Fantasy Football 2008

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Is it time to welcome Laurence Maroney to the top 10 of running backs in 2008?

Laurence Maroney | RB | NE
Maroney had a down year last in 2007 due mostly to slow start caused by injury. He came on strong during the end of the season with 6 TDs in the last 7 weeks (not to mention 3 TDs in his 3 playoff games). Maroney is healthy in preseason and all signs point to a bigger role in the Patriots offense. It’s certainly reasonable for Maroney to crack the top 10 of RBs this season and jump ahead of the likes of Willis McGahee, Jamal Lewis and Marshawn Lynch. Currently being taken around the middle of the 3rd round that kind of value in that spot is what wins leagues. And even if he has a similar season to last year are all those TDs during fantasy playoffs a bad thing?

Jason Campbell | QB | WAS
Campbell started to find his rhythm in week 10 last season with a 215 yard 3TD performance against Philadelphia. He followed that up with a few more strong efforts but then he suffered a season ending injury. Look for Campbell to build on his brief success from a season ago as Washington has bolstered the options for Campbell with the addition of rookies Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly. Draft Campbell as a top end #2 fantasy QB.

Ted Ginn Jr. | WR | MIA
Ginn Jr. is a guy on a lot of sleeper lists for all the right reasons. He is now the clear cut go to WR in Miami and he actually has someone with experience and some talent throwing to him in Chad Pennington. Also the Dolphins backfield isn’t exactly the most solid situation in the NFL, so you can expect they will getting the ball into the hands of Ginn Jr. however they can. It is a lock that he will have a breakout year in 2008 it’s just a matter of how big that breakout will be. 70 Rec, 1100 Yards and 5 TDs seems conservative.

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Is Leinart the man to get the ball to
Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin
for Arizona? At some point he will
be.

Matt Leinart | QB | ARI
It’s not certain whether he’ll be the starter in week 1 but there’s certainly the chance. You got to believe it’s been-there-done-that with Kurt Warner for Arizona and it’s time to see if Leinart was worthy of the 10th pick in the 2006 draft. Leinart will get his shot at some point if not right away and there’s not many better targets out there than Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Jerious Norwood | RB | ATL
Somewhat of a forgotten man in Atlanta with the acquisition of Michael Turner, Norwood has run for over 600 yards and over 6 yards per carry the past two seasons. If anything he’s more proven than Turner and could easily emerge as the top guy in Atlanta. Regardless Atlanta will be running the ball plenty behind rookie QB Chris Redman. A 1,000 yard season with 6-8 TDs is absolutely within reach for Norwood. He’s also a good pass-catcher so in a PPR league he has that much more potential.

Zach Miller | TE | OAK
It’s been said all over the place but the fact remains that new Oakland Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell threw 16 of his 66 attempts last season to Miller. He won’t put up huge yardage numbers with those receptions as a lot of times he’s a safety valve but he will get plenty of looks this season and probably his share of TDs. Especially if you are in a PPR league Miller is someone you should be jumping on as your #2 TE and asking questions later.

Julius Jones | RB | SEA
After a lost season in Dallas in 2007 Jones is poised to regain his 1,000 yard form from 2006 in Seattle. Jones is being drafted after the likes of Edgerrin James, Thomas Jones and Rudi Johnson. In Seattle with a solid offense and Matt Hasselback as his QB Jones should see plenty of touches and easily outperform some the guys being drafted right before him.

Ahmad Bradshaw | RB | NYG
Bradshaw did nothing until week 16 in 2007 but he did it in a big way with 17 carries for 151 yards and a TD in Buffalo. There’s a lot of question marks around Brandon Jacobs health and to some extent his ability. If you are looking for a late round RB with Ryan Grant potential Bradshaw has as good a shot as anyone.

Jason Wright | RB | CLE
2003 was a long time ago and Jamal Lewis isn’t getting any younger. The Browns offense figures to be high-powered once again so someone has to get those carries if Lewis can’t hold up. Wright is the best bet for that duty. He might not necessarily be someone to draft, and you can certainly get him in the last round or two if you decide to draft him, but he should at the very least be the first person on your watch list and at the first sign of trouble for Jamal grab him off the waiver wire a week before anyone else.

Tim Hightower | RB | ARI
Hightower is currently slotted to play in the short yardage and goal line situations behind Edgerrin James in Arizona. However, it’s no longer 2000 and the shelf life on Edgerrin is about to expire. Sure it might not be this year but we’re not going to bet against it. Hightower seems to have things lined up for a breakout season this year or next.

Also, since we are awesome and want you to have as much information as possible, check out what other experts around the web are predicting for their 2008 fantasy sleeper picks: CBS Sportsline, Fox Sports, NFL.com and FFToolbox.com.

As always, you can keep up to date with the latest injuries, who’s starting, and trade rumors reported by local newspapers and beatwriters on our NFL rumors and news page.

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Does Jamal Lewis really have another 300 carry season in him?

Jamal Lewis | RB | CLE
Jamal Lewis has some serious mileage on those tires. It’s unreasonable to expect him to repeat last years 1300 yard 9 TD performance. Factor that in with the fact that he will cost you an early 2nd round pick and we’re simply not buying. Why draft someone that you know what the ceiling is when you can draft Maurice Jones-Drew or even Laurence Maroney? And if you do decide to not listen and draft Jamal Lewis anyway at least make sure you handcuff Jason Wright to him and throw away the key.

Peyton Manning | QB | IND
Sure Peyton is still a top 5 QB but the gap between him and the next 3 or 4 guys just is not what it once was. Why draft Peyton in the early 2nd round when you can get Romo, Brees or Palmer in the 3rd, 4th or 5th rounds. Save the Manning pick and get another top flight RB or a top 3 WR. The production you gain there will pay off a lot more than anything you might lose by not taking Peyton. And factoring in the age and injuries to Marvin Harrison you might just be gaining production at QB by passing.

Steve Smith | WR | CAR
Smith has lost his swagger over the past two seasons and while he’s still a great WR he no longer belongs in the category of Larry Fitzgerald, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Marques Colston or Andre Johnson. He’s currently being drafted around all these players and he’s just not going to put up comparable numbers, plain and simple. If he falls to you at a reasonable pick then by all mean grab him but just don’t expect Smith to be a top 10 WR anymore.

Edgerrin James | RB | ARI
James is now 30 years old and has over 3000 carries in his career including the postseason. At some point it has to end and Arizona drafted a RB Tim Hightower in the 5th round this year. We all know it will end for James at some point and even if it is not this year the upside is simply not there. Do yourself a favor and draft Julius Jones, Rudi Johnson or Jonathan Stewart if you are looking for a RB at this point in the draft.

Greg Jennings | WR | GB
You could easily have put Roddy White or Dwayne Bowe in this spot as well. All of them are dealing with new QBs and with the exception of White none of them topped the 80 catch mark in 2007. It just doesn’t seem reasonable to expect Jennings to get 12 TDs again this year and his 53 receptions are very unspectacular. You’re better off hoping Marvin Harrison or Hines Ward return to form and if you must go young go with Calvin Johnson in this spot.

Matt Hasselbeck | QB | SEA
2005 and 2007 were great years for Hasselbeck but the rest of his career has been completely mediocre. He no longer has Shaun Alexander as his RB (granted Alexander did nothing last year) and he will have to rely on Julius Jones. Not to mention the Seattle WR situation is in complete shambles. There are a lot of obstacles in Hasselbeck’s way in 2008. Who is going to have the best season: Hasselbeck, McNabb, Cutler or Bulger? It’s not clear cut but Hasselbeck doesn’t jump right out at you which is what you would want for the price you’ll end up paying for him in draft position versus those other 3 guys.

Ryan Grant | RB | GB
Grant exploded onto the scene last year in week 8. But now that he is expected to deliver results a repeat of last years performance is unlikely. Grant has a new contract which won’t help his motivation and a new QB. If Aaron Rodgers struggles opposing teams will only have to focus on Grant. He is currently being drafted at the end of the first round or beginning of the second round and there are way too many question marks to warrant that valuable of a draft pick.

AP Photo/Ben Margot

Is Darren McFadden this year’s
Adrian Peterson? Don’t go jumping
on his bandwagon just yet.

Darren McFadden | RB | OAK
Everyone wants him to be this years Adrian Peterson. Everyone needs to settle down. There will be no Adrian Peterson this year. Sure McFadden has great talent and great college numbers but so does every RB drafted in the first round. He’s currently being drafted ahead of proven guys like Willie Parker and that just is not right. Unless you are in a keeper league, temper your expectations and treat him like you would any other top rookie RB.

Thomas Jones | RB | NYJ
Why you would even touch Jones is beyond us. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry last season and he’s 30 years old. It doesn’t matter what kind of impact Favre is going to have on Jones he just has no upside. If anything Favre will be slinging the ball around 50 times a game and Jones will get even fewer touches. Draft a young RB with some potential like Jonathan Stewart, Selvin Young or his brother Julius Jones and by about week 2 you’ll be happy you did.

Reggie Brown | WR | PHI
Not all busts have to be in the top half of the draft. What you do in the late rounds is often much more important and drafting Reggie Brown as your 3rd WR just makes no sense. Fantasy experts have had a love affair with him for too long now and it’s got to stop. Brown just isn’t good unless of course you are happy with his career year of 61 rec and 780 yards. Good stuff, Reggie. Draft Ted Ginn Jr. and move on.

In the interest of making your fantasy team as good as possible here are the 2008 NFL bust picks of CBS Sportsline, Fox Sports, NFL.com and FFToolbox.com.

As always, you can keep up to date with the latest injuries, who’s starting, and trade rumors reported by local newspapers and beatwriters on our NFL rumors and news page.