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OLB Shawne Merriman, San Diego Chargers

HT: 6-4, WT: 245, Born: 5-25-1984, College: Maryland, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 12

2008 Projections

Best Case

Merriman has 39 sacks in the 43 NFL games he's appeared in. His best season came in 2006 when he had 16.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in just 12 games, making him the #1 fantasy linebacker in points per game, and the #8 OLB on the season. With Merriman's pass-rushing skills, he has the potential for 20-sack season if everything goes his way, and could finish as a top five fantasy linebacker. His combination of size, speed, and athleticism makes him an every-down player.

Worst Case

As a 3-4 outside linebacker, Merriman will never get anywhere near 100 tackles in a season. He has averaged fewer than 3.5 solo tackles per game so far in his career. He had a career-best 54 tackles and 14 assists in 2007. His fantasy value will depend, therefore, largely on his sack total, which can be somewhat volatile -- both from game to game and from season to season. If Merriman gets his customary 50-60 tackles but fails to hit double digits in sacks, he would fall outside the top forty fantasy linebackers.

Outlook

As a fantasy player, Merriman may be overvalued based on his name recognition. He should be a top ten outside linebacker based on the strength of his expected sack total, but in most scoring systems his low number of tackles will likely keep him outside the top 25 linebackers overall.

Writeups last modified: 2008-06-15 22:24:30