Off the Marquet

Ken Kelly Posted On March 13, 2012

The Saints seemed poised to lose both Marques Colston and Carl Nicks via free agency this week after placing the franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees. Fortunately for the “Who Dat” nation, they were able to retain one of them this morning, signing Colston to a new five year deal worth $40 million, with $19 of that guaranteed.

From a dynasty league perspective, this is great news for Colston owners. It’s widely assumed that Colston’s production would have suffered greatly had he gone to a new team. In his six year career in New Orleans, Colston has posted 449 catches for 6,240 yards and 48 touchdowns – not bad for a seventh round draft pick, eh?

Owning Colston is not without risk, however. He’s been nicked up recently and there are still lingering concerns over the long term viability of his knees. Expecting all five years on this contract to be fulfilled would be unwise. Colston is 28 and there are questions about just how long his body will hold up. Regardless, this was the best possible news for his owners.

For Brees, this is also a great development. With the Saints on the verge of possibly losing Robert Meachem and missing out on Randy Moss, Brees was in danger of suddenly being without some very important weapons. There’s virtually nothing that can stop Brees from posting another monster season (other than his contract situation), and this only helps cement that.

On the flip side, this isn’t the greatest development for youngsters like Adrian Arrington and Joe Morgan. While both remain two of our favorite young wideouts, the chances of them having a more prominent role have taken a hit. Regardless, Arrington should be rostered already and Morgan should be considered as a deep sleeper.

On the free agency side of things, players like Brandon Lloyd and Mario Manningham just got a little more leverage in their negotiations.

If you own Colston, this is a great day. If healthy, he should have little problem posting a similar season to 2011, where he recorded 80 catches, 1,143 yards and 8 touchdowns as a solid WR2 in dynasty leagues. He’s no longer the top option in New Orleans with Jimmy Graham around, but he’s still a very good piece to have in your league.

Stay with DLF all week for breakdowns of every free agency move as it relates to dynasty leagues.

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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK