Fantasy Football Fix: Old faces in new places
Want to get a jump on your fantasy football team? Here’s the second part of a series to help you get ready for your fantasy football draft.
We all need a fresh start sometimes, and these guys are no exception.
In this week’s edition of Fantasy Football Fix I’ll be highlighting players that will benefit from some new scenery in 2016. As Brett Favre showed us in 1992, a new helmet and a new city can breathe new life on a player’s state sheet.
Favre finished 1991 0-for-4 through the air (his first pass attempt in Atlanta was intercepted and returned for a touchdown) before a trade landed him in Green Bay the following season when he threw for 3,227 yards. I see these guys, maybe on a slightly smaller scale, finding some of that Favre magic this fall.
Lamar Miller
Houston RB
Miller was wildly underutilized in Miami and still managed to rank sixth among running backs in fantasy points (187) last season. He had six games with fewer than 10 carries in 2015 while matching Adrian Peterson’s mark of 4.5 yards-per rush.
Now that he has a new home in Houston, Miller is expected to get a much heavier workload compared to his 194 attempts a season ago. The fifth-year man out of Miami ran for 20 or more yards on seven attempts last year and will see that number increase with more opportunities.
Likely place in a 12-team draft: Round 3.
Martellus Bennett
New England TE
We all had that one awful roommate in college that we couldn’t get away from fast enough. Then we moved in with that awesome roommate that washed dishes and everything. For Bennett, New England tight end Rob Gronkowski is that second roommate.
Remember what Aaron Hernandez did beside Gronk? 79 catches on 113 targets for 910 yards and seven scores in 2011 when he finished third among tight ends in fantasy points; Gronk finished No. 1 that season. Bennett, formerly with the Bears, is capable of posting Hernandez-esk numbers in 2016, and his value is tremendous as a late-round option.
Likely place in a 12-team draft: Round 13.
DeMarco Murray
Tennessee RB
Last week we talked about Tennessee’s commitment to the running game. The addition of Murray and improvements to the offensive front have fans in Nashville optimistic.
Murray needs change as much as the Titans do. He and Eagles head coach Chip Kelly did not mesh like expected. After finishing 2014 (with the Cowboys) as the top fantasy player of the year, Murray fell extremely shy of expectations last season in Philadelphia, dropping from 294 fantasy points in 2014 to 140 fantasy points in 2015.
Wether it be in the passing or running game, Tennessee will increase his workload this fall, so expect 2014 Murray more so than 2015 Murray.
Likely place in a 12-team draft: Round 5.
Coby Fleener
New Orleans TE
It doesn’t always show up in the win-loss column, but New Orleans can flat out throw the football under the command of quarterback Drew Breese. Every season dating back to 2006 has seen the Saints finish in the fop four of the NFL in passing yards (five of those years have ended with New Orleans atop the passing-yardage list).
For Fleener, who limped along with a broken Indianapolis offense last year, this change could result in a memorable year. He scored only 67 fantasy points in 2015, which brings his price way down for potential owners.
Likely place in a 12-team draft: Round 7-8.
Marvin Jones
Detroit WR
Don’t expect him to replace Calvin Johnson in the Motor City, but Jones will be a wideout you want on your roster this fall. He’s played second fiddle to A.J. Green in Cincinnati for the past three seasons, increasing his production all three years.
He’s expected to be Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford’s favorite target this upcoming season, making him a valuable pick in the middle rounds of your draft. Jones went for over 800 yards last year as a No. 2 receiver, and can easily top that in 2016.
Likely place in a 12-team draft: Round 7.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.