Faceoff - WR Nate Burleson, Seattle Seahawks

Posted 7/22, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Jeff Pasquino

The Seattle Seahawks are a passing team, despite any rumors to the contrary. They have a very underrated quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck, a veteran who had 28 touchdowns and just under 4,000 yards passing last season. The question this year for Seattle has been who will be on the other end of all those passing yards. Bobby Engram returns for another year after a big season, but D.J. Hackett has left for Carolina and Deion Branch seems more likely than ever to start the season on the injury / physically unable to perform (PUP) list. With both of those players unavailable, the responsibility of being a starter falls squarely upon the shoulders of Nate Burleson.

Burleson is not a bad option for a starting receiver. He did score 10 touchdowns last year (nine on receptions, one on a kick return), a feat only 10 other NFL receivers accomplished in 2007. Burleson understands his new role and accepts it fully, as he said when he visited the set of "Total Access" on the NFL Network this offseason. There are only two other real veterans at receiver in Seattle (Branch and Engram) so there is a need by the Seahawks to mentor the younger wideouts on the team. Burleson is ready and willing to grow even further than he already has for his 6th NFL year.

The Seahawks made the most noise on offense this offseason by adding RB Julius Jones via free agency to replace Shaun Alexander and lead their ground game. Considering that Jones used to be the starter in Dallas and was ineffective behind arguably a better offensive line in Dallas vs. Seattle, I am very skeptical about Jones' ability to put up big numbers. Despite Seattle wanting to run, I believe that the Seahawks will be airing it out to Engram and Burleson for most of the season.

Burleson is currently going for a big discount in many drafts, as he is selected on average as the 39th WR of fantasy drafts in about the 9th round (ADP of 105). That's an amazing value for a receiver that finished at #27 overall last year (in a big year for receivers) and is now likely to have a bigger role for his team. Burleson is too good a player and a performer to sleep on at that kind of value.

Downside - by Chris Smith

This will be a challenging face off as I have Burleson ranked 35th in PPR leagues and 30th in standard performance leagues this season. That is more on the high side amongst our staff but I'm willing to play 'Devil's Advocate' and look at reasons to believe he won't shine in 2008.

Reasons to believe Burleson has limited upside this season

• Touchdown production can be erratic: In two of his five professional seasons, Burleson has snagged 18 total touchdowns. In his other three seasons he has caught a total of 5. Yes, that's right. Just 5 touchdowns. He only caught 50 passes for 694 yards last season which would have been fairly pedestrian if not for the 9 scores.
• Hard to ignore 2006's production: He finished as the 102nd best receiver in 2006, despite being available for all sixteen games. He has been very erratic in fact throughout his entire career and you never really know which Burleson you are going to get heading into a season.
• Where does he slot in if Deion Branch is healthy heading into the season and Bobby Engram gets signed? If he slots in as the 3rd receiver this season, he will have at best the 50 receptions he earned last season and almost certainly his touchdown total would drop from last season if he doesn't expand his receptions.

Final Thoughts

I have Burleson catching 52 passes for 735 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. That isn't bad production and he'll have value in fantasy leagues. Can he elevate his play over those projections? The frustrating thing about evaluating Burleson is he is capable of pushing 1,000 receiving yards if everything breaks right for him this season. The most likely situation though will have him sharing targets with Bobby Engram and Deion Branch in 2008 which will hinder his overall value. He's a nice mid-round pick but don't reach to land him on your fantasy squad.