Well, the 2007 season is now upon us with the opening game being this Thursday night. Before the season kicksoff, here are some last minute random thoughts, from my gut, about the 2007 season and some undervalued fantasy players in particular. Without further adieu:
RB Willis McGahee
McGahee is being undervalued by almost everyone. Last year in Baltimore,
Jamal Lewis finished about 12-14 in RB scoring in most formats and had 15+ carries in 15/16 games.
Talk about opportunity –
McGahee is better, younger and more explosive than
Jamal. Barring an injury, I don’t see how he doesn’t at least finish a notch or two above where
Jamal did last year, meaning a 10-12 place finish.
He is being drafted as the 12-18 RB, which I think represents his floor for 2007. His ceiling is much higher and he is a guy I am targeting via trade in most leagues this year.
If you can, I would look to get him, or trade for him, using a
Maurice Jones-Drew,
Clinton Portis or
Ronnie Brown Brown-type back.
WR Donald Driver
I continue to see
Donald Driver ranked outside the top 10 WRs, and I usually see him around #15. For a player that finished in the 5-7 range for WRs last year — and has the same QB and a similar team in general — I don’t understand the fall in value.
Driver has finished about 10, 13 and 5 the last 3 years in WR scoring and has accumulated 1200+ yards each year with 8+ Tds in 2 of those 3 years. I see the same stats this season, meaning a 15th place finish should be his floor and an expected finish of around #10 is more likely.
Driver is another guy I would look to trade for right now. If possible, use a
Santana Moss,
Randy Moss or even a
Marques Colston-type to get a deal done.
QB Matt Hasselbeck
Hasselbeck is currently being ranked as #11-#15 type QB, this represents his floor barring an injury.
Over the last 3 previous years (not counting last year when he was injured),
Hass has finished 4, 13 (when playing only 14 games) and 5 in QB scoring. So if the guy stays healthy, he is almost a lock for a top 10 season.
The loss of
D-Jax won’t hurt a ton as
Branch should easily step into the #1 WR spot and produce similar #s. So go get
Hasselbeck while he is cheap! He would be a great QB to own if you can pair him with a
Roethlisberger-type.
TE Jason Witten
Witten is a favorite TE target of mine this year. Last year he had 750 yards receiving…right on par with his previous 2 years when he finished 3 and 6 in TE scoring. The problem last year was that he only scored 1 TD, which led to his 12-range finish at TE.
That was an aberration and you should expect that TD # to jump back to the 5-6 range this year, meaning a 5-6 finish for TEs is very likely. Recently coming off the board as the 8-10 TE, he represents excellent value with nothing but upside.
