Football Jabber IDP Fantasy Focus
DJ Williams-Denver Broncos
Confirmation of what I suspected for the last couple months occurred yesterday. DJ Williams informed the football world that he will be returning to the weak side.
I warned you in an earlier FBJabber piece that DJ was a perfect Sell High candidate. However, his drop in value will not be as bad as if he ended up on the strong side. Expect LB2-LB3 production going forward. If you can get top 5 LB value for him now before the news breaks, do it. If not, I hold and hope for a change in scenery as Williams will be a free agent after this year. With his experience, if he walks, he could end up back in the middle with a new team.
The new man in the middle in Denver is Niko Koutouvides, formerly of the Seahawks. Expect teams to continue to run against the Broncos until they are given a reason not to. After all, why would you attempt to pass against a secondary that includes Champ Bailey, Dre Bly and John Lynch if you didn’t have to? Temper your expectations slightly for Niko as I am projecting him as being a 2 down LB. If you can pick him up on the cheap now, I would do it.
Stephan Cooper-San Diego Chargers
Chargers ILB Stephen Cooper landed himself a four game suspension for testing positive for a banned stimulant.
This is the second time in recent memory that a San Diego LB has earned a suspension for taking a banned substance. In 2006, OLB Shawne Merriman received a similar suspension. Cooper stands to miss weeks one through four. The exact substance he tested positive for was not reported. As you would expect, the standard response of “I didn’t know it was banned when I took it.” was used. Don’t these guys have a multitude of trainers, coaches and medical staff to take this kind of guesswork out of this?
The fantasy impact of this news is next to none. Cooper isn’t going to lose his job over this and the SILB job, while productive in SD, will likely be split between youngsters Brandon Siler and Anthony Waters and journeyman Derek Smith, formerly of the 49ers, while he is gone. Give Matt Wilhelm a small bump up as he will likely compensate somewhat for Cooper’s absence in these first four games.
Jason Taylor-Miami Dolphins
Rumor has it that the price for Jason Taylor is floating around a 2nd round pick or higher. It’s no secret that Jacksonville is interested but they may wait out the Dolphins to force their hand. Personally, I’m surprised Taylor hasn’t garnered more interest. He is old but is still one of the better ends in the game. He is less than two years removed from a Defensive MVP season. [Insert Dancing with the Stars joke here]
Linebackers-Carolina Panthers
The Carolina linebacker situation seems to be cleaning itself up a bit. According to the Charlotte Observer, Landon Johnson has already secured the WLB spot over emcumbent Na’il Diggs. You had to see that coming. Super sophomore Jon Beason is a beast in the middle and for some unknown reason, John Fox is convinced that Thomas Davis is a better Sam backer than Will. Diggs was clearly the weak link in the corps and now moves to 4th LB.
Expect LB4 numbers as Davis and whatever Mike he is paired with usually chew up the majority of tackles. This may change with the loss of Kris Jenkins to the Jets but I don’t think it will be enough to warrant any significant boost in value to Johnson.
Pacman Jones-Tennessee Titans (Dallas Cowboys)
Another rumor I am hearing is that if Dallas can secure the services of Pacman Jones, they intend to shift Anthony Henry to strong safety and still draft a first round CB, relegating Roy Williams to a wolverine-type of role. Take this one with a grain of salt; as Cowboys fan will be quick to dismiss this as they generally love RW whereas Cowboys hater will be quick to believe this as they generally hate RW. I don’t think this would be a permanent move by any stretch, I still think that Roy Williams is the best strong safety on their team for 1st and 2nd down. But one must admit that Williams has/does struggle with pass coverage.
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