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Fantasy Football: Arizona Cardinals Season Preview

By Bruce Matson

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Arizona Cardinals Season Preview

The Cardinals finished last season with a 11-5 record while placing 2nd in the NFC West Division. The Cardinals are a team that likes to win by playing defense and using their short-intermediate passing game to control the clock. The Cardinals can be a candidate to win the division if Carson Palmer can remain healthy.

Quarterback

Carson Palmer

Palmer had a rough season last year. He had trouble with the nerves in his shoulder which caused him to miss a few games, and he tore his ACL during week 10 which ended his season. When Palmer was able to play he averaged 24.63 fantasy points per game. Palmer is going to be a trendy late round pick in drafts this year, and if he’s healthy he is going to be a value.

Running Back

Andre Ellington

Ellington finished last season ranked 19th among running backs in fantasy points with 179.00 while averaging 14.92 points per game. Ellington had 11 games where he scored 10 fantasy points or more, and might have had more if he didn’t go down with an injury during week 13 causing him to miss the rest of the season. Ellington gets the most bang for the buck in PPR leagues because he’s very good at catching the ball, Ellington had 46 receptions last season. Ellington is a very good running back for fantasy, but draft him with caution. He averaged 3.3 yards per carry last year, which is highly inefficient and is a major red flag.

David Johnson

Johnson was drafted in the 3rd round in this year’s draft. Johnson is a player you need to take a chance on late in your fantasy drafts because he could be a very productive player if he gets the chance for a full workload. There’s a chance Johnson can steal some of Ellington’s workload because he has the athletic ability to be successful in the NFL. He is the best receiving back on the team, better than Ellington, who’s bread and butter is catching the ball out of the backfield. He’s faster, quicker, and more explosive than Ellington. He is also bigger than Ellington standing at 6’1 and weighing 224 pounds. There are questions about his abilities to be able to run between that tackles, but I think with good coaching he will have the ability to fix those issues and be a decent runner for short yardage situations. I really like Johnson, and he should be considered late in your draft this year.

Wide Receiver

Larry Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald ranked 53rd among wide receivers last season in fantasy production with 151.40 points on the year while averaging 10.81 points per game. Fitz had 6 games last season where he scored 10 fantasy points or more. Fitz is going in the middle rounds of drafts, and he’s going to be a reliable flex play this season. He’s getting older and some of his physical attributes are slowly diminishing, but he’s going to be a dependable mid-level fantasy receiver for your lineup.

Michael Floyd

Floyd finished the season ranked 45th among wide receivers with 166.80 fantasy points while averaging 10.43 fantasy points per game. Floyd is a very talented receiver and would be the #1 receiver on a lot of teams, but Floyd isn’t very dependable in this offense. They have Floyd running a lot of the deep routes, which are harder to catch compared to underneath routes, which causes Floyd to have a lot of boom or bust games. Floyd is not worth the premium you will have to pay to find out if he is going to be used in a way that would make him a fantasy contributor for your team.

John Brown

Brown finished last season ranked 52nd among wide receivers in fantasy production averaging 9.47 fantasy points per game. Brown had 5 games where he had 10 fantasy points or more. Brown was a rookie last season and he was highly productive. There are reports saying that Brown is developing well with the offense and is a candidate to break out. I look for Brown’s stock to rise, and there’s a very good possibility that he could be a “T.Y. Hilton” in this offense. Brown is the receiver I would want to own in PPR leagues.

Tight End

Troy Niklas

Niklas was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round last year. I don’t suggest drafting him, but put him on your waiver wire, and identify him as a streaming option if he’s getting consistent targets.

Defense/Special Teams

The Cardinals defense ranked 13th in fantasy production with 114 points, and they had 7 games where they scored 10 fantasy points or more. They are worth drafting, and if you want to pay the premium for a defense the Cardinals are a good team to draft. They wont be a good candidate for streaming, because their price tag will be too high to be conducive to the strategy of streaming defenses.

Need help making roster decisions? Need help on who to pick off the waiver wire? Need an opinion on that trade offer that’s in your inbox? I’m your guy, follow me on Twitter @bmatz08, and I’ll give you the guidance you need to make the best choice for your fantasy team.

Next: St. Louis Rams Season Preview

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