We’re currently in that mystical preseason place where anything can happen with your fantasy football squad. (Remember to get that lewd joke or Simpsons-based team name sorted out in advance.) Optimism is plentiful, you’ve decided to never trust Jeremy Langford again, and your would-be super team is destined for glory. We at UPROXX believe in you and your holy quest and we want to help.
Every NFL squad always has a player (or six) that are bound to seduce you into drafting them too high and put you in some variety of Archer certified Danger Zone. These are the sort of fantasy options that could still pay off huge, but come with some serious questions before you make your official selection. We’ve wrangled together a tidy collection of 32 players (one for each team, including the dead mall of a football club that is the New York Jets) that we think are worth having a think about before joining your roster.
Today we move our Danger Zone tour with a visit to the treacherous NFC East. Listen to Jerry Jones howl at the moon and keep your arms and leagues inside the fantasy preview.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – QB Dak Prescott
Reason To Salivate: Dak Prescott’s rookie season was so good that it banished Tony Romo into a life of listening politely to Jim Nantz. (The cruelest fate of all!) Prescott threw for 23 TDs, ran for 6 and emerged with only four picks to his name in his first-ever NFL campaign. In 2017, he continues to have a wealth of weapons and is protected by an incredible offensive line. (Excellent news for a pivot scanning for Dez Bryant and possessing dangerous running.) If Prescott can build on a debut outing where he just missed the Top 5 mark for QB fantasy scoring, who knows how swole his numbers could grow?
Reason To Worry: Currently ranked 86th overall on the FantasyPros ADP consensus chart, Prescott is a QB1 candidate that inspires thoughts of week-to-week enorm-o-point lust. You may want to pump those brakes a bit, though. Prescott’s numbers are good, but not regularly dominate your week good. Dallas didn’t exactly light the world on fire with their 23rd ranked passing game which featured Prescott (who played all 16 games last season) barely cracking the Top 20 for passing yardage, tied with Blake Bortles for TD receptions (good enough for 15th overall) and only 10 more completions on the year than Brock Osweiler. If you believe in sophomore slumps, that’s not massaging your feelings on Prescott either. Dallas can see a bright future in Prescott at QB, but keep his value in perspective.
New York Giants – WR Brandon Marshall
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXgZnutBKfe/?hl=en&taken-by=bmarshall
Reason To Salivate: Brandon Marshall has escaped the misery of the New York Jets to become a tantalizing red zone target for Eli Manning with the Giants. (Eli’s already made the Plaxico comparison so we don’t have to.) Odell Beckham Jr. will draw the attention of opposing secondaries and that should give Marshall ample opportunities to make the most of his height in one-on-one battles. It’s not like NYG are shy about using their wideouts, so there’s no reason to worry about the 33-year-old being kept off the field and out of scoring situations.
Reason To Worry: There’s a lot of blame to go around for the Jets stinking up the joint in 2016, although Marshall’s miserable totals (his worst since his rookie campaign) aren’t solely to blame on a cruel and unforgiving god. Marshall’s receptions, TDs, and overall value to the NYG raises questions about he can really do as the receiver opposite OBJ. Last season’s woes made Marshall’s 2015 Jets campaign look like Jerry Rice with rocket cleats by comparison. Marshall is nestled into the 31st spot overall among receivers in consensus ADP trends and that means a few maniacs have been snapping him up as a WR2. That’s madness. Marshall might have a bounce-back campaign in him, but don’t talk yourself in inflating his value beyond being a third receiver (or a wait-and-see flex option) come draft day.
Philadelphia Eagles – RB LeGarrette Blount
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvX5HKGQNl8
Reason To Salivate: The Eagles are recovering from the thrills, chills and ample spills of the Chip Kelly era and year 2 of that project sees Patriots rushing go-to LeGarrette Blount joining a potentially explosive Philly attack featuring second-year QB Carson Wentz and new multi-purpose weapon Alshon Jeffrey. Blount arrives in Philadelphia with career-best numbers to boast about: 1,161 yards on the ground, 18 touchdowns, and not a single game lost to injury. He’ll be an improvement over Ryan Matthews in an Eagles running game that was more productive (11th in the league) than you remember.
Reason To Worry: How comfortable do you feel putting your faith in a player that’s left Camp Belichick? We’ve been burned before by stellar outings in New England’s scoreboard-busting offense and we’ll likely get caught again. Blount’s personal bests from 2016 can partially be attributed to a successful system, playing a full season (a rarity for Blount) and a division that offered weak rush defenses that could be easily exposed for fun and profit. That changes in 2017 with Blount facing the Cowboys twice (2016’s stingiest rushing defense), the Giants twice (ranked third in that column) and a run game that will still see Darren Sproles get an ample amount of work. Clocking in at 23rd among RBs in the current ADP consensus, Blount is a decidedly risky pick in that range. Don’t count on a repeat performance on 2016.
Washington Football Team – TE Jordan Reed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWlI9O2LNIE
Reason To Salivate: Jordan Reed’s potential to spring into elite tight end consideration is tantalizing. So much so that I used the word “tantalizing” even though it makes me feel uncomfortable for some weird reason. When Reed’s on, he’s dominant. Outside of injury baggage, Reed has been a Top 10 TE contributor in the last two Washington campaigns and turned in over three 24+ point performances for fantasy owners in a limited 2016 season. Kirk Cousins (who QB’d the NFL’s second-best team passing game last year) no longer has DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon to throw to which means Reed is in line to get a wealth of targets in 2017.
Reason To Worry: Jordan Reed is fawned over as a pseudo-Gronk creature amongst tight ends and has risen to the 4th spot in the current TE ADP. standings. That’s swell and all, but Reed is a huge injury risk that could leave a black hole at the position. It’s hard to score points when you’re not on the field, y’know. Another concussion in 2017 could spell curtains for Reed’s season and possibly his career as a whole. Reed sure is sugar is going to get a hit a lot considering his role in a retooled offense (sans vacated offensive coordinator and now new Rams coach Sean McVay) and that breeds concern. Reed’s overall ADP has him being snapped up as early as rounds 4 and 5. If he’s sidelined for another significant portion of the season, that early pick will haunt you.
Happy fantasying, everybody!
