Last year the Arizona Cardinals submitted a offensive caricature for the ages, dropping from 12th in total passing offense to 31st throughout the entire NFL. Needless to say, the sudden plunge crumbled any semblance of fantasy football relevance the franchise carried, even dragging down the team's once unassailable star wide receiver.
After thee straight seasons of double-digit touchdowns, Larry Fitzgerald had become a name synonymous with consistency. But even he could not escape from the offensive black hole that was the Cardinals unproven slew of replacement quarterbacks. While his numbers certainly didn't appear terrible on paper -- 90 catches, 1137 yards, 6 touchdowns -- they were a far cry from those that fantasy football owners had become accustomed to in the magical days of Kurt Warner.
Fitzgerald yielded ten weeks under the double-digit point mark throughout the '09-'10 fantasy football season -- including four showings with five points or less -- finishing the year with his worst stats since 2006. It goes without saying, but if you were an owner that spent a first or second round pick on Fitzy, you probably didn't win your league.
But now that nightmare is over, for the time being, and Kevin Kolb has marched into town to save the day. While Kolb is certainly no Tom Brady, he still provides a much more capable face to the Cardinals' offensive attack, thus pushing Fitzgerald back into the discussion of elite fantasy receivers. Let's take a look.
Yahoo! Sports:
- 14th ranked overall player
- 4th ranked wide receiver
- Notably ranked behind Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, and Roddy White
- Projected for 1,174 yards receiving, 6.9 touchdowns, .9 fumbles
ESPN:
- 25th ranked overall player
- 6th ranked wide receiver
- Notably ranked behind Greg Jennings, Hakeem Nicks, A. Johnson, C. Johnson, and White
- Projected for 100 receptions, 1,270 yards receiving, 10 touchdowns
CBS Sports:
- 6th ranked wide receiver
- Notably ranked behind Jennings, Nicks, A. Johnson, C. Johnson, and White
- Projected for 98.1 receptions, 1,318.3 yards receiving, 7.6 touchdowns, .6 fumbles
SB Nation's Fake Teams:
- 4th ranked wide receiver
- Notably ranked behind A. Johnson, C. Johnson, and Roddy White
For once the national media is probably right. Fitz is Fitz, he'll get his, regardless of who's throwing the ball. And hey, if they're competent -- like we all hope -- then that's even better.
With Kolb in the mix, it's safe to expect Fitzgerald's numbers to experience a significant bounce back. While hoping for Warner-era levels of production is probably unrealistic, settling on a happy medium between that and last year's campaign isn't out of the question.
Besides, the 27-year-old has a shiny new eight-year, $120 million contract to live up to, and from what we know about Fitzgerald, he's not exactly one to rest on his laurels.
SB Nation Arizona 2011 Fantasy Football Prediction: 99 catches, 1,312 receiving yards, 9 touchdowns
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