Fantasy Football Projections: The Fall of Brandon Marshall

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How does a guy go from potentially being one of the 5 best wide receivers in football to maybe not even ranking ahead of Wes Welker in fantasy value?

Just ask Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall was amazing last year. Despite missing the first game of the 2008 season due to an NFL mandated suspension, Marshall led the NFL in targets and caught 104 passes from former then Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler. But it doesn’t look as if he’ll be ranking among the best fantasy football wide receivers in 2009.

While Marshall is a top-tier wide receiver in terms of talent, he lacks the supporting cast of quality players to reproduce the types of numbers he had just a season ago. Cutler left for the Chicago Bears, leaving Marshall with a couple of fantasy football duds at quarterback, including Kyle Orton behind center and Chris Simms backing him up. At running back, the Broncos continue to have issues, so it’s highly unlikely that the rushing game will take any heat off of Marshall. And the coaching staff led by Josh McDaniels may be fired before we even get to Week 7 of the fantasy football season.

Yes, it’s that crazy in Denver.

What does all of this mean for Brandon Marshall’s fantasy football projections?

Less production.

Marshall won’t catch 104 balls this season. He’ll be lucky if he gets 75. Randy Moss was the main guy in McDaniels’ 2008 Patriots offense, and he caught just 69 passes—and as McDaniel has made quite clear, neither Kyle Orton or Jay Cutler is “as good” as Matt Cassel.

Brandon Marshall won’t amass last year’s receiving total1,265 yards either. Moss barely broke 1,000 yards in McDaniels’ offense last year, and that was in Moss’s second year of the system. Once again, I recognize they had Cassel instead of Tom Brady; but once again, we know how much McDaniels loved Cassel.

And Brandon Marshall probably won’t even get the mere 6 touchdowns he scored last year. Whilst Moss caught 11 TDs in 2008, his offense was better, with a better offensive line, and he had a defense that got the Patriots the ball more often than the Broncos defense will. And did I mention he had had Matt Cassel?

Yes, Brandon Marshall’s fantasy football value, and perhaps his future NFL earnings, has been diminished all because Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, a rookie coach, jeopardized the entire structure of his team’s personnel, because he was in love with a quarterback that started playing for the first in half-a-decade. How anyone can be mad at Marshall for wanting out of there is beyond me, but drafting him to your fantasy football team would be even more outlandish.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
1. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans (8/3/09)
2. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (8/1/09)
3. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers (7/31/09)
4. Randy Moss, New England Patriots (7/30/09)
5. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts (7/29/09)
6. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons (7/28/09)
7. Terrell Owens, Buffalo Bills (7/27/09)
8. Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals (7/24/09)
9. Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers (7/23/09)
10. Wes Welker, New England Patriots (7/22/09)
11. Not Top Wide Receivers (7/21/09)

TSW Preseason Fantasy Football Rankings – Quarterbacks
1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
3. Peyton Manning, New England Patriots
4. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
6. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
7. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks
9. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
10. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

TSW 2009 Fantasy Football Rankings – Running Backs
10. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans (7/6/09, 9AM)
09. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants (7/6/09, 4PM)
08. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers (7/7/09, 9AM)
07. Deangelo Williams, Carolina Panthers (7/7/09, 4PM)
06. LaDainian Tomlison, San Diego Chargers (7/8/09, 9AM)
05. Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams (7/8/09, 4PM)
04. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons (7/9/09, 9AM)
03. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars (7/9/09, 4PM)
02. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears (7/10/09, 9AM)
01. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (7/10/09, 12PM)

More Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections:
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Quarterbacks
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Running Backs
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Wide Receivers
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Tight Ends
Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections: Defenses

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