Fantasy Upside
While Cecil Shorts will face competition for playing time from wide receivers Jaelen Strong, Will Fuller and Braxton Miller, the Houston Chronicle believes the former Jaguars starter will have a solid role in the fall. "Cecil is a guy that’s going to go out there and give you his all," teammate DeAndre Hopkins said of Shorts, who's caught 218 career passes for 2,827 yards and 14 touchdowns in five NFL seasons. "Even if he’s hurt, he’s going to go out there. You’ll have to tell him to go on the sideline and get checked out. He’s a hard worker. He definitely makes me go out there and work harder every day. He doesn’t complain about anything, even if he’s not getting the ball. He goes out there and he does his role to the best he can.”
Fantasy Downside
Hopkins' "even if he's hurt" comment might as well be "even when he's hurt." Shorts' initial season with the Texans was productive enough, but more could have been achieved if not for nagging injuries. Shorts caught 42 passes for 484 yards and two touchdowns last season. However, hamstring issues and a dislocated shoulder limited him to 11 games and four starts. Shorts caught 22 passes in the first four games before missing four games.
2016 Bottom Line
Yes, Fuller and Miller were drafted to provide more play-making firepower. But Bill O'Brien's offense isn't necessarily rookie-friendly (Strong would certainly agree with that). Shorts isn't likely to be a highly-sought after commodity on draft day, but he could emerge as a solid bye-week filler or reasonably-priced DFS play as we move into the regular season.
