Here is a looksy at a few players I believe are getting a little too much preseason love.
1. Rashard Mendenhall RB, Pittsburgh Steelers – Mendenhall showed he can be a franchise back last season as he rushed for over 1,100 yards with 7 touchdowns. This year he’ll be playing the first (at least) 4 games without his franchise QB Ben Roethilsberger. That means teams will stack the box, trying to shut down the run while forcing either Dennis Dixon or Byron Leftwich to beat them through the air. Also his offensive line is weakened with the season ending injury to RT Willie Colon. All these factors will make it difficult for Mendenhall to put up the type of stats people are expecting from him this year.
2. Kevin Kolb QB, Philadelphia Eagles – Kolb has been getting ranked in the top 10 quarterbacks routinely this preseason. It’s easy to love his upside, playing in a pass heavy offense with a lot of weapons at his disposal, but let’s remember this guy has only 2 career starts and only played in 5 games last season. He showed flashes last year, but it remains to be seen how he handles the pressure of being the man in Philadelphia for an entire season.
3. Jay Cutler QB, Chicago Bears – A lot of people are drooling over Jay Cutler in a Mike Martz offense. Yes Cutler has a cannon of an arm and yes Martz loves the deep ball but Cutler threw 26 interceptions last year and showed some very poor decision making. That isn’t just going to disappear now that Martz is in town. Yes he could have a breakout year but he could continue taking chances with the ball and put up a high number of picks once again.
4. Jermichael Finley TE, Green Bay Packers – Finley blew up the second half of the season last year and now people are drooling over his services this year. He does have a ton of upside and could end up being one of the top scoring tight ends this year but taking him ahead of perennial top scoring options like Jason Witten and Tony Gonzales is a little nutty. Finley should be considered in the top 10 tight ends this year but the top 5 may be too high.
5. DeSean Jackson WR, Philadelphia Eagles – Jackson is an explosive receiver who is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and that excitment has gotten him to be ranked higher than he deserves by most experts. He is the ultimate week to week boom or bust player. He had 7 games last year where he recorded 3 receptions or less, so he should be ranked significantly lower in a PPR league. Jackson can be a borderline no. 1 wideout but just don’t expect him to be productive week in and week out.
6. Miles Austin WR, Dallas Cowboys/Sidney Rice WR, Minnesota Vikings – These guys aren’t necessarily overrated this year but are both one year wonders who may or may not duplicate last season’s success. Austin became Romo’s favorite target last year and made the most of his opportunity scoring 11 TDs, 81 receptions and over 1300 receiving yards. This year Dez Bryant has been added and he could take a few looks away from Austin. Rice quickly formed a rapport with Brett Favre and finally lived up to his potential scoring 8 TDs, with 83 receptions and over 1300 yards. Rice does have a lingering hip injury which will need to be monitored closely as will Favre’s pending return. These guys have very high ceilings but must be considered risks until they can prove to put back to back solid years together. Cautious drafters might consider Roddy White, Brandon Marshall, or Marques Colston as safer options.
