Both Sides of the Coin: Saints Jimmy Graham

We are still two months away from the start of the NFL season, so you may wonder why so much debate is going on between where players are ranked, what draft strategies are the best and so forth.  Of course what are we supposed to do for the next two months?

There are a multitude of fantastic fantasy writers today and their use of statistics, logic and strategy make it difficult to argue against them.  What makes fantasy fun though is when two respected foes offer differing opinions on the same player.  Such is the case when John Paulsen, senior editor for 4for4.com, and JJ Zachariason, owner and author of the Late Round QB, discussed Saints TE Jimmy Graham. 

JJ discusses Value Based Drafting, Onesie Positions, Season-Long Numbers, Tight End Streaming and more in his detailed case against Jimmy Graham being an early round pick.

“What’s there not to like about Jimmy Graham? His basketball roots fit the Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates fantasy stud mold, and he’s already shown that he can be a dominant force playing a game that he barely competed in at the college level. At 6’7”, Graham is almost the size of two Gary Colemans (rest in peace), easily towering over any defender in the league. He’s a monster on the field.

But as I always say, fantasy football isn’t like real pigskin. Positions can easily be devalued through biased scoring systems and league structures, and things that work on the gridiron just don’t always translate to your fantasy lineup.”  Continue reading the full article here.

John delves into Graham’s Current Value, 2^nd Round Draft Strategies, The Downside of Streaming and more when delivering his case for selecting the elite tight end with your second pick.

“Prior to the 2012 season, Value-Based Rankings (VBR) typically showed that the top tight end held 3rd-round value. Oftentimes, these players -- Jason Witten in 2008 and 2009, Antonio Gates in 2010 and 2011 -- were being drafted in the late 3rd or early 4th rounds, so they held good value in the 3rd round on draft day.

In 2012, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski led the way in preseason TE value and both players held 2nd round (and sometimes 1st round) value, depending on format. Graham struggled with wrist and ankle injuries throughout the season, but still played 15 games and finished as the #1 TE, catching 85 passes for 982 yards and nine TDs.” Continue reading the full article here.

Both of these articles should be required reading for every fantasy football fan.  I myself was initially siding with John prior to reading JJ’s article.  Personally my next step would be to use mock drafts to determine the makeup of teams I would end up with by drafting Jimmy early or waiting until the later rounds and focusing more on running back and wide receiver in the beginning stages.  In the end, the choice should always be yours and be glad you know someone is on your side either way.

I would suggest following both John (@4for4_John) and JJ (@LateRoundQB) on Twitter if you are not already and continue to look for more great content from their sites.