Amid his latest legal troubles, the Pittsburgh Steelers have traded away former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for a pittance (5th round pick).
Santonio Holmes is expected to step in and take over the #1 WR role once he returns from his four game suspension. Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes will have time to get acclimated during the pre-season.
Santonio should be a good value in this years fantasy drafts as past suspensions to players such as Steve Smith and Brandon Marshall formerly caused them to drop to a steal of a ADP, be cognizant of this when making your cheat sheet this August. The yardage totals should approach 850+, but temper your expectations as far as TD’s; this is still a run-first Rex Ryan team.
Braylon Edwards has showed #1 WR dominance in seasons past, but the Jets decided to upgrade their receiving core despite landing the inconsistent Edwards in a late-season deal. Holmes and Edwards are expected to man the outside while Keller and Cotchery man the middle.
Upgrade: Upgrade Mark Sanchez as he now has a litany of weapons at his disposal, with two pass catching running backs and three wide receivers who have been 1 or 1a receivers on their teams. Sanchez now has playmakers galore and expect him to make a major fantasy jump this upcoming season.
Mike Wallace (Steelers) – Wallace gets an immediate upgrade as he is now the #2 WR on paper. Wallace however is ideally suited for the slot, so don’t be surprised to see them add another vertical threat during the off-season
Limas Sweed – Rumours have it that his days with the team are numbered, but he gets a short-term upgrade while the Steelers depth chart works itself out.
Shonn Greene and LT – With a receiving corps to fear, opposing teams will not be able to stack the box. Expect a break-out and bounce back campaign for Greene and Tomlinson respectively.
Downgrade: Big Ben – The Steelers are going back to smash-mouth football with Rahsard Mendenhall slated to be the feature back and with his top vertical weapon jettisoned for a 5th round pick, Big Ben’s fantasy numbers will likely take a hit.
Braylon Edwards – Braylon also gets a downgrade as it is clear the Jets don’t trust him to be a #1, with 3 potential 1000 yard receivers in town and a run-first team, there will only be so many passes do go around (and Braylon will drop alot of them)
Jericho Cotchery – Cotch gets an downgrade as the Jets have brought in yet another young, more explosive receiver. The receiving corps did need a major upgrade so this is not a knock on Cocthery’s performance, but the fact is he wont be repeating his performance from the first half of last season.
Dustin Keller – A WMFL favourite heading into last season as he was expected to be Sanchez’s check-down safety valve, Keller has taken a major hit with this latest trade and can no longer be considered a #1 TE in fantasy leagues.
