Draft 2008: Love and Hate, Part 3

Love: Jeremy Shockey, TE New Orleans Saints

This one’s tough for me to admit, because I’ve never really cared for Shockey or even taken him that seriously. The guy spikes the ball after routine first down catches, dropped passes in the clutch, and did his best to kill Eli Manning’s confidence, which is kind of like going up to the homeless guy on your street every day and shaking him down for spare change. Let’s also not forget this hilarious incident, in which Shockey prematurely celebrated what looked to be a game-winning field goal for the Giants…only to change his expression as the kick sailed wide left. When the Giants announced last season that they were not going to grant Shockey permission to be on the field at the Super Bowl, I knew that those “19-0” shirts would end up in the hands of a bunch of kids living in huts in South America.

Still, how do you not love Shockey this year? He’s playing for a team that spent their entire offseason trying to figure out a way to trade for him—you don’t think they’re going to look for him in the red zone? And, poo stain on his cheek aside, Drew Brees knows a little something about getting the ball to the TE—he’s a big part of the reason why Antonio Gates became so successful. I predict a torn meniscus by Week 12, but by then he’ll have already matched his career high in TDs (7).

Hate: Tom Brady, QB New England Patriots

Okay, hate is a relative term here. There’s no question that Brady will be the top fantasy QB this year (or close to it), but anyone expecting him to throw for 50 TDs and 4,800 yards again is going to be sorely disappointed. The year after Peyton Manning threw for 49 TDs, he threw 29. The year after LT scored 31 TDs, he scored 18. The year after Mike Vick threw for almost 2,500 yards and ran for an additional 1,000, he went to prison. Sense a pattern here?

The Pats just won’t be able to duplicate last season’s intergalactic passing totals. After the loss to the Giants, the Pats are going to be wary of falling into the old Colts pattern of running up the score on crappy teams during the regular season only to lose in the playoffs (which Bill Simmons mocked them for in every NFL column he published from 2000-2004). Expect Brady’s TD total to be in the low 30s—good enough for you to make him the top QB on your draft board but not enough for you to pass up a stud RB in round 1 to get him.

Sleeper Love: Chris Johnson, RB Tennessee Titans

He’ll get off to a hot start, racking up some long TD runs in the first few weeks of the season before suffering a minor injury around Week 5 that will hamper his production for the rest of the season. Play him at the flex early but trade him at the peak of his value.

Sleeper Hate: Robert Meachem, WR New Orleans Saints

The next Ashley Lelie. Sure, he’s looked good in the preseason, but word on the street is that he can only run the go route. Next.