Denver Post fantasy football expert Cecil Lammey is a senior writer for and an “NFL Insider” for Denver sports radio station The Ticket, 87.7-FM. You can also watch him on 9News’ “Overtime” every Sunday night during the season.
E-mail your questions to lammey@footballguys.com. Please mention your question is for “Denver Post Fantasy Football.”
Hi Cecil, Thanks for taking my questions! 1.) Why are so many fantasy analysts hot over picking a running back first? To me it seems that a quarterback is the best first pick, given most QBs put up higher numbers, and running backs are more likely to be injured. And 2.) Besides Knowshon Moreno and Kyle Orton, who’s the best player on Denver from a fantasy perspective?
— Shawn, Los Angeles
Cecil Lammey: Shawn, it all comes down to scarcity when you talk top fantasy picks. We know that only a handful of runners are true feature backs (C. Johnson, R. Rice, M. Jones-Drew, F. Gore, A. Peterson, S. Jackson, M. Turner).
With running back by committee becoming the norm in the NFL, it forces you to grab a top running back early in your draft. If you have a late first-round pick, I would actually recommend grabbing an elite wide receiver, such as Andre Johnson, over a quarterback.
Unless your league’s scoring system is heavily slanted toward quarterbacks, this is the year you should wait to draft your signal callers. Carson Palmer, Matthew Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Kyle Orton and Donovan McNabb can be used in a QBBC where you play matchups every week.
Strengthen other positions early in your draft, and let the value fall to you at QB.
The best player in Denver from a fantasy perspective not named Knowshon Moreno or Kyle Orton is veteran receiver Jabar Gaffney. He can be selected late in most fantasy drafts and should easily outperform his “average draft position” (currently WR 51).
Gaffney knows this offense like the back of his hand, and should be the recipient of most of the targets that used to go to Brandon Marshall. He has great chemistry with Orton and should be the Broncos’ leading receiver this year.
Hey Cecil, Love your work. I’m wondering: Now that Sidney Rice is out for half the year and with Percy Harvin having his health issues, is Bernard Berrian a potential sleeper? Thanks!
— Charlie
Cecil: Charlie, the Vikings wide receiving corps is going to look much different this year than it did last season. Brett Favre is back, but he will have to find a new favorite target, with Rice out for most (if not all) of the season.
Harvin’s role should be the same if he can stay healthy, so that leaves Berrian as the primary deep target for Minnesota. He’s known for the “Berrian Bomb” from his days in Chicago, and if he can stay healthy, his speed will get him on top of the defense in a hurry.
We know Favre loves to throw the long pass, and Berrian is a guy you can scoop up after the first 10 rounds of your draft.
Please rate Hakeem Nicks, Mike Sims-Walker, and Wes Welker. Thanks!
— Ben
Cecil: Nicks has the skills to be one of the best receivers in the game today. He can rise to the level of superstardom and be mentioned alongside Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Miles Austin.
Nicks had good production as a rookie last year — while playing with an injured foot for most of the season. He is a matchup nightmare because of his size and speed combination, and he could take the step to superstar this season in the Giants’ high-flying passing game.
Welker looks like he’s completely back from the knee injury he suffered in Week 17 last season. Welker is going to catch a lot of passes, and in points-per-reception leagues, he could easily finish as a top 15 fantasy receiver. But he doesn’t score as many touchdowns as fantasy owners want, and that’s why I have him second on this list.
Sims-Walker is a talented receiver, but has had trouble staying healthy throughout his pro career. He also doesn’t have the quality of quarterback throwing to him that the other two on this list.
