Fantasy Football Cafe Forum

by **Hank_Scorpio** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:50 pm

Obviously QB's Cutler and Orton's value will change with them swapping zip codes. For keeper leagues, I'm more interested in the value of their old & new teammates.

Here's my take;

Brandon Marshall; this deal hurts Marshall and drops him out of the top 10 Fantasy wideouts. Combined with hip surgery and a possible NFL suspension due to a disorderly conduct charge, Marshall's value will dip in many leagues. He's a great buy-low candidate for Keeper leagues, but a buyer-beware for seasonal formats in 2009.

Eddie Royal; the Broncos' #2 WR also loses value, but not as much as Marshall. I see Royal as a possession-type WR, similar to Wes Welker. If Kyle Orton or Chris Simms are the Broncos' QB next year, they will likely be dumping off more short passes than Cutler did in the past. New HC Josh McDaniels' Patriot-style offense favors Royal this way. Also, after a great rookie year, Royal has not yet approached his ceiling and could be one of the NFL's best receivers in the near future. His value is higher than Marshall's in seasonal leagues right now, and only a few notches below Marshall in Keeper leagues, easily in the top 20 Fantasy wideouts.

Tony Scheffler; his value has plummeted with Cutler's departure. The new Denver offense doesn't value pass-catching TE's. If Scheffler is not traded, he is virtually undraftable in all formats.

Devin Hester; the converted defensive back is just refining his stature as a #1 WR in the league, and now he's got a rocket-armed QB to gun him some long bombs. Hester has moved up into WR2 territory in all formats with Cutler's arrival in the Windy City. I value him higher in Keeper leagues, as he could grow into a great WR now. The jury's still out, so rank him just outside the top 25 WR's in seasonal formats for 2009.

Greg Olsen; as Scheffler's value takes a hit, Olsen's value rises. The former first-round pick wil have a chance to shine with Cutler. The Bears will still have a somewhat-conservative offense, and Olsen should get plenty of short-to-medium passes from Cutler, and be a valuable red-zone target as well. Olsen goes from a top-20 TE to a top-10 TE. Start to look for him right after the 2nd tier of TE's get drafted (Cooley, Winslow, Daniels).

Earl Bennett; maybe you don't know Bennett. The Bears' 3rd round pick in 2008 did not play last year, but even before the Cutler deal he was lining up as a starting WR in the off-season programs for Chicago. Bennett is largely unproven, but here is the scoop on him. He played with Cutler at Vanderbilt. His close relation to Cutler makes Bennett an ideal sleeper candidate for 2009. Watch for off-season buzz around Bennett to see if he is getting noticed, and target him as a late-round flier in all formats. He's worth taking a shot at as a guy who could be the Bears' go-to guy in the near future.