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WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Seattle Seahawks

HT: 6-1, WT: 197, Born: 9-26-1977, College: Oregon State, Drafted: Round 7

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 29th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: P Rivers (37), M Lynch (38), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (39), J Witten (40), K Warner (41)
Position: W Welker (32-WR13), B Marshall (34-WR14), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (39 - WR15), B Edwards (45-WR16), R Williams (46-WR17)
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 Click here to go to the T.J. Houshmandzadeh spotlight, our staff's most detailed analysis.

Best Case

Former Bengal T.J. Houshmandzadeh has had over 90 receptions in each of the last three seasons, and he will be the clear WR1 for the Seahawks. Early reports out of Seattle indicate that Matt Hasselbeck and Houshmandzadeh have already gotten on the same page (anticipating cuts, timing of routes, etc). If he can make a smooth transition into Jim Mora's offense in Seattle, a Top 10 season is within reach for Houshmandzadeh.

Worst Case

Houshmandzadeh will have to learn a new offense and develop cohesion with a new set of teammates. Moreover, he will lack a big play threat lining up across from him to occupy the defense's attention. In addition, an injury to Hasselbeck (who is not known for his durability) would dampen Houshmandzadeh's prospects this season. Nonetheless, even the worst case scenario should make Houshmandzadeh an adequate WR2 or solid WR3 in twelve-team leagues.

Outlook

While Houshmandzadeh's team situation in Cincinnati deteriorated last year, he himself has been a steady performer in each of the last four seasons. Houshmandzadeh should be viewed as a strong WR2 in twelve-team leagues, and while he lacks the upside potential of more explosive, big-play receivers, he also presents little risk for his expected draft position.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Mark Wimer - T.J. Houshmandzadeh has finally escaped Cincinnati, and he lands in a great spot up in Seattle as the clear No. 1 WR on the roster. Matt Hasselbeck's back appears to be healed up, and according to reports out of mini-camp, Houshmandzadeh and Hasselbeck are very simpatico already, especially in the red zone. There is no reason that Houshmandzadeh shouldn't catch 100 passes from Hasselbeck this year, and double-digit TDs look like they are in reach. Those kinds of numbers should mean a Top 10 finish for Houshmandzadeh, possibly Top 5 - he's a bargain at this ADP.

Why he is overvalued

Mike Brown - Houshmandzadeh perfectly fits the profile of free agent bust. He's been a top-flight option for years in Cincinnati, where he had the familiarity of the team and city, a terrific quarterback, and a receiver lined up across the field that took a LOT of the defensive pressure away from him. Now he goes to a new team on a big contract, and there are no other top receiving threats in Seattle. Houshmandzadeh will be "the guy". He's had some good years, but I feel he's much more of a great number two than a number one.

Jeff Tefertiller - Houshmandzadeh leaves the high octane offense of the Cincinnati Bengals for the struggling Seattle Seahawks. He goes from playing across from Chad Johnson with Carson Palmer tossing the ball to being the only legitimate receiver with the oft-injured Matt Hasselbeck under center. The Seahawk offense struggles without much of a run game and few options in the passing game. There are several pass receivers that offer more upside and value as a high-end fantasy WR2 at this ADP.

Latest News

Seahawks | Houshmandzadeh guarantees playoffs (Mon Jun 29, 12:24 PM) - Greg Johns, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reports Seattle Seahawks WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh said during an interview with the Sporting News that the team will make the playoffs this season. Houshmandzadeh also predicted Pro Bowl nominations for himself and QB Matt Hasselbeck. 'I just want to let everyone know that Matt Hasselbeck and I will be leading the Seahawks to the playoffs this season,' Houshmandzadeh said. 'And we'll be going to the Pro Bowl as a tandem. We're both going to have top five seasons: He'll have a top five quarterback season, and I'll have a top five receiving season. I'll put up stats I've never had before yards-wise because they're allowing me to be a complete receiver.'

Our View: Easy there Houshyourmamma. It's great to have this type of confidence as we enter the season, and it's much better than hearing "we're not going anywhere" but too often these "guarantees" collapse in glorious fashion. That being said, there is a good chance that Seattle could make it back to the postseason because of the division they play in. The 49ers and Rams may have okay seasons, but are far from ready for a playoff push. The Cardinals won the conference title last year but had to get hot at the end of the year to do so. If Matt Hasselbeck can stay upright the Seahawks have a good chance of being at least 8-8 in 2009. That kind of record could win them the division and have them playoff bound.
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Seahawks | Houshmandzadeh makes lofty predictions (Fri Jun 26, 02:07 PM) - Mike Florio, of profootballtalk.com, reports that TJ Houshmandzadeh made some lofty predictions in the latest issue of Sporting News, including a playoff appearance by the Seahawks, top five statistical seasons from him and QB Matt Hasselbeck, and a Pro Bowl appearance by both players.

Our View: This is the same guy that called out Joey Porter and shined his shoes with a Terrible Towel back in 2006. We all see how that turned out. It's good for a player to have confidence in his abilities, but this kind of talk just get opponents fired up to face Houshmandzadeh so they can shut him up.
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Seahawks | Houshmandzadeh picked up the offense quickly (Sun Jun 21, 09:15 PM) - Eric Williams, from the Tacoma News Tribune, states Houshmandzadeh has picked up the offense well, and developed some chemistry with Hasselbeck.

Our View: This is great news not only for Seattle fans, but most importantly for QB Matt Hasselbeck. Adding a talented receiver like Houshmandzadeh can only help Hasselbeck, who is trying to come back from an injury plagued 2008. Not since the days of Darrell Jackson has Seattle had a legitimate #1 receiver, and Housh will team with TE John Carlson and rookie WR Deon Butler to give Seattle a potent air attack.
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2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - While he ended up being Carson Palmer's favorite target (or, at least, Palmer's favorite intended target), Houshmandzadeh was largely absent in the first half of the game, and only slightly more visible in the second half. As was also the case with fellow WR Chad Johnson, Houshmandzadeh was regularly subjected to double coverage and was almost completely unable to fight his way free in time to provide an outlet for QB Carson Palmer who was constantly trying to escape from the Baltimore pass rush.

Week 2 - Houshmandzadeh was not targeted until the second half and has not been a big factor in the passing offense thus far.

Week 3 - Houshmandzadeh and Palmer had no trouble getting in synch as Houshmandzadeh saw a team high 15 targets and was able to haul in 12 of them for 142 yards and a score. He was everywhere downfield as his speed caused a major mismatch for the Giants secondary unit. He was hit multiple times on underneath hot routes where he was able to show off his quick feet and elusiveness gaining big yards after the catch. In the fourth quarter, he found a seam and was able to bring in an 11 yard catch for his first receiving touchdown of the year.

Week 4 - Houshmandzadeh was the most successful receiver for the Bengals, as he caught six of the eight balls thrown his way. His longest catch was 15 yards, though, so he could not break away from the Cleveland pass defense.

Week 5 - Houshmandzadeh was by far Palmer's favorite target and caught 7 of the 13 passes thrown his way, including the two second half TD catches. Most of the passes were of the short variety, which is typical for Houshmandzadeh.

Week 6 - Houshmandzadeh was the most targeted Bengals receiver as he saw eight looks his way and was able to bring in seven of them for 49 yards. He was a consistent target when the Bengals crept into the red zone and was stopped short of the goal line on Cincinnati's first scoring drive. Like Johnson, Houshmandzadeh did not get much of an opportunity for a big play downfield.

Week 7 - Houshmandzadeh produced for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for most of the game. His longest reception was 19 yards and he did show some run after the catch ability, especially on a nice 19 yarder in the third quarter. I would not consider him the #1 receiver in this offense given his skill level may be trailing that of some teammates, but he works hard and that shows in the game. He also is limited by his inexperienced quarterback.

Week 8 - Houshmandzadeh finished with eight receptions for 54 yards on a team high 12 targets and added one rush for nine yards on an end around play. It seems no matter who the QB is, Houshmandzadeh is still the biggest part of the passing game plan.

Week 9 - Houshmandzadeh showed his versatility as a receiver in this game by running a wide variety of routes successfully. He was asked to run short routes in the first half, and did so very well, managing to get open most of the time. In the second half, he ran more intermediate and deep routes, and showed good hands and running after the catch. Houshmandzadeh had the distinction of having two of the passes thrown his way intercepted, although one was a free play where Fitzpatrick threw deep to him as a Jaguars lineman had committed an encroachment penalty.

Week 11 - There was no doubt that the first (and sometimes only) place QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was interested in looking when he dropped back to pass was Houshmandzadeh's way -- and the WR took advantage of all that attention. Houshmandzadeh was consistently successful in gaining separation and nothing the Eagles tried seemed able to stop him. By the end of the day, Houshmandzadeh had seen over a third of Fitzpatrick's targets, was responsible for just under 40% of Fitzpatrick's completions, and over half of his Fitzpatrick's passing yards. Houshmandzadeh's longest reception was also his single TD of the day -- a late second-quarter 26 yard strike where he got easily got open behind the defense.

Week 12 - Houshmandzadeh had four catches for 20 yards in the first half and despite getting a lot passes thrown his way he did not have a catch in the second half. He had two defenders on him most of the game and Bengals' dreadful offense was no match for a very good Steelers defense. Houshmandzadeh seems to be a victim of circumstance; a good player, playing on a bad team, with a below average quarterback throwing him the ball. That certainly seemed to be the case in this game as his body language on the field was that of someone sick of losing and not being able to move the football.

Week 13 - He led the Bengals receivers with four grabs and 64 yards. His best gain of the day was a deeper slant that he promptly took up the field for a gain of 46.

Week 14 - Houshmandzadeh was a very reliable target, hauling in every ball thrown his way (minus one that was actually tipped at the line of scrimmage). Unfortunately, nearly all of those passes were for short gains.

Week 15 - Largely as a result of a passing game that seemed focused on short dump-off passes, Houshmandzadeh spent much of the game as a decoy more than anything else. QB Ryan Fitzgerald targeted him only five times and that resulted in a disappointing 19 yard day.

Week 16 - Houshmandzadeh saw only one target on the day as the Bengals were able to dominate the Browns via the run and felt there was no reason to pass the ball. Houshmandzadeh suffered because of this, but the Bengals ended up winning regardless. The Browns did shade their safeties to his side and cut off most of the underneath routes on press coverage due to safety help. Chad Johnson being sidelined may have been part of the reason Houshmandzadeh did not see more targets.