The Arizona Cardinals and your fantasy football team
By Jim Koch
A look at which Arizona Cardinals need to be drafted onto your fantasy team and those who you need to stay away from
With fantasy football drafts just a couple months away it’s time for geeks like me to start making their lists and checking them twice. The Arizona Cardinals had the #1 ranked offense in the NFL last season so that means you should draft any and all Cardinals onto your team, correct? Not necessarily.
This is a look at each Cards’ fantasy value on an individual basis. Each player is graded on a scale from one to five, one meaning stay away, five meaning draft at all costs. Each player is rated on their fantasy worth not their worth to the Cardinals.
QB Carson Palmer (5)- Palmer was a fantasy stud last season. Although probably not even drafted as a starter in many leagues he finished with 35 TDs, over 4600 yards with only 11 picks. If he stays healthy there’s no reason he can’t duplicate those numbers or even top them this season.
RB David Johnson (5)- The second-year back has a legitimate shot of being the #1 overall pick in upcoming drafts, regardless of position. He combines superb running skills with the hands of a wide receiver. In limited playing time he accounted for over 1000 yards and 13 TDs. Now that he’s been anointed the “bell cow” the sky’s the limit for this star in the making.
RB Chris Johnson (2)- “CJ2K”, as with most backup running backs, has limited value. David Johnson will most likely be the workhorse which will limit Chris’s playing time and he certainly won’t have as many touches as he did last year when he was starting. He could still be drafted as a “handcuff”, meaning you draft him just in case he was to become the starter at some point in the season.
RB Andre Ellington (1)- Ellington, having now dropped to third on the depth chart, has very little fantasy value for the upcoming season. He’s a free agent at the end of the season and could very well be playing somewhere else next year.
WR Larry Fitzgerald (3)- Fitz is coming off of one of his finest seasons as a Cardinal. But his repeating that success this season is anything but a given. Age may be becoming a factor along with the fact that Palmer has a plethora of pass-catching weapons and tends to spread the ball around to every one of them.
WR Michael Floyd (3)- Floyd will be playing for a contract this season so those annoying, nagging injuries that kept him out of games in the past may not keep on the shelf this season. As with Fitzgerald and every other Arizona pass-catcher, Floyd’s value is diminished a bit by Palmer’s tendency to use every weapon given to him.
WR John Brown (3)- “Smokey” reached the 1000 yard plateau in 2015 and added seven TDs. His numbers would’ve been even better had his hands not failed him in the Philadelphia game in December. He dropped three passes that could’ve added another 100 yards and two more TDs to his statistics.
TE Jermaine Gresham (2)- Gresham’s back surgery in March of 2015 severely limited him in training camp so he probably didn’t play up to his potential. Now healthy and with a full offseason behind him it’s not a stretch to think his numbers could improve. He was used mostly as a blocker last season but did have a huge go-ahead TD in the Cards’ victory at Seattle.
TE Darren Fells (2)- Fells is an athletic former basketball player who found the end zone three times in 2015. His production may lessen if Gresham’s game improves this season. Troy Niklas and Ifeanyi Momah could also cut into Fells’ snaps but both are injury-prone
K Chandler Catanzaro (4)- “Catman” finished second in the NFC in points by a kicker last season. He converted 28 of 31 FGs but did miss five PATs. The Cardinals did score a ton of TDs last season though so his PAT percentage wasn’t terrible.
D/ST (4)- The Cardinals defense was very opportunistic last season scoring six TDs. David Johnson added a special teams TD on a kickoff return versus Chicago. The Cards’ sack numbers should also improve thanks to the additions of Chandler Jones and rookie Robert Nkemdiche.