By Vidur Malik

The NFC East is full of young and talented receivers who look to be part of the new school of top wide outs. The Eagles’ DeSean Jackson, the Cowboys’ Miles Austin, and the Giants’ trio of Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks have all proven to be reliable sources for catches and touchdowns for their quarterbacks. The Washington Redskins should be able to join their divisional opponents in that category, with Devin Thomas.

The Redskins are going through a transitional stage, but after things settle down in D.C., look for Thomas to emerge as a playmaking threat.   His 2009 numbers (325 yards, 3 touchdowns) aren’t very impressive, but he’s got the physical tools to withstand the beatings that NFC East defenses give out. At 6’2’’ and 215 pounds, he can fit right in to one of the hardest-hitting divisions in football.

Thomas may end up getting owners more points than they might expect if they select him. He seems to be the only target on the Redskins’ offense who has not proven himself to be a consistent player, but with an experienced quarterback under center, and other receivers who will be targeted by opposing defenses, Thomas seems to have everything necessary for a transition from talented wide out to a focal point of the offense. Chris Cooley has shown that he is a top tight end, and if he can come back from the ankle injury he suffered last year, he can be a consistent option for new quarterback Donovan McNabb. Santana Moss still has breakaway speed, and can benefit from McNabb’s strong arm. McNabb’s past success as an Eagle should also help Thomas improve. Being in the same division as his old team, McNabb should be able to get Thomas accustomed to what he will see from defenses. That should be a big advantage considering the pressure that teams like the Cowboys and Eagles apply to offenses.

Thomas might not become the number one receiver in D.C. next year, but there is reason to believe his numbers will improve significantly from last year, and in a division with so much talent on both sides of the football, the Redskins will need players to step up. The defense has been reliable, and will be crucial this year, because of the weapon-heavy NFC East they will be going against. The Redskins’ offense will have to improve along with the rest of the division if they want to compete. If Thomas can become the NFC East’s next Miles Austin or Steve Smith, the Redskins will have a better shot at improving upon the 4-12 record they put up last year. All the tools for that to happen are in place, and fantasy owners should consider taking a chance on Thomas.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Thus far one of the biggest fantasy disappointments two months in has to be Justin Upton. Here is a guy that many believed to be a top first round fantasy talent. Yet he has struggled to get on base and his batting averaged has not reached higher than .269. What gives? Part of it could be blamed on the Diamondbacks lineup that has been inconsistent for run production which obviously means limited hits.

Upton’s supposed to be the catalyst to this team though and is one of the main reasons they’re slumping in last place. The season is young and maybe Upton’s June will get him going before the All Star break. He has a long ways to go and needs to work on his patience at the plate. Mark Reynolds seems to be rubbing off on him in the wrong way. Upton already has twenty four games with multi strikeouts.

There’s no question Upton can get it turned on. Maybe his two home runs in the last four Diamondbacks games will get him going. Blasting a few usually does the trick. If not we question if Upton will dig out of it this year. A young player on a struggling team can tend to lose grips and focus pretty quick. We already know Upton takes each bat appearance to heart, as witnessed to his self talk with his baseball bat last year. Currently you’d have to label him as a big first round disappointment in fantasy drafts. His skill set though makes him very hard to give up on. Ride him out and hope he will battle out of his slumping start. It only takes a series or two tear to get a guy like Upton revived and rolling.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Strategizing for a fantasy football draft is good in all until your plan gets thwarted by other owners. Certain players fall off the board and in panic mode you scramble and reach for other picks you think won’t be there. It’s happened to all of us. Then come the end of the draft you realize you have a glaring gaping hole. For most it comes square at the position of quarterback. Owners get immersed in adding that sure fire depth to the running back and wide receiver position that they bypass a quarterback for several rounds. Depending on the size of your league sometimes that works to your advantage.

It does not matter if you’re in an eight, ten, twelve, or fourteen team league, once all owners have their primary quarterback they tend to wait three to four rounds before drafting a backup. This gap of rounds provides the necessary leverage for yourself to take advantage. Sometimes it works, and sometimes you’re stuck throwing Kyle Orton or Jake Delhomme out there. It’s probably a scenario you want to avoid if at all possible. Some of you just do not learn, and were going to take a look at some quarterbacks that owners will risk carrying their fantasy team on a week to week basis. Get use to weeks of hit or miss. Yeah we’re talking those weeks where your cursing up a storm when a point total of six is put up by your quarterback.

If you can get your hands on two of these guys below, you could start spot them enough to set up favorable matchups and get quality starts. It’s almost like setting up bye week fillers. Quarterbacks on this list last year were Matt Schaub now a top five fantasy quarterback, Brett Favre, and Joe Flacco who will all likely be considered top ten fantasy quarterbacks.

Chad Henne- From what Henne showed he can be an elite quarterback with the right direction and proper progression on his part. He possesses the quarterback smarts to learn by the week, and did a dandy of a job for being thrown in after Pennington’s injury. He has an organization backing him 100 percent, and the physical tools to be a fantasy number one. His youth and inexperience will scare of owners this year. We still like him to grow and be a quarterback you can become more at ease with starting as the season goes on. Having Brandon Marshall out there does not hurt either.

Kevin Kolb- Based on Andy Reid’s coaching tenure in the NFL we know he tends to have a disproportionate ratio of passes compared to run plays. Kolb may not lead the league in certain quarterback categories, but we can bet he will be close to the top in attempts. That has to be a bright sign for fantasy owners as some of the quarterbacks we’d like to rank higher are cut down a few notches because of their offensive system. You do not have to worry about that with Kolb. Interceptions will come in bunches with Kolb but that territory is nothing alarming as we all expect it due to his inexperience.

Matthew Stafford- Toughness, heart, and determination were just some of the traits Stafford showed in his debut season. While his rookie year was cut short he threw some throws that just have future Pro Bowler written all over the guy. Detroit has been working on retooling the team to get Stafford a strong supporting cast. He has the receivers and newly drafted running back Javhid Best will add a flare of unique abilities for Stafford. Best’s skill set is not like a back the Lions have had in who knows how many years. Stafford is not a guy you would probably want as your number one, but he’ll have certain weeks where he will be a top ten or higher fantasy quarterback. Probably more than anticipated.

Donovan McNabb- For some reason McNabb’s draft stock in fantasy drafts has slipped the last few seasons just as his fanfare in Philadelphia has. Besides the occasion game where McNabb can’t hit a target if it were five feet in front of him, he is rather consistent for the most part. Those games are inexplicable, but McNabb has the obvious driving force to this season. Departing from Philadelphia was not what he wanted and he is set to pull a Brett Favre resurrection as Favre did in his actual favorable destination in Minnesota. Washington is stocked at running back and McNabb will find a way to develop his receivers as he did with mediocre receivers for the majority of his career in Philly.

Others that deserve a glance with binoculars

* Jason Campbell- Will he adjust and fit in well? Oakland’s always been a tough place for quarterbacks but Campbell is not a young quarterback anymore. He is a veteran at age 28 and should be ready for this type of stability that Washington never could grant him.

* Ben Roethlisberger- The media will be all over him from training camp onward, heck they already are. Will the constant questioning wear on him, or can he move on and let his game on the field speak for itself? He has a lot to prove to doubters and fantasy owners have to keep in mind a minimum four game suspension if the original six gets reduced.

* David Garrard- Garrard’s been a fantasy tease on occasion and is probably the league leader in inconsistency. You just don’t know what you’re going to get from him. We thought he’d see some type of increase once Dirk Koetter came aboard as the offensive coordinator. After all Koetter came from the potent Arizona State offensive system as their college coach. Garrard just has not excelled enough entering the crossroads of his career. It’s hard to believe he is only one year younger than Donovan McNabb.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

One of the stunning rises amongst sleepers that actually came to life last year was Steve Smith. No not the Steve Smith of the Panthers who could not dispel Jake Delhomme’s horrid continuation of faltering. It was Steve Smith of the Giants. Anticipating his rise amongst the crop of Giants receivers was not predictable. While he backed up Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress he really showed no signs of being a starting wide receiver. Maybe it was the chemistry of having a player familiar with him that allowed Eli Manning to develop a natural rapport with Smith. Manning looked his way often to the tune of over 100 catches for 2009.

There are reasons to believe that Smith’s 09 season may be his all time high. As the season went on the Giants discovered they have a great young core of receivers. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham began to emerge after battling injury woes. They add a big play element that Smith does not possess. Coming off their solid years where they battled minor injuries, they should both be better prepared to handle a rigorous NFL season. Subtle things that receivers begin to pick up with the amount of talent they have will be second nature.

In years past Eli Manning was never a big threat for huge statistics. Last year was sort of a forced reckless attack with Eli’s arm for the Giants. They’re typically more reliant with their ground attack. With Brandon Jacobs ineffective while playing through injury and getting behind often, the Giants had to let Eli let it fly. They know that is not the approach they can have to get back to their winning ways.

Steve Smith was Eli’s safety net that proportionately would be the leader each game by almost two to one on any other Giants receiver. He actually finished with more catches total (107) than both Mario Manningham (57) and Hakeem Nicks (47) combined. That type of stark contrast is just not typical in this day and age of the NFL. Another key factor to look at is the Giants under utilized their tight end Kevin Boss. Boss did not have a horrible season from a tight ends perspective but we’d expect him to get a little more involved this year. A solid running game opens up the play action and streaks over the middle. Jacobs should be back 100 percent and that means Manning can have another threat to work off of over the middle.

Smith showed strong enough signs that he is a great possession receiver, there is no questioning that. Where we think he’ll lose a bit of luster is touchdown catches. Sure Manning did throw for 27 touchdowns and could equal or improve on that this year. It’s the guys behind him that worry us. Nicks (six touchdowns) and Manningham (8 touchdowns) did strong enough damage with touchdown receptions to figure they should only become a bigger part of the Giants attack in 2010. For the minimal amount of catches they had, dividing even an extra fifteen to twenty catches each would cause a significant fall for Smith.

When it comes time for your fantasy drafts it comes down to drafting Steve Smith as your second receiver, or banking on Manningham or Nicks increasing their play as your third or fourth receiver. For sure you do not want to have Smith as your overall number one but he’ll be safe as your second. The upside with Manningham and Nicks is tremendous. Expect a strong training camp battle to solidify that second wide receiver spot. New York has to be glad about one thing. They were able to shake off the Burress impact rants in less than a year. Their receiver core is young and going to be one of the strongest units in the league for some years to come.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

When you think of Syracuse football the first thing that comes to mind is, do they play football there anymore. The program has been in disarray since 2000. Long gone are the days of Marvin Harrison, Rob Konrad, Donovan McNabb, and Dwight Freeney. Talented players that use to commit to Syracuse are finding their ways to Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and other opposing conference teams. Attracting prospects and turning them from a blue chip to a stud is what Syracuse footballs main challenge has been. That’s harder said than done, and the program has stunk it up the past decade.

Last year the team regained some notoriety even though losing was still apart of the fold. They hired Doug Marrone former Saints offensive coordinator to take over head coaching duties. Then a laughable story at first in bringing in Greg Paulus to quarterback the team actually fared decent. Paulus had a rough go at stretches but brought fans back to the Carrier Dome to watch football, and had them in many games they could of won. Paulus has now worked himself an opportunity to make the Saints team after getting an invite to training camp.

A prime reason for Paulus’s ascent and climb throughout last year at Syracuse was because of wide receiver Mike Williams. Williams stretched defenses and gave Paulus a safety net of trust on any type of throw. Paulus could air out a median type of pass or the quick throw and Williams would not disappoint. How else could you explain a quarterback that was held for hardly any yards throwing including only 36 passing yards in the second half against Minnesota, to a week later throwing for 346 yards? That just doesn’t happen. Take a glance at the guy who ate up over 200 yards receiving with two touchdowns in that game, Mike Williams.

Williams had a tumultuous ride at Syracuse. While the team was being dismantled on the field, Williams showed a glimmer of hope for Syracuse fans. As a sophomore he caught a touchdown in nine straight games in 2007. That’s when the off the field issues begun. He was suspended for the 2008 season for academic reasons,  and had to rededicate himself by enrolling at a nearby community college. This type of story has happened to many of athletes and some just give up. Even with how embarrassing the matter was Williams got his grades up and showed enough for Syracuse to reinstate him for 2009.

Last year was going fine for Williams and it seemed as if he did not miss a beat. Talks around college football began to label him as a potential first or second round pick, and a top talent receiver. Towards the end of the season things began to unravel again for Williams. As Syracuse’s chances for a bowl exited the team also began to deviate from rules laid down by head coach Marrone. Players on the team including Williams had went to a casino in New York and been involved in a minor accident. That led to a suspension imposed on all the players. Instead of facing the suspension Williams decided to quit the team. With only a few left he figured there was no value in finishing out the year as he had plans to put his name in the NFL Draft anyways.

You could see why his stock slipped and why teams were weary in adding him to their team. Williams fell all the way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round, but has every opportunity to show NFL franchises what they missed out on. Tampa Bay is going to give him a chance to win a starting job. The team has a lot of question marks especially offensively, and Williams will have his work cut out against opposing secondary’s. That’s nothing different from the way it was at Syracuse where teams tried to slow him down but couldn’t.

If Williams can stay out of trouble he is going to be a solid fantasy receiver in his first season. Tampa Bay is going to be down in a lot of ball games. That will open the door for Williams to get additional junk yardage and possible touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Out of the receivers selected this year Williams could end up being of the highest value right behind Dez Bryant. Call it crazy for a fourth round pick, but Williams has been bucking trends ever since he stepped foot at a Syracuse school that hasn’t seen his type of talent in years.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Randy Moss is at the top of most lists for one of the best receivers to ever play in the NFL. He came into the NFL with the placement tag of being a project with issues. None of that was seen from week one onward in 1998. He took the league by storm and had NFL franchise owners thinking what did I do not selecting him. Throughout it all though the issues that were highlighted on Moss negatively have bore existence throughout his NFL career. By him parting ways with his agent and his future with the Patriots in limbo, how will he perform in 2010?

For all three teams Moss has played with there has been a point where we have witnessed him slow down. Minnesota it came  With Minnesota it came with the unraveling of Culpepper and his injuries piled with his need to move on from the franchise. At Oakland he seemed to be in hibernation from the get go besides an opening day tease where he caught a long bomb against the Patriots. His 2006 season there will be like a great musicians lengthy career. Down the road they always release tracks that didn’t come out during their glory days because it just wasn’t top notch material then. That 2006 year was mixed in between twelve tremendous seasons thus far. When highlights of Moss are displayed of his illustrious career there will be few clips of silver and black footage.

With the Patriots Moss found the winning type of organization that brought him back to elite level. Last year though one game  was spotlighted that brought remarks out of Moss to shut down the media. A guy that is averaging well over double digit touchdowns on a yearly basis and pairs it with his yardage numbers deserves a downer of a game here and there. He is human, and expecting nothing but statistical excellence is what people have come to expect.

What ignites Randy Moss is winning not proving people wrong. He feeds off of winning as do most NFL players. We’ve seen Moss turn up an extra gear of speed to catch a deep ball, and we’ve also seen him short arm a throw and give up on routes. After last years disappointing season many believe the Patriots are an aged veteran team needing a reshaping. Moss surprisingly is entering his 13th year in the league and at this stage in his career it takes a concerted effort to be ready on a weekly basis.

The natural gifted abilities he has can not be turned off and on when he wants. He is in an eastern climate where it is even rougher on the body and muscles to get loose for a rigorous sixteen game season. He has on more than one occasion voiced that this will likely be his last season as a Patriot. The organization has not begun talks with him on extending a new deal and it appears that Moss may be right. Signing an athlete to a mega deal entering his fourteenth year would be hard pressed for a smart organization as the Pats. How will this affect Moss’s 2010 season?

Based on his past experiences signs are  not looking too good. In Moss’s last season with both the Vikings and Raiders they proved to be his worst seasons in the NFL. Those two teams were also the worst two teams he has had to play on in his NFL career. Even at that there are plenty of high profile athletes that have had great seasons on poor teams, just ask Andre Johnson. For a guy of Moss’s caliber a let down should not of occurred. Looking deeper into the situation those years was the fact that Moss simply tuned himself out physically and mentally. A deadly combo that turned him into a Jerry Porter.

When Tom Brady is your quarterback the excuses can not be formed. If Moss shuts down on a third team during his last year with hit than it will show his selfish nature. The Patriots will likely be a winning team unlike those other two franchise during those years so we do not see that happening at that type of level. Look out if the Patriots hit an unforeseen bump. When are projections for fantasy receivers come out Moss likely will be a bit further down on our list than most. Not drastically down but enough too make fantasy owners think.