“You have to take your own bold approach, and if you do you will be rewarded with success. Or calamitous failure. That can happen too.”
In these columns, I’m running through all 32 NFL teams and making a bold fantasy football and/or statistical prediction for each one. When January comes around I’ll either be really, really ridiculously good looking or I’ll end up losing my 308 Twitter followers 😥 Please don’t draft your fantasy team based on these, or do, I don’t care. Anyways, up today we have the AFC North:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Coming off the best statistical season of his career, Ben Roethlisberger inked a 5-year, $108 million deal with the Steelers. He’s going to pick up right where he left off in 2014 and Big Ben will finish the season as the number one fantasy quarterback in the NFL.
Despite having 10 NFL seasons under his belt prior to the 2014 season, Roethlisberger was able to set career highs in completions (408), completion percentage (67.1), passing yards (4,952), and t-passing touchdowns (32) while having the third highest quarterback rating in the league (103.4).
He finished as QB6 in fantasy largely in part due to his offensive line and the explosive weapons around him. Antonio Brown cemented himself as arguably the most versatile and best all around playmaker in the NFL. Le’Veon Bell broke out in a huge way, leading all running backs in receiving yards with 854 proving to be the leagues best pass catcher out of the backfield. Those two together may very well be the best 1-2 punch at WR-RB in the league.
Had it just been for those two ballers, Ben would have been a safe bet to finish top six again. But to be numero uno, he’ll need more firepower. The Steelers quarterback will get exactly that from the sophomore wideout Martavis Bryant. The 6-foot-5 beast out of Clemson reeled in eight touchdowns in just 10 games last season. He’s going to be an elite redzone target for Big Ben and a legitimate number two to Antonio Brown. Bryant’s eight touchdowns came on just 48 targets, averaging 21.1 yards per catch, which was tops in the NFL for any receiver with 25+ receptions. Martavis has mind blowing sub 4.40 speed on the outside and a stupid 39″ vertical that enables him to beat defenses over the top as well as sky for jump balls in the redzone.
But the depth doesn’t stop there. Ben went on record praising the third year Oregon State product Markus Wheaton. “I think Markus Wheaton is our breakout player of the year,” said Ben. Wheaton struggled in 2014, accumulating only 644 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games, but he’s a way above average number three WR in an offense that wants “to score 30 points a game in 2015.”
Where my prediction really solidifies itself is the big guys up front. The Steelers o-line turned itself from a liability into an asset last season. The line improved ridiculously as the year went on and they’ll return all five starters in 2015. They’re PFF‘s 3rd best pass blocking line in the NFL entering the 2015 season. All signs point towards an MVP caliber campaign for Big Ben, at least in fantasy land.
Cleveland Browns
What you are about to read is the boldest of predictions. The quarterback-turned-wideout Terrell Pryor wil be the leading fantasy receiver on the Cleveland Browns in 2015.
As crazy as this sounds, I actually believe it’ll happen. Besides the soon to be 31-year old Dwayne Bowe, the Browns have basically 0 talent on the outside. Bowe’s struggled to produce anything better than WR4/5 numbers over the last three seasons. You can say Kansas City’s offense isn’t made for big WR numbers, but come on, he’s in Cleveland now so his lack of explosion and 1-on-1 skills aren’t going to change anything regardless of his location.
It seems like everyday there’s new praise out of the Browns camp on Pryor. ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi called Terrelle Pryor “the most intriguing player on hand,” at Browns camp, and “a possible playmaker who could be a game-changer.” “I’ve never seen anybody make that transformation in person,” said CB Joe Haden. “It looks like it would work.”
Surprisingly, Pryor’s already getting reps with the ones at camp. He just turned 26-years old and is an absolutely freakish athlete. He’s a 6-foot-4, 225lbs behemoth and is shaping up to be a legit playmaker for Cleveland. He’s not going to be Josh Gordon, but Pryor can certainly ease the pain of his departure. 700 yards and 5-6 touchdowns should rather easily get the former Ohio State QB the top fantasy spot on the Browns.
Baltimore Ravens
Nearly all my credibility, if I have any, is going out the window if this rookie class doesn’t perform. So, fuck it. Let’s add another one to the mix. He already found a home on my Steals of the Draft: WR Edition column because I think he’s primed for a huge rookie season. I’m talking about Breshad ‘the God’ Perriman. The former Central Florida wideout is in line for 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2015.
He’s an absolute physical specimen standing at 6-foot-2, 220lbs. He runs a retardedly fast 4.24 40-yard dash with long arms, and a 37″ vertical jump. He’s been sidelined with a knee injury as of late, but is expected to return to practice next week, looking to capitalize on the hole in Baltimore’s depth chart.
His competition? Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown. Despite Smith’s fluky hot start, he finished as WR47 from Week 7 until the season wrapped up. The 36-year old is far pased his prime and it’s time the Ravens look for youth in the receiving game. Aiken, another UCF product, has been in the NFL since 2011 and has only accumulated 24 total receptions for three different teams. Clearly, there’s something that doesn’t click with Aiken and he’s not serious competition to Perriman’s workload. Lastly, Marlon Brown who quietly put together a promising 2013 campaign for the Ravens, fell off in 2014 and is now dealing with a nerve issue in his back which should keep him sidelined for a few crucial training camp weeks.
Once Perriman returns to practice, he should swallow up the competition and spit them out whole. The Ravens didn’t spend a first round pick on Perriman to sit the bench. He’s a freak athlete with elite measurables and when paired with new OC Marc Trestman’s offensive philosophy and Joe Flacco‘s arm strength, the 21-year old beast is in for a hell of a season.
Cincinnati Bengals
After a 10-5-1 finish in 2014, the Bengals look to ride the hotstreak of success into 2015. In doing so, Cincinnati will provide fantasy owners with a top 12 player at every position (excluding K & DEF/ST).
The obvious ones here are A.J. Green and Jeremy Hill. Green disappointed in 2014 due to nagging injuries but was a top four fantasy wideout in the two years prior. A fully healthy Green is a top-eight lock, let alone top 12. Hill will unquestionably take over the lead back duties in Cincy as we saw over the final nine games of 2014. He was fantasy’s RB5 overall, averaging nearly 21 touches per game, even when Bernard returned from injury. Hill should only come off the field in dyer passing situations, otherwise he’s locked in for the early down and goal line work and is versatile enough to catch his own share of passes too. Not to mention he’ll be running behind the NFL’s 5th best running blocking line, according to PFF.
Tyler Eifert is a major sleeper entering 2015. He was going into 2014 too, unfortunately an elbow injury sidelined him in the first game and forced him to miss the entire season. He caught three balls for 39 yards in the first quarter before leaving and looked to be every bit the athlete he was at Notre Dame. With Jermaine Gresham gone, Eifert should be an every snap TE and a solid bet to finish second on the team in targets only behind Green. The 6-foot-5, 250lb tight end is matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties. He has excellent hands which bodes well for short and intermediate passes and his size will enable plenty of redzone opportunities. His ceiling is a top five fantasy TE.
Clearly, Andy Dalton makes this bold prediction almost impossible. But, let’s not forget he’s a year removed from being the number four QB in fantasy, lighting up the stat sheet for nearly 4,300 yards and 33 touchdowns. Last year’s QB12, Tony Romo finished with 3,700 passing yards and 34 touchdowns, a small step down from Dalton’s 2013 campaign. It’s obvious Dalton took a giant step back in 2014, but that’s going to happen when your top two pass catchers, Green and Eifert, miss significant time due to injuries and are hampered by them when on the field. The fire crotch will be throwing behind the NFL’s 7th best pass blocking line and will get his best weapons back on the outside. The Bengals have already stated they want to open the offense up more meaning more big plays from Dalton. It’s shaping up to be a major bounce back for Dalton and the Bengals offense as a whole. Honestly, I don’t see Dalton creeping his way back to top 12 fantasy relevance, but I’m here to be bold, baby.
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