Rams WR Donnie Avery Suffers Knee Injury

St. Louis Rams WR Donnie Avery suffered a serious knee injury this evening in his preseason game with the Patriots.  Given the nature of the injury, I'm pretty sure he tore his ACL.

Fantasy Impact: Immediately remove Avery as a WR5 candidate, and re-focus a potential WR5 candidate to Laurent Robinson instead.  Robinson has the talent to be a true #1 WR at the NFL level, but much like Avery, he's suffered a number of injuries in his short career.  Like I mentioned in my draft guide, a rookie QB isn't the best news for WR fantasy value, but someone has to step up, and Robinson has the most talent on the team.  He's a good end-game flier.

500th Post: Leinart Sucks More And Gets Demoted

I noticed that this is my 500th on post here.  So, for the none of you who follow this, thanks for your support.  I'd still be here if it weren't for you.

Down to business: Arizona QB Matt Leinart has been demoted.  Derek Anderson will start for the Cardinals this weekend in the all important 3rd preseason game, and Leinart will come in off the bench.  As long as Derek Anderson doesn't go all Jake Delhomme, which would be saying something since we're talking about Derek Anderson, he'll start in week 1.  It's obvious that the Cardinals' coaching staff has seen enough of Leinart to know that he's not even the short term answer, and there's reason to believe he might be cut as well.  It couldn't happen to a more dedicated player.  Wait.

Fantasy Impact: Cross Leinart off your draft board, obviously.  Derek Anderson hasn't shown any better accuracy this offseason, so there's little reason to draft him.  If the Cardinals fall out of contention, there's a good chance one of Arizona's young QBs, Max Hall or John Skelton, would get the call at that point.  Larry Fitzgerald becomes slightly more appealing because Anderson is far more aggressive than Leinart, but I still project a drop in his numbers across the board, and I'd much rather draft Calvin Johnson or Roddy White instead.  Steve Breaston is worth ignoring because I don't think Anderson will be able to support more than one fantasy-relevant WR.  Beanie Wells is mostly unaffected, although this might increase his scoring potential ever so slightly.  Continue drafting him as a RB2 as he'll likely be the offensive focal point along with Fitz.  On a semi-related note, I'm not buying this Tim Hightower crap.  Hightower might "start", but Beanie is their featured RB.  If this forces Wells into the 3rd round, grab him at a discount if you didn't like him in the 2nd.

WR5 Draft Guide Update 2

I removed Golden Tate.  After a very strong start to the offseason, he's fallen behind and will not start when the year begins.  He's working on special teams now to increase his gameday value.  He's someone to keep an eye on when the regular season begins, but he's not draftable.

I've become a stronger proponent of both Mike Williams from TB and Bernard Berrian.  Williams has had a strong offseason from start to finish, and barring injury, he's a lock to lead all rookie WRs in yards and probably TDs.  The Freeman injury hurts his value in the short term, but if that allows you to grab him at a further discount, that's perfect.  Berrian obviously gets a bump due to Rice's hip surgery and Harvin's headaches, and he's probably being drafted as more of a WR4 now, which is fine as he'll start and be the primary deep threat for Favre.

I also highly recommend Jabar Gaffney.  He's hardly an elite talent, but he's a good bet to lead the Broncos in receiving.  Demaryius Thomas has re-injured his foot again, and he's not going to make a fantasy impact until late this year, if at all.  Eric Decker isn't going to threaten his starting job this season, and who knows what you'll get with Eddie Royal.

Sidney Rice Undergoes Hip Surgery

Minnesota WR Sidney Rice underwent hip surgery, and he is expected to be sidelined for at least half of the season.

Fantasy Impact: Hopefully you've been listening to my advice to avoid Rice in drafts this season.  Unfortunately, if you did not, you now have a 2nd/3rd round pick that isn't going to play for a while.  It's probably too early to tell exactly how long his rehab will take, but the estimate right now is half a season.  Brett Favre gets a slight downgrade as Rice was his go-to receiver, but I still see him as a solid QB2.  Sidney Rice can be drafted as a WR5, but nothing more.  He's going to miss at least half the season, he'll probably be rusty when he comes back, and it's not a lock that he'll play at all.  Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian both get upgrades.  Harvin is a bit of a risk with his unpredictable migraine situation, but he's a rock-solid WR3 set to start and see a nice increase in targets.  Berrian should take over as the primary deep threat, and he's now worth up to a WR4 pricetag with possibility for WR3 value while Rice is out.

Matt Leinart Sucks

Yeah, that's about it.  He's starting to lose the locker room, and there's no guaranty he's going to last this season as the starter.  In fact, it's likely.  He's not worth drafting as a QB2, and I'll update my draft guide accordingly.

2010 Preseason Backfield Report Update

I've made updates to the backfield report, so take a gander at teams you're keeping an eye on for the latest information.  Good times!