No Shocker

Ken Kelly

shockey1

As expected, Jeremy Shockey was released by the New Orleans Saints this offseason. He subsequently signed a new contract with the Carolina Panthers. While many dynasty league owners are focusing on trying to gauge Shockey’s value, there’s another player who should be given more attention after this move by the Saints.

His name is Jimmy Graham.

Graham has long been a favorite here at DLF and now he’s going to get a major opportunity as the starting Tight End in New Orleans.  His numbers last year were quite good for a rookie. After all, his 31 catches, 356 yards, and five touchdowns were actually enough to merit a spot in most standard leagues.

Graham’s future is incredibly bright. He showed his ability late in the season, with four of his five total touchdowns coming in the last three games. With Shockey out of the way, this University of Miami product has the show for himself and is poised to show people he’s much more than a workout wonder.

So, where does he rank?

Graham is nowhere near the elite Tight Ends in dynasty league value. However, he’s a great player to target as a high-end number two with the potential to grow into a top flight option in even in shallowest of dynasty leagues. He’s a major buy candidate this offseason.

As far as Shockey goes, his career is pretty much in the tank. In his ten year career, he’s never played in all sixteen games, so health is obviously a factor. Couple that with the move to a team with no franchise quarterback and you have a recipe for disaster. I’d be selling Shockey for whatever I could get at this point. He’s simply not going to get a sniff of playing time on most dynasty league rosters. Let someone else waste the space on him.

The other player whose value is affected is Dante Rosario. You can expect the Panthers to let him walk now and he’s no longer worthy of a roster spot unless he’s picked up by a solid offensive team promising him major playing time. Let’s just say that’s highly unlikely.

The moving of Shockey was a relatively quiet one in the NFL with the labor dispute, but it could create some significant waves in dynasty circles.

ken kelly