher (23 career catches), pass protector, has minimal special teams experience (17 career returns), fumbles often (9 fumbles on 579 career carries) and has a history of discipline problems. He’ll get touches in Pittsburgh, especially around the goal line, but he’ll probably need a Bell injury to be relevant outside of deep leagues.

140 carries for 630 yards, 6 total touchdowns, 5 catches for 40 yards (103 pts standard)

WR Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh)

Because of their off-season losses at wide receiver, Antonio Brown could have even more targets this year than he did last year, when he was targeted 159 times, 4th most among wide receivers in the NFL. He caught 110 of those targets (69.2%) for 1498 yards and 8 touchdowns and averaged 2.37 yards per route run. The only player who had more receiving yards than him last season was Josh Gordon, who is currently expected to be suspended for the entire 2014 season.

Now fully out of the shadow of guys like Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Mike Wallace, Brown, 2010 6th round pick, is quietly one of the best wide receivers in the game. He’s caught 245 passes for 3394 yards and 15 touchdowns over the past 3 seasons combined and now he’s coming off of the best season of his career. He’s an excellent route runner and a perfect fit for Todd Haley’s system.

102 catches for 1440 yards and 7 touchdowns (186 pts standard)

TE Heath Miller (Pittsburgh)

Heath Miller could be 2nd on the team in targets. Miller was limited to 58 catches for 593 yards and a touchdown last season as he missed 2 games and was limited in others after tearing his ACL towards the end of the 2012 season. That should be behind him now and he was better towards the end of last season, as he caught 34 passes for 325 yards in his final 8 games. That extrapolates to 68 catches for 650 yards over 16 games. From 2009-2012, he averaged 60 catches for 687 yards and 5 touchdowns per season and he could easily have a year similar, if not better, than that this season as the Steelers’ 2nd option.

63 catches for 670 yards and 5 touchdowns (97 pts standard)

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Cleveland Browns Fantasy Football Projections 2014

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RB Ben Tate (Cleveland)

Ben Tate was drafted in the 2nd round in 2010 by the Texans to be the starting running back, but broke his ankle in the pre-season, which opened the door for Arian Foster to emerge as one of the best running backs in the NFL. Upon his return from that injury, Tate impressed as his backup, averaging 5.09 YPC on 240 carries in 2011 and 2012 and got his shot to be the starter in 2013 when Arian Foster went down with a season ending back injury.

Unfortunately, the injury bug reared its head for Tate again as he broke several ribs. He only missed 2 games, the final two of the season, but was definitely hampered by the injury as he averaged just 4.26 yards per carry on 181 carries. Tate clearly has the talent and toughness to be a lead back in the NFL, but he’s also missed 24 of 64 possible regular season games in his career thus far and is coming off of an injury plagued season. Staying healthy will be the key to him potentially having a breakout year.

200 carries for 840 yards, 6 total touchdowns, 30 catches for 220 yards (142 pts standard)

RB Terrance West (Cleveland)

West is a good value pick after the top running backs go. Ben Tate’s injury history is well documented and West is reportedly just a notch behind Tate in the coaching staff’s eyes anyway and could easily see a bunch of carries on a run heavy offense anyway. The 3rd round rookie could end up being a steal in the mid rounds.

160 carries for 700 yards, 6 total touchdowns, 24 catches for 180 yards (124 pts standard)

WR Andrew Hawkins (Cleveland)

Hawkins has flashed in 3 seasons with the Bengals since coming to them as an undrafted free agent in 2011, averaging 1.66 yards per route run in his career. However, he’s only run 598 routes in his career and caught 86 passes for 995 yards and 4 touchdowns. In the only season he got significant playing time, 2012, he caught 51 passes for 533 yards and 4 touchdowns on 384 routes run, 1.39 yards per route run. The Browns are hoping he’s a budding talent that was just buried on the depth chart in Cincinnati, giving him a 4-year, 13.6 million deal this off-season, but that might be wishful thinking. He’s their best wide receiver only by default, and doesn’t have a ton of fantasy value.

62 catches for 740 yards and 4 touchdowns (98 pts standard)

TE Jordan Cameron (Cleveland)

The only Browns pass catcher that does have fantasy value is tight end Jordan Cameron, who should lead the Browns in all receiving categories this season. However, he might not match the 80 catches for 917 yards and 7 touchdowns he had last season as the Browns won’t pass 681 times again this season. They could have 150-200 fewer passing attempts this season and Cameron only averaged 1.47 yards per route run last season. He could be more efficient this season, but I don’t see him having more than the 109 targets he had last season, 3rd in the NFL.

64 catches for 800 yards and 8 touchdowns (128 pts standard)

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Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Team Fantasy Football Previews, Bengals, Uncategorized

QB Andy Dalton (Cincinnati)

Andy Dalton will be a better real quarterback than fantasy quarterback this year with the Bengals going to a more run heavy offense. The Bengals had 33 passing touchdowns to 14 rushing touchdowns last season, which won’t happen again, and Dalton might not get over 500 attempts. He’s a QB2 with limited upside.

3500 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 220 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns (246 pts standard)

RB Giovani Bernard (Cincinnati)

Under new offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, the Bengals are going to be more run heavy. This is great news for Giovani Bernard. Bernard only had 170 carries as a rookie in 2013, rushing for 695 yards and 5 touchdowns, an average of 4.09 yards per carry, but he also caught 56 passes for 514 yards and another 3 touchdowns. Bernard might not have quite as many catches this season, but there will be more opportunity for him to carry the ball in his 2nd year in the league. He’s the lead back and could have 300+ touches.

Darren McFadden, a running back with a similar style skill set, but less career success, was great under Hue Jackson, rushing for 1771 yards on 336 carries, an average of 5.27 YPA, catching 66 passes for 661 yards and scoring 15 times total in 20 games from 2010-2011 under offensive coordinator and eventual head coach Hue Jackson. Bernard profiled similar to Ray Rice coming out of college and Rice had a similar rookie year, rushing for 454 yards on 107 carries and catching 33 passes for 273 yards. Rice didn’t break out until his 2nd year in the league, when he rushed for 1339 yards and 7 touchdowns on 254 carries and caught 78 passes for 702 yards and another touchdown, after he had a full year in an NFL training system to add weight. Bernard could have a similar year in his 2nd year in the league.

250 carries for 1100 yards, 10 total touchdowns, 50 catches for 450 yards (215 pts standard)

RB Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati)

Bernard will see a bunch of touches, but so will 2nd round rookie Jeremy Hill. They used a high pick on him and reports have been very favorable about him this off-season. Hill is a talented 6-1 235 pounder and will serve as an upgraded complement to Bernard, as compared to BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Hill won’t have the 224 touches that BJGE had last season, but he’ll see enough action to make a fantasy impact.

180 carries for 750 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 18 catches for 150 yards (132 pts standard)

WR AJ Green (Cincinnati)

Green has averaged 2.25 yards per route run in his career. He’s only caught 59.0% of his career targets and had 26 drops, 19 penalties, and 22 interceptions when thrown to throughout his career, so he has some issues that don’t show up on a traditional stat sheet, but he’s still one of the better wide receivers in the game. He could see less production this year though in a more run heavy offense, but he’ll still be Dalton’s preferred target.

90 catches for 1250 yards and 10 touchdowns (185 pts standard)

TE Tyler Eifert (Cincinnati)

With Marvin Jones missing at least the first month of the season with injury, Tyler Eifert will be the Bengals’ #2 receiving option. The 2013 1st round pick is a better all-around player than Jermaine Gresham and could supplant him as the starting tight end. Either way, they will run a lot of two-tight end sets this season so Eifert will be on the field a lot. I expect him to finish 2nd on this team in receiving yards.

49 catches for 700 yards and 5 touchdowns (100 pts standard)

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Tennessee Titans Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Team Fantasy Football Previews, Titans, Uncategorized

QB Jake Locker (Tennessee)

Injuries have sidetracked the former 8th overall pick’s career. He’s played in just 23 games in 3 seasons, working as a backup to veteran Matt Hasselbeck as a rookie and then missing a combined 14 games over the past 2 seasons with a variety of injuries. Last year, he suffered a hip injury after 4 starts, wasn’t the same upon his return, and then suffered a season ending foot injury 3 starts after his return from the first injury. In 2012, it was his shoulder. He seems really brittle. There are few QB2s with more upside though. In his career, he has 563 pass attempts, about a season’s worth, and he has 3974 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and he’s rushed for another 502 yards and 4 scores. Those are low end QB1 numbers if he can stay healthy. He’s also coming off the best season of his career statistically and he gets quarterback guru Ken Whisenhunt as his head coach.

3600 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 280 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns (236 pts standard)

RB Bishop Sankey (Tennessee)

Sankey doesn’t have ideal size at 5-9 209, but he ran a 4.49 40 and he runs harder than his size. He showed the ability to carry the load at Washington, with 677 touches over his final 2 seasons combined, but he doesn’t even turn 22 until September so his legs should be pretty fresh. He has three down ability and some considered him the top running back in the draft class. The Titans obviously did, making him the first running back off the board. Sankey should get the opportunity to be the feature back immediately in Tennessee because they don’t have much else at the running back position.

230 carries for 970 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 35 catches for 300 yards (169 pts standard)

RB Shonn Greene (Tennessee)

Shonn Greene, who had 77 carries last season, remains in the backup role, now behind Sankey. He’s only a backup caliber running back. He’s averaged just 4.14 YPC on 899 career carries and offers nothing on passing downs, with just 71 catches in 72 career games. He’s not going to get any better going into his age 29 season. He could see more playing time behind Sankey than he did behind Johnson, but his only value is as a handcuff for Sankey.

110 carries for 440 yards, 4 total touchdowns, 10 catches for 80 yards (76 pts standard)

RB Dexter McCluster (Tennessee)

The Titans brought McCluster in from Kansas City to play the Danny Woodhead role in Ken Whisenhunt’s offense. Woodhead had 106 carries for 429 yards, 76 catches for 605 yards, and 8 total touchdowns last season. McCluster isn’t as good and won’t play as big of a role, but if he even has half of Woodhead’s 2013 production, he’s worth rostering in PPR leagues.

50 carries for 220 yards, 3 total touchdowns, 40 catches for 320 yards (72 pts standard)

WR Kendall Wright (Tennessee)

Kendall Wright had a breakout year last year, catching 94 passes for 1079 yards, but he only scored twice. He’s an underrated fantasy asset because he should score more touchdowns this season. He’s the #1 option in an offense that could be better this season with potentially a full season of Jake Locker under center and Wright is going into his 3rd in the league and the 2012 1st round pick could be even better than last season.

78 catches for 1110 yards and 6 touchdowns (147 pts standard)

WR Justin Hunter (Tennessee)

One player the Titans are hoping can step up this season is Justin Hunter, a 2013 2nd round pick. Hunter played 340 snaps as a rookie and was pretty ordinary. He caught 18 passes for 354 yards and 4 touchdowns on 212 routes run, an average of 1.67 yards per route run. That’s a solid average, though he only caught 18 of 41 targets (43.9%) and had 5 drops. Rookie receivers don’t usually do much anyway though and Hunter was regarded as really raw coming out of the University of Tennessee. Going only into his age 23 season, the height, weight, speed freak (6-4, 196, 4.44 40) could become a contributor in 3-wide receiver sets.

42 catches for 650 yards and 5 touchdowns (95 pts standard)

WR Nate Washington (Tennessee)

Nate Washington continued his solid play last season, catching 58 passes for 919 yards and 3 touchdowns on 558 routes run, an average of 1.65 yards per route run. Over the past 3 seasons, Washington has caught 178 passes for 2688 yards and 14 touchdowns and averaged 1.62 yards per route run. However, there’s not much upside with him as he heads into his age 31 season with two young receivers in Wright and Hunter continuing to get better around him.

51 catches for 760 yards and 4 touchdowns (100 pts standard)

TE Delanie Walker (Tennessee)

The Titans signed Delanie Walker from the 49ers on a 4-year, 17.5 million dollar deal last off-season, hoping that Walker, who had never caught 30 passes in a season before last year, would become a better receiver with more playing time in Tennessee as the starting tight end. He was a backup to Vernon Davis in San Francisco. Walker was more productive, catching 60 passes for 571 yards and 6 touchdowns, but he wasn’t that efficient, averaging just 1.19 yards per route run. I expect more of the same from him this season. He’s a bye week filler at tight end only.

55 catches for 570 yards and 4 touchdowns (81 pts standard)

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Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Team Fantasy Football Previews, Jaguars, Uncategorized

RB Toby Gerhart (Jacksonville)

The Jaguars signed former Vikings backup running back Toby Gerhart to be their starting running back and the Jaguars are talking him up as a 300+ carry three-down back. The 2010 2nd round pick clearly has some talent, averaging 4.73 YPC on 276 carries (1305 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns) in 4 years in the league. However, he has limited action, with an average of 69 carries per season. He has played the majority of his snaps in passing situations, meaning, when he does carry the ball, he’s doing it against a defensive front that’s not expecting the run.

The 6-0 231 pounder has caught 77 passes in his career, which is solid, but unspectacular. He has some three down potential, but he’s a serious projection to that role. The Jaguars are expected to pound the rock with Gerhart to take the pressure off of their passing game, though that plan is best executed when leading, which the Jaguars probably won’t be doing a lot of this season. He’ll be an RB2 on volume, but it’s hard to get excited about him, especially on such a poor offense.

250 carries for 1050 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 40 catches for 300 yards (177 pts standard)

WR Cecil Shorts (Jacksonville)

With Blackmon likely out for the season, Cecil Shorts will remain as the #1 receiver. Shorts showed potential in 2012, when he caught 55 passes for 979 yards and 7 touchdowns on 423 routes run, an impressive average of 2.31 yards per route run. He seemed poised for a breakout year in 2013 in a bigger role. However, Shorts didn’t live up to expectations and showed himself to pretty much just be a complementary receiver who needs someone opposite him to take the pressure off of him. He caught 66 passes on 117 targets (56.4%) for 777 yards and 3 touchdowns on 472 routes run in 2013, an average of 1.65 yards per route run. He’s also never played more than 14 games in a season in the 3 seasons he’s been in the league, showing a tendency to get injured, and is dealing with hamstring problems in training camp.

58 catches for 750 yards and 4 touchdowns (99 pts standard)

WR Marqise Lee (Jacksonville)

There’s been buzz about Marqise Lee this off-season, but I don’t trust rookie wide receivers, especially not ones who play in passing offenses like Jacksonville’s. Since 2005, 31 receivers have gone in the 1st round. They’ve averaged 41 catches for 558 yards and 3 touchdowns per season. Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson were top-3 picks and they had 58/780/8 and 48/756/4 respectively as rookies. Lee wasn’t even good enough to go in the 2nd round. He should struggle out of the gate.

45 catches for 620 yards and 4 touchdowns (86 pts standard)

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Houston Texans Fantasy Football Projections 2014

stevenlourie 2014 Fantasy Football, 2014 Team Fantasy Football Previews, Texans, Uncategorized

RB Arian Foster (Houston)

Foster was off to a strong start to last season, rushing for 542 yards and a touchdown on 121 carries, an average of 4.48 YPC. He finished 23rd among eligible running backs last season despite playing just 334 snaps, before going down with injury. Foster was breaking down before the injury though, largely as a result of the 1115 touches he had in the previous 3 seasons. His YPC went down from 4.94 YPC in 2010 to 4.40 YPC in 2011 to 4.06 YPC in 2012. Now coming off of a significant back injury and going into his age 28 season, he could continue breaking down. At the same time, he could also continue playing well, like he was last season, now that’s he’s had some time to rest and rebuild. My bet would be that he continues breaking down, after seeing him deal with more injuries in training camp, but there’s bounce back potential here.

240 carries for 1010 yards, 7 total touchdowns, 38 catches for 260 yards (169 pts standard)

WR Andre Johnson (Houston)

Johnson missed valuable time with a new quarterback and head coach thanks to an off-season holdout. He’s also going into his age 33 season, which makes that holdout even more concerning. Johnson’s 12,661 yards are 17th all-time and he could easily be Hall-of-Fame bound when it’s all said and done. However, even the average top-20 receiver (in terms of yardage all-time) has his last 1000 yard season at age 34-35, averages 48 catches for 594 yards and 3 touchdowns for 2 more seasons after age 34-35, and is done playing by age 36-37. Johnson isn’t quite there right now, but he’s at the point in his career where is age is becoming a concern. Couple that with poor quarterback play and the fact that he’s never been a big touchdown guy and you have someone who you should let be someone else’s problem in the early part of the draft.

88 catches for 1210 yards and 6 touchdowns (157 pts standard)

WR DeAndre Hopkins (Houston)

Any production Johnson loses this season should be the gain of 2nd year wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was the 26th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Hopkins was working as the #1 receiver in Johnson’s absence, becoming better acquainted with the new offensive system and the new quarterback. Hopkins had a decent rookie year, catching 52 passes for 802 yards and 2 touchdowns. Since 2005, 31 receivers have gone in the 1st round. They’ve averaged 41 catches for 558 yards and 3 touchdowns per season. Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson were top-3 picks and they had 58/780/8 and 48/756/4 lines respectively as rookies, both inferior to Hopkins’ rookie year. Wide receivers usually take a year or so to get adjusted to the NFL and Hopkins could make a leap in his 2nd year in the league in 2014. Reports on him this off-season have been very promising.

59 catches for 930 yards and 5 touchdowns (123 pts standard)

TE Garrett Graham (Houston)

With the injury prone and aging Owen Daniels gone, Garrett Graham will once again be the #1 tight end. He rose to this role last season after Daniels went down for the season week 5. He caught caught 49 passes for 545 yards and 5 touchdowns last season and I expect more of the same from him this season. He’s a weak TE2.

48 catches for 590 yards and 4 touchdowns (83 pts standard)

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