: Marvin Harrison Sr.
WR Reggie Wayne made it clear he has no intention of retiring following a decorated 14-year career with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s the NFL’s active leader with 1,070 receptions and 14,345 yards – each is No. 2 in club history behind Marvin Harrison – but is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 that limited him to 64 catches and 779 yards.
And let’s not forget, Wayne turns 37 in November.
An ideal scenario, he said, is to play one more season then retire. Wayne said teams – he wouldn’t elaborate – have expressed an interest.
Wayne finished as a fantasy WR5 as he battled numerous injuries during the 2014 campaign. If he lands in a possession role in a good passing offense he could be a factor in PPR leagues this season.
It is not just the Cardinals and their fans who are expecting WR John Brown to be a difference maker in the Cardinals offense. NFL.com writer Chris Wesseling ranked Brown sixth in his list of players he believes will "make the leap" this season and start to become a household name around the NFL.
"It's rare to come across an offseason hype bunny who meets expectations as a rookie. It's even more rare to find an NFL draft sleeper in the height of the Twitter era. A hidden gem from small-school Pittsburg State, the third-round pick immediately impressed the Cardinals with his high-end speed, uncanny instincts and unexpected understanding of route concepts.
"Before the end of his first training camp, Brown was already drawing comparisons to potential Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, Colts star T.Y. Hilton and 2003 rookie sensation Anquan Boldin."
The article went on to say Wesseling thinks Brown needs to work on his strength, but he believes it's not out of the question Brown could pass teammate Michael Floyd this year. Right now we have Brown ranked 45th on our WR list with an ADP of the 9th round. Interestingly, we have the Cardinal WRs all going around the same time in 12-team formats: Brown 9.07, Floyd 8.04 and Larry Fitzgerald 8.11. However it's Fitzgerald who we have rated the highest at 24th (Floyd's ranked 39th on our list). Fitz could end up being the best value among the three as other WRs ranked around Fitzgerald are all going as many as three rounds earlier. A healthy QB Carson Palmer is the key to how successful the Arizona passing game is this season, and of course all three of these guys will help boost Palmer's value.
Dorial Green-Beckham spent weeks sidelined by a hamstring injury. That aside, his former college coach believes the Titans have landed the equivalent of a "nightmare matchup for any cornerback at any level."
"I was with the Colts with Jim Mora when he had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, I was with the Raiders when they had Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Jerry Porter and some other guys on the Super Bowl team," University of Texas receivers coach Jay Norvell told the Tennessean.
Norvell spent last season coaching the red-shirted Green-Beckham in practice at Oklahoma, saying: "When you go through the history of the draft and look at the guys with size and speed and all that, he is just unique. Calvin Johnson is probably one of the closest comparisons physically because of his size."
Armed with 4.49 speed and a 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame, Green-Beckham drew pre-draft comparisons from NFL Media's Charles Davis to Falcons star Julio Jones and former NFL wideout Plaxico Burress.
"He's not a finished product, but most players aren't," Norvell said. "So he's going to have to learn the pro game and that's a completely different game from college. But he's got some natural gifts that will help him in that game, and in some ways, the NFL is probably a better game for him than college football, just because of the bump rules and (less) contact and all of that. So there are some advantages he has. ... That's why they picked him."
If Green-Beckham picks up things quickly and proves he’s not as raw as his detractors say — one offensive coordinator said he was “completely lost” at the whiteboard in a pre-draft interview — he could certainly start early in the season opposite Kendall Wright, since it seems that Justin Hunter is on the outs with the current coaching staff. If he sees starter’s snaps, he should be fantasy relevant as a rookie, though he'll have to prove he's ready for the mental side of the game. Long-term, he has a chance to flourish if both he and Marcus Mariota are the real deal.
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson left Sunday’s game against the Jaguars at EverBank Field due to a concussion.
Johnson went down near Jacksonville’s end zone after being hit in the head at the four-yard line. He lost his helmet on the play.
Johnson, 33, needed eight catches Sunday to reach 1,000 career receptions, tying Marvin Harrison for the fastest in NFL history to reach the mark. Johnson caught four balls for 17 yards before leaving the game.
Johnson has suffered two concussions in less than two years. He received a concussion Week 2 against Tennessee last season. We'll continue to update his status leading up to Week 15.
On Monday's edition of the Around The League Podcast, w...
On Monday's edition of the Around The League Podcast, we highlighted speedy Arizona Cardinals rookie John Brown as one of the few "hype bunnies" to successfully translate offseason praise to preseason production.
After Brown's impressive preseason debut, general manager Steve Keim raised expectations, suggesting the third-round wide receiver is capable of an impact on par with Anquan Boldin's stellar rookie season a decade ago.
After Sunday's game versus the Bengals, coach Bruce Arians estimated to TheMMQB.com's Peter King that Brown will be used on "60 percent" of offensive snaps this season.
For comparison's sake, T.Y. Hilton played 57 percent of the snaps in Arians' offense with the Colts in 2012.
Brown is obviously a name to keep an eye on once the season starts. He's not getting a lot of draft day action, but playing 60% of the snaps could get him noticed at least in deeper fantasy leagues. He's also drawn comparisons to former Colt Marvin Harrison.
Denver QB Peyton Manning's arrival could be the best thing that ever happened to wide receiver Eric Decker. The same likely will be true for fellow wideout Demaryius Thomas, but it might take a bit longer for the Manning-to-Thomas connection to bear fruit.
Where Decker began working out with Manning a week after the four-time MVP signed a five-year contract, Thomas was a month behind, held back because he'd just had pins removed from his surgically repaired pinkie finger.
At times during practice, the timing has been balky between Manning and Thomas, and after Thomas rounded off multiple pass routes in the preseason, there remains lingering concern over the precision of his cuts.
Manning and Thomas will become a potent threat, but expect Decker to be the No. 1 option for now.
The offseason work is one reason we moved Decker ahead of Thomas in our preseason rankings. Thomas has more physical ability, but Manning has proved in the past (with Marvin Harrison and Austin Collie) that he can be productive with receivers who may not have the prototypical WR1 body.
While stationed in Indianapolis for the Colts’ training camp, ESPN.com’s John Clayton says not to be “modest” about QB Andrew Luck’s potential.
“As pass-catchers, the Colts should be better than anticipated, and Luck is as billed. He has the look of being the most complete quarterback talent to enter in the NFL in decades. He makes all the throws. He's mature beyond his years. He's the real deal. And the Colts have weapons. Peyton Manning entered the NFL in 1998 with Marshall Faulk at halfback, Marvin Harrison at receiver, Ken Dilger at tight end and Adam Meadows and Tarik Glenn at tackles. He threw for 3,739 yards in a season the Colts went 3-13. To give Luck dependable targets, the Colts retained Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie. Third-round selection T.Y. Hilton is in development. The surprise in camp is fifth-year veteran Donnie Avery, who could emerge as a deep threat.”
The Indianapolis Colts and representatives of 11-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne agreed to a three-year deal Tuesday night, only hours after his contract lapsed and he became a free agent.
With the Colts keeping Wayne that would provide Luck with a steady hand and savvy head working on the outside. Wayne 33, is second to Marvin Harrison in most Colts receiving categories.
It's a curious decision to sign the much older of the team's two free agent WRs, but the Colts apparently didn't want to leave Andrew Luck without a solid WR to throw to (other than Austin Collie). Wayne is on the downswing in his career and the franchise may be regretting this contract in a year or two.
A month into his second season with the Dallas Cowboys, WR Dez Bryant has become more than a well-intentioned kid who keeps getting into trouble. He's becoming more of a professional.
He understands what's required from him and what the consequences are if he doesn't live up to those requirements. He's showing up on time for meetings and practices. He knows his playbook and runs crisp routes.
Management had enough faith to clear a starting job for him by releasing Roy Williams. They also took the calculated risk of bringing in WR coach Jimmy Robinson as Bryant's new mentor. The risk was that Bryant had become close with his position coach, Ray Sherman. The calculation was that coach Jason Garrett was sure Robinson was up to the challenge.
It helps that Robinson has an impressive list of receivers who have thrived under his tutelage: Marvin Harrison, Andre Rison, Amani Toomer, Ike Hilliard, Joe Horn and the guys from Green Bay who won the Super Bowl last year, with Robinson as part of that staff.
Indeed, Robinson and Bryant have hit it off well. It's evident in the way Bryant tries to absorb every piece of advice Robinson shares with him on the practice field.
When Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez suffered a knee injury during Week 1 of the 2009 season, in his first game as the heir to Marvin Harrison, no one knew when he'd be back.
He missed the rest of the season, along with the playoffs. And according to WISH-TV (via our friend Bradley Wells a/k/a BigBlueShoe a/k/a Guys Who Rips Me Mercilessly At Times But Curiously We're Friends of StampedeBlue.com), Gonzalez suffered a "setback" last Tuesday, which caused him to miss the team's recent mandatory minicamp.
A first-round draft pick in 2007, Gonzalez faces an uphill climb to return to the starting lineup, given the performances of players like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon.
Not a major concern for the Colts given the progress of Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. However, there's no timetable for Gonzalez' return. Clearly his role in the starting offense and possible roster spot could be in jeopardy.
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