-So my fourth round pick in the mock draft, Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall will have a busy pre-season, not on the football field, but in the courtroom. He is awaiting trial on a DUI charge and also has had reports come out that he was reportedly arrested for a misdemeanor battery charge against his girlfriend, although no charges have been filed. Sources have suggested that if found guilty of the DUI, Marshall could be suspended for a number of games this season. What this means is that until this matter is resolved, Marshall has to be dropped about 5 to 10 spots (depending on how much of a risk taker you are) among the wide receivers, and that I should’ve picked Anquan Boldin instead of Marshall in the mock draft. While he is on the field, Marshall is a top 10 WR, but don’t draft him like that until you know he’ll be available for all 16 games.
-Najeh Davenport was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, joining Kevin Jones, Shaun Alexander, Cedric Benson and Travis Henry among the unemployed running back ranks. Teams that have been rumored as possible fits for Davenport are Detroit, New Orleans, Tennessee, Arizona and Cleveland, although representatives from Arizona have already denied any interest and Davenport said Cleveland is not an option due to the presence of the mother of his son in Cleveland (not a happy family I’m assuming). As is the case with all the other available running backs, I’ll be keeping an eye on any possible signing and their potential fantasy impact. One of these guys signing with a team like Detroit, Arizona or Tampa Bay (who is rumored to be interested in Jones) could negatively affect the values of a Kevin Smith, Edgerrin James or Earnest Graham.
-Speaking of Earnest Graham, he is one of my players to avoid this season. Graham and the Buccaneers just agreed upon a three-year, $10.5 million extension, that has very little guaranteed money, which is not the type of contract given to a featured starting running back. This contract shows the small amount of faith that the Bucs have in Graham, as he is making barely more than backup Warrick Dunn. Dunn, Graham and Michael Pittman all shared carries during Tampa Bay’s last minicamp, which is not a good sign for Graham who is supposed to be set as the featured back. Head coach Jon Gruden was also quoted earlier in the off-season as saying that he expects Dunn to play a lot, although it might’ve been motivation for a then holding out Graham, but still not great words to hear for any prospective Graham owners. As I mentioned before, the Bucs have also been reported to be interested in Kevin Jones. We’re also talking about a running back that managed to only gain 219 total yards in all three seasons combined before last year. All these facts lead to Graham being a risk to avoid on draft day. I’d much rather have Michael Turner, Jonathan Stewart, Thomas Jones, Darren McFadden or LenDale White, who all have lower Average Draft Positions than Graham.
-Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch just pleaded guilty to a traffic violation stemming from a hit-and-run incident. He will avoid any criminal charges and although it’s a possibility, it is VERY unlikely that Lynch will be suspended due to these events. On the other hand, the Bills offensive coordinator recently said he expects Lynch to be in on third downs a lot more often this year than last. Lynch is one of my top 10 running backs and is being selected a few picks too late in most drafts in my opinion.
-The biggest story of the past week has been the possibility of a return by Brett Favre. There has been a flurry of news and speculation in the last five days concerning Favre. The strongest supported rumors are that Favre wants to come back and play football, and that the Packers would rather see him stay retired. The situation is that Favre can force the Packers’ hand by formally declaring he wants to return, after that the Packers must reinstate him onto their roster, release him, or trade him. Personally, I have a hard time imagining Favre on any other team besides the Packers next year. I also imagine Favre as the type of person who would have a hard time staying retired now that he has the itch to play again. As unlikely as it seems, we could definitely see the same old #4 back under center for the Packers next year. How can you not feel bad for Aaron Rodgers right now? We’ll have to wait and see which quarterback, if any, will lose their starting job this season to the Packers legend.
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008