Faceoff - WR David Patten, New Orleans Saints

Posted 6/29, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Jeff Tefertiller

It seems as though David Patten has been around forever. The former undrafted receiver from Western Carolina will turn 34 years old before the start of the season. He enjoyed a good 2007 season in New Orleans. Drew Brees looked to Patten often, with 88 pass targets in 16 games. The experienced wideout delivered with 54 receptions for 792 yards and three touchdowns. The 14.7 yards per catch average is indicative of his playmaking abilities.

Meachem was drafted to be the favorite to start at the WR2 position for the Saints. He struggled picking up the offense and with injuries. Patten emerged early on. There were rave reviews for the veteran receiver last offseason. He was an afterthought for many with Meachem, Devery Henderson, and Terrence Copper all vying to replace the departed Joe Horn. It did not take Patten long to prove he was a viable option for Brees. The Saints were looking for someone to step up. Patten did. He finished as the 42nd ranked fantasy wide receiver. The New Orleans Saints is a great fit for the former Patriot. He is able to roam free with defenses concentrating on Colston and Bush.

David Patten is a relative steal in fantasy drafts. Even after the solid year in 2007, he is being drafted as WR78 so far this offseason, even behind Meachem, Roydell Williams, Laurent Robinson, Kevin Walter, and Ernest Wilford. David Patten is the second best receiver option for Brees in a great offense for fantasy production. He is being drafted in the 18th round of fantasy drafts and as a WR7. What a bargain. The Footballguys staff has Patten ranked as WR60 in the consensus rankings. This illustrates the value, but is still too low. Even the Footballguys projections (by David Dodds) has the veteran as WR58 and projected to have only 35 receptions for 504 yards and three scores. When looking back to the 2007 season, it is easy to see the overlooked pass catcher offers extreme value. As a depth receiver on your fantasy team, he may not start more than a handful of games. But, Patten had five games last year with at least ten fantasy points. That is great production for a player deep on the fantasy bench. David Patten will produce once again in 2008.

Downside - by Jeff Pasquino

Okay, I will admit it -- I was surprised to get the assignment to write up David Patten this year. Not because I got the "low side" argument, but more to the point I was questioning why we are even looking at him. I mean, when your fantasy draft rolls around and you're ready to get your team of studs and potential breakout players, is David Patten anywhere on that list? In other words, why are we even talking about David Patten?

To be a bit objective, I went and looked at Patten's 2007 numbers -- 54 catches, 792 yards, and three scores. Not bad, and he was the #42 WR last season. But that was last year, and this is probably the best case scenario for the 33-year old (and 34 in August) wideout.

Last year, the Saints could not find anyone past Reggie Bush and Marques Colston to even get targeted on a consistent basis from Drew Brees. Bush and Colston combined for 241 targets and 171 catches, dominating the workload. Patten came next with 88 targets, followed by the oft-injured TE Eric Johnson (63 targets, 48 catches). The key to note is that no other Saints WR had over 50 targets, which means that Patten was the best of the rest.

The issue with looking backwards here is that all the other WR2 candidates for New Orleans were just not very good. Devery Henderson, Terrance Copper and Lance Moore were hardly viable options, so Patten had a free pass to start most weeks. The wildcard is not just these three receivers, but also second year WR Robert Meachem, who basically redshirted 2007 with a leg injury. Meachem was a first round selection in 2007, which means that he has a good shot at beating out Patten for the #2 starting spot.

David Patten's entire value rests on two things -- the Saints prolific passing attack, and the fact that the #2 WR in New Orleans will put up decent 2008 numbers even if he is a below-average wideout. If you are comfortable picking up Patten and counting on him starting, be my guest -- but odds are that Meachem will assume that starter role sooner rather than later. Even if Meachem somehow "busts", Patten is not a lock to stay ahead of Lance Moore. My advice is to pass on picking Patten, but definitely to keep an eye on the starting wide receivers for New Orleans in 2008. The Saints want Meachem to win the job and push Patten to a backup role, and so should fantasy drafters.