Quick Switch Wideouts in New Places

Notjustagame.com

If you blinked this off season you missed some significant changes to rosters. It was far from an average off season and teams were not shy to shake up their depth charts. Usually teams are looking to maneuver for depth behind starters. Not the case this off season as teams unloaded and reloaded at the receiver position. It’ll be interesting to see how these receivers shape out on their new respective teams. Notjustagame breaks down where we see these wideouts.

Javon Walker, Oakland
Clearly Walker is one of the best receivers in the game when healthy. Unfortunately tragedies and injuries have plagued him the past two seasons. We will all be awaiting to see how severe his injuries are from being robbed Monday morning in Las Vegas. At 29, Walker can help develop Jamarcus Russell. Russell has a great arm and should be able to connect on some deep long balls to Walker. The offense of the Raiders is actually in good shape as long as Russell can have a positive start.

Jerry Porter, Jacksonville
Here is a guy that has had a Chad Johnson demeanor for no reason at all. He played behind Tim Brown and Jerry Rice and had it all to be a top wideout. Now entering his ninth season Porter is still looking to make an impact as a consistent receiver. Leaving Oakland might develop the Moss cure for Porter as well. If he comes to camp in the right frame of mind, Porter is going to have all the opportunities in the world to become what Matt Jones and Ernest Wilford couldn’t.

Darrell Jackson, Denver Broncos
Ignore last seasons numbers from Jackson. Blame has to go on the team and quarterback he was playing with. Jackson thankfully gets another shot to find success with the Broncos and emerging quarterback Jay Cutler. Expect Jackson to shake off last seasons rust and get back to the form of his Seattle Seahawks days.

Bernard Berrian, Minnesota
The Vikings felt that Berrian is the guy they needed, but we’re a little hesitant on him. He seems to be more of the Ashley Lelie type. A big play burner with not much else to his game. That’s a great skill set to have but Berrian needs to work more on becoming an all around true number one receiver. Having Tarvaris Jackson as his quarterback also downgrades Berrian to a borderline number two, and decent third fantasy wide receiver.

Ernest Wilford, Miami
Wilferd did a good job in ousting Matt Jones in Jacksonville but is not a fantasy worthy receiver. He will also have to beat out Derek Hagan to garner the number two receiver spot. The plus with Wilford is that he is a big target in the for catches and touchdowns once you cross mid field. Ha, we’re talking the Dolphins here.

Donte Stallworth, Cleveland Browns
This quiet signing by the Browns is tricky scary. Teams that thought they could now blanket Braylon Edwards are not going to be able to. Adding Stallworth gives the Browns one of the scariest offensive threats in the league. Kellen Winslow’s already a beast to go with Braylon Edwards unworldly numbers. Lets just say its going to be a fun show to watch in Cleveland this year.

Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce, San Francisco
Combinations just are not working for the 49ers since TO left the 49ers. They tried Brandon Lloyd, Antonio Bryant, Curtis Conway, Johnnie Morton, Arnaz Battle, and the list goes on. In 2007 they revamped and brought in Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie. We’re not too sure if these combination is going to work either. Bruce is a great veteran but one that has been on the downside of his career the past few seasons. How much could he possibly have left? Johnson is a guy that was eclipsed in Arizona because of the immense talents of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. That doesn’t alarm us. What does is that Johnson started on many occasions due to injuries of either Fitz or Boldin. When he did Johnson did not play like a capable starting receiver should.

Keary Colbert, Denver Broncos
Colbert has been on fantasy waiver wire radar before but just the hot rumor circuit. Catch him in preseason to see how he fits in with the Broncos offensive attack. Mike Shanahan is not afraid to make moves amongst his roster, so Colbert doesn’t have the second spot for certain.

Drew Carter, Oakland Raiders
If Javon Walker is injury plagued or suffers from injuries from being robbed than Carter jumps in with a starting role. Carter really does not seem the type of receiver that is going to make a home anywhere. His fantasy value is limited and will likely stay that way.

DJ Hackett, Carolina Panthers
A fresh start and great shot at catapulting his statistics is in the hands of DJ Hackett. Steve Smith has never really had a guy to alleviate pressure and defensive schemes from him. Hackett showed with Seattle that he can be a decent threat. We will see how he meshes with Jake Delhomme. What we are more worried about is if he’ll hang onto the ball more consistently. Even at that Hackett goes into 2008 as a solid number two fantasy wide receiver if you load up early on running backs and a quarterback early.

Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd, Chicago Bears
The true change on this team should have came at quarterback. Neither Lloyd or Bookerhave had decent seasons in quite some time. Either being the second or most of the time third options as a Redskin and Dolphin. It’ll be a long rough year for the Bears offensively and rapid changes will be in the works.

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