Faceoff - WR Marty Booker, Chicago Bears

Posted 6/12, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Marc Faletti

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 2008 Chicago Bears WR core: Marty Booker, Mark Bradley, Brandon Lloyd, Devin Hester, Rashied Davis, Earl Bennett, Marcus Monk, Mike Hass, and Brandon Rideau. Now, there's been a lot of talk about Devin Hester being used more on offense, but a small player who doesn't run good routes won't be leading his team in catches. And when you look at that list, there's only one player who's proven to be a capable, go-to possession wideout -- Marty Booker.

In 2005 and 2006, when he was the same age as Booker, Muhsin Muhammad averaged 62 catches, over 800 yards, and 4-5 TDs for the Bears. Are these numbers electrifying? Of course not. But they do warrant a roster spot as a solid bye-week fill-in. Booker's played in at least 13 games each of the last 8 seasons, and thus he should be able to duplicate (and perhaps slightly exceed) Muhammad's numbers.

What makes me so sure? Well, because he's done it in Chi-town before. From 2001-2003, Booker averaged 83 catches, 990 yards, and 6 TDs for the Bears. And last year, in the offensive disaster that was the Dolphins' season, Booker was still able to pull in 50 balls.

Fantasy owners often gravitate towards flashy, high-upside players in their drafts. But don't forget to add a stable, veteran safety net like Marty Booker as insurance. He'll be the cheapest #1 WR in your entire league, and that means you should grab him in the later part of your draft.

Downside - by David Yudkin

Poor Marty Booker. He's had the pleasure (displeasure?) of playing with some of the least notable quarterbacks to ever play the game. The roster of players he's caught passes from reads like the cut list from a college rugby team. His entire list of hurlers features Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Cory Cauter, Rex Grossman, Kordell Stewart, AJ Feely, Jay Fiedler, Sage Rosenfels, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, a one legged Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, John Beck, and post traumatic stress syndrome Trent Green. Heck, he could have been the next Jerry Rice for all we know, except he never had the good fortune to play with anyone half as good as Joe Montana or Steve Young.

The 2008 season may not yield great results either. Booker gets another chance to work with Rex Grossman and a Bears offense that ranked 15th in passing yards and 20th in passing TD. Sadly, that's actually a step up from the 2007 Dolphins (24th in passing yards and 29th in passing TD). The last time Booker teamed with Grossman (albeit for a very brief period), Booker ended the year as the WR40. It would take divine intervention for that to happen again.

FBG has Booker projected at 39 receptions, 460 receiving yards, and three TD. Shockingly, that's the highest output for any Bears wide receiver. That limited amount of production makes Booker a waiver wire candidate in many leagues, yet his current ADP is 190th overall. It's hard to believe Booker actually had a 100-catch season a few years ago. While very unlikely, it's not totally inconceivable that the Bears WR corps overall won't get that many receptions this year. All the other receivers currently on the Bears roster combined had only 45 receptions in 2007.

Booker isn't getting any younger, faster, or better, and he certainly can't make up for an offense that looks to be devoid of weapons and proven experience. Let someone else take Booker and invest in a player that might actually have some upside.