Faceoff - TE Marcus Pollard, Seattle Seahawks

Posted 7/6, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by David Shick

Marcus Pollard strolls into Seattle as the unquestioned starter and only viable receiving option at the tight end position. The Seahawks chose to let the enigmatic Jerramy Stevens leave as a free agent.

The knock on Pollard for most fantasy enthusiast is his age. The 35-year old twelve-year veteran is certainly long in the tooth by most standards. However, if we carefully analyze his career Pollard has far less miles on his "football odometer" than most realize. He didn't play college football and played very little during the first two years of his career. He spent the past year and a half of his career languishing in a Mike Martz offense that simply refuses to throw the ball to the tight ends on any sort of basis other than rarely. A Mike Martz offense has never had a tight end produce a forty catch season. Those twelve catches last year had nothing to do with Pollard and should be ignored when trying to project Pollard in Seattle for 2007.

Seattle starting tight ends have averaged top twelve fantasy numbers over the past five years. Head coach Mike Holmgren is stubborn this way. Since his days in Green Bay the tight end has played a key role in his version of the west coast offense. Holmgren has publicly predicted between forty to fifty receptions for Pollard in 2007. That's obviously coach-speak, but even if we temper these statistics it won't take much for Pollard to achieve respectable numbers in this offense.

I currently have Pollard ranked as the number sixteen tight end in redraft leagues. In 2006 the number sixteen tight end (Bo Scaife, TEN) finished the season with 29 receptions, 370 yards, and three touchdowns. This has to be close to floor level expectations for Pollard. Yes, he has limited upside being in a new environment and he's getting up in years, but there simply too many factors pointing to decent production for him to slide too far in fantasy drafts.

Downside - by Cecil Lammey

To say that Marcus Pollard's time in Detroit was a disappointment would be a huge understatement. Many envisioned this one time favorite target of Peyton Manning to excel as the main man at the TE position in Detroit. It was argued that Pollard was kept down by the way the ball was spread out between himself and Dallas Clark. The Lions thought they had answered their TE woes through free agency, but in the end Pollard was just a waste of a roster spot.

Now that Pollard is in Seattle, why should his production be any different that it was in Detroit? The answer is: It won't be any different in 2007. Marcus is a 12-year veteran that was a great passing offense until a couple of seasons ago when he went to Detroit. So any stats that Pollard had accumulated while in Indianapolis were merely a product of the system. Forget the Pollard of 2001, when he racked up over 700 yards receiving. Even forget the record setting 2004 season for Peyton Manning. In that year he only targeted Pollard 39 times. They connected on 6 TDs (out of 49), but only accounted for 309 yards on 29 receptions. Simply put, Pollard hasn't seen that type of production in years, and is unlikely to bounce back to form with his new team.

Mike Holmgren has stated that he sees Pollard getting 40 receptions in this offense. Well, perhaps good ole Mike was drinking that day because Pollard could only see half that amount. Jerramy Stevens and his headcases (both on and off the field) are long gone, so the production from the TE position rests squarely on Pollard's 35 year old shoulders. They do have the underachievers Will Heller and Benji Joppru backing up Marcus, but one should expect all Seattle TEs to underachieve. For years, production has been expected from these supposed great Seattle TEs with a ton of potential. And for years, fans and coaches have been seriously disappointed by what they've seen on the field. Matt Hasselbeck should be better this year, so long as the line can protect him. Even so, Pollard's production shouldn't be anywhere near what it was during his time with the Colts. If anything, one should expect him to duplicate the type of numbers that we saw in his first year with Detroit (46-516-3).