Fantasy Gold: Lost, Forgotten, and Undiscovered Treasures? May 31, 2008

With the rise in price of gold I decided it's time to start my own treasure hunt.  So, with my Jack Sparrow hat, and a bottle of rum in hand I climbed mountains, sailed the seas, fought off a few great whites, and dug in to the earth's core to find these fine treasures. 

Okay, who am I kidding, all I had to do was search the net for facts and articles to find my fantasy gold for 2008.  The good news is that I saved you hassle of doing so yourself.  Let's get to it!

Hidden Treasure #1: New Orleans Saints WR Adrian Arrington
Dynasty owners everywhere will go nuts over Arrington, especially when more news comes out on him.   Word out of New Orleans thus far is that while Robert Meachem continues to impress, Arrington is blowing coaches away, including head honcho Sean Payton.   Some around the team even believe he could be the next Marques Colston.   He has good size (6’3”, 192 lbs), is fluid in and out of his routes, and is a natural pass catcher.   Right now it looks as though Arrington is more of a waiver wire player in re-draft leagues, but could possibly be a mid-round sleeper in the dynasty world.   The one thing that is for sure is that with the presence of David Patten, the progression of Robert Meachem, and the emergence of Adrian Arrington you have to wonder how much or how little of an impact one, Devery Henderson, will have in 2008.   Keep a close, watchful eye on Arrington as he seems to have landed in the right place at the right time, and will have a top fantasy quarterback throwing him the ball in ’08.

Hidden Treasure #2:  Packers RB Brandon Jackson
Lurking in Ryan Grant’s shadow in Titletown, USA is former second round pick Brandon Jackson.   The funny thing is that Jackson himself could turn in to the next Ryan Grant while Grant soaks up the real gold.   Jackson has reportedly made some pretty large strides this offseason according to Coach Mike McCarthy, and right now sits as the primary back-up to the money hungry seven game starter.   With less pressure and #25 setting the tone, Jackson picked up his play towards the end of last season.   In 2007 the former Nebraska standout managed to average just 2.5 yards per carry in his only three starts at the beginning of the season.   But then in the last game of the regular season he turned it around, averaging 5.6 yards per carry in a back-up role, and showing for the first time all season his true talent and capability to carry the load.   On paper the Packers situation at running back looks simple, but if Ryan Grant doesn’t come to a contract agreement and lets money get to his head, much like the “Prince of Power” in baseball, you can bet coach McCarthy won’t hesitate to pull the plug on #25, and insert #32 in to the starting lineup.   And while these are big ifs, as a fantasy owner you can never be too prepared, especially when talking about unproven high risk/reward running backs in a zone blocking system with an unproven quarterback running the show.     

Hidden Treasure #3: 49ers WR Bryant Johnson
This one may not be as hidden as the rest, kind of like Captain Jack Sparrow’s obsession with the Black Pearl in the series of Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but nevertheless there is some noteworthy news to digest here.   With Mike Martz in town as the new offensive coordinator there’s a new excitement within the 49ers offense.   There’s been talk about Alex Smith reaching his full potential finally, and Frank Gore having a big impact in the passing game, but what about the receivers in San Francisco?   The only facts most people know are that both Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce were brought in to challenge Arnaz Battle and Darrell Jackson, but now with Jackson gone it remains a three man race for the two starting spots.   The latest is that both Johnson and Bruce remain the frontrunners, but here’s the kicker: Johnson has been lining up at the flanker position, which in this offense is the number one spot.   This is great news for fantasy owners because the last two receivers to line up at the flanker spot in Mike Martz’s offense were Torry Holt and Roy Williams, and well, you know the rest.  

Hidden Treasure #5:  Dolphins RB Ricky Williams
First off, I would just like to say that I am currently not smoking any green right now.   This is important, because I’m sure this is the first thing that popped in to your mind when you saw the name Ricky Williams associated with the word treasure.   The fact remains that the new head Dolphin, Bill Parcells, wants to give him a chance, and the moves Parcells has made this offseason back up this notion.   First, he let primary back-up running back Jesse Chatman find a new home, and then he traded Lorenzo Booker on draft weekend and selected Toledo project Jalen Parmele (no relation to Bernie Parmalee).   The Dolphins also added a few key ingredients to their offensive line with the signings of Justin Smiley and Steve McKinney, and the selection of offensive tackle Jake Long.   With Chatman and Booker out of the way, and Brown recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered midway through the 2007 season the door is wide open for Williams.   Some may view the faith Parcells is putting in Williams as a mistake, but let’s face it, Williams still has an enormous amount of talent and head coach Tony Sparano has had a history of favoring the two-headed monster backfield.   The bottom line is that if Williams can stay healthy and Brown struggles to stay on the field fantasy owners should very carefully take a gamble on Ricky, especially considering the past success his believer has had with talented, underachieving running backs.

Well, the treasure hunt is over for now, but I promise you I will find more fantasy treasures before the 2008 season kicks off in September.  I was thinking maybe I should check the back of the Declaration of Independence for some more clues.  Then again maybe I'll just continue to allow my compass to show me the way.  

Thanks for reading!