Refresh your team with these players

Jones, Davis, Leinart could strengthen your fantasy lineup

Wide Receiver

Marcus Henry – senior – 6-foot-4, 210 pounds – 25 receptions, 316 yards, 12.6 yds per catch, 3 TD

Dexton Fields – junior – 5-11, 205 pounds – 45 receptions, 455 yards, 10.1 yds per catch, 5 TD

Dezmon Briscoe – freshman – 6-3, 200 pounds – First team all-district at Cedar Hill High School

Marcus Herford – junior – 6-1, 205 pounds – eight receptions, 137 yards, 17.1 yds per catch, 1 TD

Raymond Brown – junior – 6-2, 205 pounds – played cornerback in 2006 (11 tackles)

Tight End

Derek Fine – senior – 6-3, 250 pounds – 28 receptions, 355 yards, 12.7 yds per catch, 5 TD

Marc Jones – senior – 6-2, 250 pounds – appeared in nine games, recorded no catches

Naps are meant to refresh the body. There is nothing better than taking a nap in the afternoon to regain some energy. These players will refresh your fantasy team and help you regain the fantasy championship in your league.

RB Thomas Jones,

NY Jets

Why would a first year starter in the NFL be ranked higher than the player he backed up in the preliminary fantasy rankings? I don’t know, but that’s the case with Cedric Benson and Thomas Jones.

According to Scouts Inc., Chicago’s Benson will be a better fantasy back this year. Yet, as of now he hasn’t proven himself in the NFL, and Jones has rushed for more than 1,000 yards the past two seasons and 948 yards in his first season in Chicago.

But the Bears decided to trade Jones to the New York Jets this off-season.

The move will be extremely beneficial to Jones, who can balance out a passing game lead by inconsistent and often-injured quarterback Chad Pennington. The Jet’s offensive scheme should make more of Jones’s elusiveness and catching ability than Chicago’s simple running style.

Don’t be surprised if Thomas Jones helps get the Jets back into the playoffs this year and makes some noise in the AFC East.

TE Vernon Davis,

San Francisco

Vernon Davis was highly touted coming into his rookie season last year. But an injury and the presence of veteran tight end Eric Johnson diminished his role. Now, Johnson is in New Orleans and Davis is healthy.

The addition of Darrell Jackson and the emergence of Frank Gore should ease Davis into his first year as the featured tight end.

San Francisco drafted Davis for his athletic ability and with the depth at tight end this year you can wait awhile to draft Davis. Davis should post big numbers in his first true season as a starter.

QB Matt Leinart,

Arizona

Matt Leinart fell to the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. The situation couldn’t have worked out better for the prospective top five pick. He wound up in a pass-oriented Arizona offense. The team had just signed free agent Edgerrin James to boost the running game.

Leinart has the job, and he has two of the best targets in the NFL, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, to throw to in games. The multiple tools he has on offense, plus the hiring of new coach Ken Whisenhunt, should help Leinart mature into a star in the NFL.

Leinart threw for 2,547 yards last year, with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Expect for his numbers to increase drastically this season.

Everyone knows who the star players are in the NFL. Take some pride in trying to find hidden gems in your fantasy draft. These players are a good place to start.

­— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell

 

Related articles

Fantasy Football: September 26, 2007

Donovan McNabb finally returned to Pro Bowl form Sunday, throwing for 381 ...

/news/2007/sep/26/fantasy_football_926/

Wheeler: NFL draft looms for Talib

The NFL draft is this weekend.

/news/2008/apr/25/wheeler_nfl_draft_looms_talib/

NFL highlights to file and forget

Kelly Breckunitch takes us on a tour of the numbers both high ...

/news/2007/sep/12/fantasyfootball/

Fantasy football breakdown

A Kansan sports writer explains the good, the bad and the potential ...

/news/2008/aug/26/fantasy_football/

Four Jayhawks NFL-bound

Talib was the second cornerback taken in the NFL Draft.

/news/2008/apr/27/talib_drafted_tampa_bay/

Familiar faces make week four lineup

Fantasy owners should take notice of solid defenses this week and be ...

/news/2007/sep/28/familiar_faces_make_week_four_lineup/

Breaking down Jayhawk NFL Draft prospects

A closer look at the Kansas players up for the NFL Draft.

/news/2008/apr/25/breaking_down_jayhawk_nfl_draft_prospects/

Breckunitch: This weekend’s fantasy picks

Keep an eye on the Saints’ Drew Brees and Thomas Jones of ...

/news/2007/oct/19/fantasy/

Breckunitch: Briscoe is new Superman

Next season, not even Kryptonite will be able to stop KU receiver ...

/news/2009/jan/23/briscoe_superman/

Browns, Bengals’ offenses pad fantasy stats

If you had stars on Cleveland or Cincinnati’s offense starting for your ...

/news/2007/sep/19/browns_bengals_offenses_pad_fantasy_stats/

Breckunitch: Fantasy Football

New England plays Indianapolis. Both teams hope to give each other their ...

/news/2007/nov/02/ffootball/

Injuries, surprise players wreak havoc on fantasy ...

Tom Brady’s injury ends his season, rookies turn in strong performances in ...

/news/2008/sep/10/fantasy_football/

Galloway: Biere deserves more targets

Tight end Tim Biere has party-starting potential if he can fire up ...

/news/2011/sep/29/biere-minutes/

Gore finally breaks out in week 12

Fantasy owners had been wondering what happened to Chad Johnson, Frank Gore, ...

/news/2007/nov/28/gore_finally_breaks_out_week_12/

Former Jayhawks look to soar in NFL

FedEx Orange Bowl MVP Aqib Talib taken in first round; also drafted ...

/news/2008/apr/28/nfl_draft/

Mangino named Coach of the year

Four picked for All-Big 12, four for second team.

/news/2007/nov/28/big_12/

Avoid the Madden Curse and these players ...

Pre-season football has hardly begun, but fantasy football enthusiasts are already doing ...

/news/2007/aug/13/madden/

With holidays approaching NFL play gears up

Carolina Panther’s defense faces tough opposition from Green Bay Packers this weekend

/news/2007/nov/16/fantasyfb/

NFL plays first game in London

Here are some more highlights and lowlights from last weekend’s NFL games

/news/2007/oct/31/fantasy/

Dent: Receivers to make big impact this ...

After a standout performance by the KU receivers against Central Michigan, Mark ...

/news/2007/sep/04/dent/

Wheeler: Kansas player statistics overlooked

Kansan columnist Wheeler recognizes the under-radar statistics of Kansas football player, Darrell ...

/news/2008/sep/12/wheeler_column/

Briscoe expected to step up

Dezmon Briscoe, sophomore wide receiver, appears a go-to man for the 2008 ...

/news/2008/may/08/football/

Stuckey selected in NFL draft's fourth round

San Diego drafted safety Darrell Stuckey with the 12th pick in the ...

/news/2010/apr/24/stuckey-selected-nfl-drafts-fourth-round/

Thrillers, chillers affect on-the-field competition

Kelly Breckunitch identifies key players who will bring the competition Sunday and ...

/news/2007/oct/05/fantasy/

Former players invited to NFL Combine

Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier and Darrell Stuckey will work out in front ...

/news/2010/feb/16/former-players-invited-nfl-combine/

Breckunitch: Possible replacements for Fantasy football

Willie Parker to be out this week causing some Fantasy rosters to ...

/news/2008/sep/26/fantasy_football/

All-stars advantage to teams

Take a final look at some of the athletes who will give ...

/news/2007/dec/05/allstars_advantage_teams/

Brew: Jayhawks in the pros

Even through the current Kansas football woes, remember that Jayhawks have made ...

/news/2011/oct/31/jayhawks-pros/

Collins and Talib ponder NFL futures

Aqib Talib and Anthony Collins have a lot on their to-do-lists this ...

/news/2007/dec/15/collins_and_talib_ponder_nfl_futures/

Big 12 Media Day: Overview of Big ...

See how next Football seasons looks before it starts.

/news/2009/jul/29/big_12_media_day_overview_big_12_teams/

Brew: Chiefs need to replace Cassel with ...

Pat Strathman on four top quarterback draft prospects that the Kansas City ...

/news/2011/sep/29/brew-chiefs-cassel-top-draft-pick/

Breckunitch: Peterson racks up points

Adrian Peterson may not be a shock as a fantasy stud anymore. ...

/news/2007/nov/07/breckunitch_peterson_racks_points/

Cornish appears at scouting combine

Former Kansas running back was one of over 300 players who participated ...

/news/2007/mar/05/football_brief/

Breckunitch: Quarterbacks disappoint owners

While the quarterbacks were struggling in week five, many players at other ...

/news/2007/oct/10/fantasy/

Breckunitch: ‘Sleepers’ surprise on fantasy teams

Sports columnist Kelly Breckunitch reveals his top picks for ‘hibernating’ players to ...

/news/2007/aug/17/fantasy/

Fusco: NFL less than generous to Jayhawks

Aqib Talib and James McClinton might have deserved better pro bids.

/news/2008/apr/29/nfl_offers_appear_less_epic_kansas/

Brady scores six touchdowns, leaves owners in ...

Passing, kicking records provide plenty of points for fantasy teams; usually powerful ...

/news/2007/oct/24/fantasy/

Volleyball team set to start new season

Coach Ray Bechard says defining team roles is a goal during tournament ...

/news/2007/aug/23/fantasy/

The science of sleeper

The Kansan’s Fantasy Football writer Kelly Breckunitch will profile his top sleepers ...

/news/2007/aug/20/fantasy/

Morning Brew: Big 12 draft predictions

Case Keefer takes a look at the top five NFL draft prospects ...

/news/2009/apr/17/brew/

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment