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Faceoff - WR Mark Bradley, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Posted 8/28, exclusive to Footballguys.com
Upside - by Will Grant
To say that Mark Bradley was a disappointment in Chicago is kind of like saying that Terrell Owens will be available for comments after the game or that Peyton Manning is a good quarterback. On a team that was completely empty when it came to WR talent, Bradley struggled to be the #4 receiving option. The second round pick had just 38 receptions for less than 600 yards receiving and just 4 TDs over his first three seasons.Yet after transplanting himself from Chicago to Kansas City by mid season last year, Bradley seemed to find his spark. Despite the merry-go-round of terrible QB play for the Chiefs down the stretch, Bradley has some solid games, including four games with double-digit fantasy points and two games where he was targeted eleven or more times. Bradley put up better stats in his first six games as a Chief than he did in his previous three seasons with the Bears.
For 2009, his situation looks even better. The Chiefs have settled on former Patriot Matt Cassel for their QB. He probably won't put up the 3600 yards and 21 TDs that he did in New England last year, but he should be light years ahead of Tyler Thigpen and Brodie Croyle when it comes to leading the Chiefs. Also, standout TE Tony Gonzalez has moved on to Atlanta, taking his 1000 yard, 95+ receptions with him. Neither Brad Cottam nor Sean Ryan will come close to those numbers. This means Bradley should be the #2 downfield option behind Dwayne Bowe this year.
The Chiefs also signed Bobby Engram and Amani Toomer this off season. While they are serviceable options to have on the field, neither of them is a real threat to cut into Bradley's performance. Bradley is currently sitting out there with an Average Draft position of 210 overall, WR67. He had better numbers than that last year when he only played half of the season. While he won't challenge Bowe for the top receiver slot for the Chiefs this season, he should easily outperform his draft position and provide solid value given the low draft pick that you can land him at.
Downside - by Chris Smith
When he failed to perform for the Bears last season, Bradley was set loose and was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs. If he couldn't make it with the receiver-needed Bears it didn't appear likely he would do anything else in the NFL. However he came on board with the Chiefs, caught 20 passes for 265 yards and a touchdown through the second half of the season which helped rescue his floundering career.Before you get too excited and raise him up in your cheat sheets however, let's not forget that this player was released by a team that had weakness at the receiver position. There are a few solid reasons to not rank Bradley inside the top-fifty this season
Reasons to ignore WR Mark Bradley in 2009
- Has been injury prone throughout NFL career: Bradley has missed a total of 34 games through his five-year NFL career. He has been hurt as often as he has been healthy and nothing has happened over the past year to make you believe he has suddenly found his durability.
- Last year was by far his best result as a pro: His 380 yards receiving last season were by far the best result of his professional career. That level of production isn't even on the radar in fantasy football unless a team truly is desperate for help at the receiver position, and that is his best result through five seasons. In fact, if you look at his combined five-year pro numbers, they would be good statistics for one-year in fantasy football (68 receptions for 963 yards and seven touchdowns)
- Veteran Bobby Engram in the picture: The Chiefs brought veteran WR Bobby Engram to compete for the starting job and he'll certainly pull targets away from Bradley this season.
- New quarterback and new offensive system: It may take awhile for the passing attack to come together this season with both a new quarterback and a new system for the team to master.
Last Word
Bradley's upside for 2009 is marginal fantasy receiver, but there are other players you can select instead of him in the latter stages of your fantasy draft that have more upside and value. His inability to stay healthy outweighs his decent second half last season, and he'll struggle to hold off veteran Bobby Engram in 2009.