2011 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Ochocinco Spells B-I-N-G-O in New England
At some point in each of their careers, the fantasy gods looked down with mercy on starters-turned-suckers like Corey Dillon and Randy Moss and sent them to the New England Patriots. Magic resides in Belichick's nasty old cutoff sleeves, which is why Chad Ochocinco will be one of the top sleepers in this year's draft.
Ochocinco currently is going in the ninth round in Y! leagues. Consider this: 85 is being drafted after Kenny Britt, Percy Harvin, Austin Collie, Sidney Rice and Steve Smith.
Britt has a legitimate shot at having a decent season, but WR's rarely excel with Matt Hasselbeck at the helm.
Percy Harvin is a spark plug, but he's never been a #1 receiver and it remains to be seen if he will excel without being hampered by injuries.
Sidney Rice was a #1 until he went to Seattle, and while he still is the team's top receiver, he plays in Seattle and Tavaris Jackson is his quarterback. Not good.
Austin Collie excelled in the first half of the season last year and could break out, but, like Harvin, injuries are a concern.
Carolina's Steve Smith has only had three seasons of 85+ receptions and only 2 seasons of 1200+ yards.
Ochocinco, on the other hand, has five seasons of 1200+ yards and 85+ receptions. None of the receivers mentioned in that list have a resume that is anything close to Ochocinco's.
And finally, the most persuading five letters for anyone looking for a sleeper WR: B-R-A-D-Y.
If 85 is off the board and you are still scrounging for a WR2 or WR3, there's a good chance that Chargers wideout Malcolm Floyd still is available. Nagging injuries plagued the lanky wideout for most of the second half of the season last year. When he was healthy, though, he was very good. In his first five games he hauled in nearly 500 yards and three touchdowns. Granted, Floyd's track record is a bit spotty considering his injuries, but like Ochocinco, he has one major factor working in his favor — Philip Rivers, a quarterback that loves to throw the ball and, barring injury, pretty much is a lock for 4000+ yards and 30 TDs.
Written by James Duren exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com
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(August 31, 2011 – Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images North America)
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