Some of you may know that I responded to an advertisement on Craiglist from RealFootball365.com recently to be a writer for their NFL/fantasy site. An editor there initially emailed me back and said that if I submitted a sample article they would consider bringing me on as a regular contributor. Well, I wrote that sample article (the one you'll read below) and they got back to me the other day to say they had rejected my submission. Bastards.The editor told me not to take it as a slight, but that they receive 100s of article submissions and don't hire too many writers for one reason or another. Anyway, I figured since the article won't see the light of the day on a crappy website like RealFootball 365, I should at least make it available to the readers of the super-awesome Deliveries from the Paperboy website.
So here it is. I give to you the True Fantasy Value of Jeremy Shockey. Enjoy.
The True Fantasy Value of Jeremy Shockey
The potential of New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey might be alluring, but don’t be tempted to rank him among the current top tight ends in the game. The oft-injured Shockey comes with much more risk than reward and can burn fantasy owners who reach for him too early in league drafts.
While Shockey has played in four Pro Bowls during his 6-year career, he’s visited the trainer’s room more often than he’s been on the list of weekly Fantasy scoring leaders. This past season, Shockey was placed on the injured reserve after he hurt his ankle and broke his left fibula – his most serious injury to date – during a Week 15 matchup against the Washington Redskins.
During Shockey’s time on the injured reserve, the Giants went 5-1 and won Super Bowl XLII. While many members of the news media are quick to draw a correlation between Shockey’s absence and the Giants historic run, Giants coaches have dismissed this notion and say that Shockey will be a big part of the team’s offense during the upcoming NFL season.
That remains to be seen, though.
Since breaking out in his rookie season under former Giants offensive coordinator Sean Payton, Shockey has seen his statistics dwindle. In last season’s offensive scheme, under offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, Shockey was asked to block on many downs for quarterback Eli Manning. When he did go out for a pass, Shockey was Manning’s 3rd or 4th option after Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith.
While Shockey has largely stayed out of the public eye since his season-ending injury, it has been rumored that he requested a trade from the team this offseason. Those rumors didn’t come to fruition and Shockey remains with the Giants. Now, his recovery from surgery to repair his broken fibula, his displeasure with the Giants offense and his diminishing production loom large for the tight end this upcoming season.
So, what’s Jeremy Shockey’s true fantasy value?
In his 6-year Giant career, Shockey has averaged 61 catches for 704 yards and 4 ½ touchdowns a season. While good numbers for an average tight end, Shockey’s statistics are quite deceiving
.
Take 2007 for instance.
Last year, Shockey caught 57 balls for 619 yards and 3 TDs. If you take out his Week 10 performance (12 for 129 yards) against the Dallas Cowboys, Shockey averaged a mere three catches for 35 yards in his 14 other appearances; certainly not production that puts him among the top tight ends in the league.
Shockey’s true fantasy value lies with other Tier 2 tight ends like Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley and Jason Witten. I’d draft Shockey in the 7th or 8th round of your league’s draft and strongly consider handicapping him up with emerging Giants tight end Kevin Boss – for the games that Shockey inevitably sits out with an injury.
The potential of New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey might be alluring, but don’t be tempted to rank him among the current top tight ends in the game. The oft-injured Shockey comes with much more risk than reward and can burn fantasy owners who reach for him too early in league drafts.
While Shockey has played in four Pro Bowls during his 6-year career, he’s visited the trainer’s room more often than he’s been on the list of weekly Fantasy scoring leaders. This past season, Shockey was placed on the injured reserve after he hurt his ankle and broke his left fibula – his most serious injury to date – during a Week 15 matchup against the Washington Redskins.During Shockey’s time on the injured reserve, the Giants went 5-1 and won Super Bowl XLII. While many members of the news media are quick to draw a correlation between Shockey’s absence and the Giants historic run, Giants coaches have dismissed this notion and say that Shockey will be a big part of the team’s offense during the upcoming NFL season.
That remains to be seen, though.
Since breaking out in his rookie season under former Giants offensive coordinator Sean Payton, Shockey has seen his statistics dwindle. In last season’s offensive scheme, under offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, Shockey was asked to block on many downs for quarterback Eli Manning. When he did go out for a pass, Shockey was Manning’s 3rd or 4th option after Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith.
While Shockey has largely stayed out of the public eye since his season-ending injury, it has been rumored that he requested a trade from the team this offseason. Those rumors didn’t come to fruition and Shockey remains with the Giants. Now, his recovery from surgery to repair his broken fibula, his displeasure with the Giants offense and his diminishing production loom large for the tight end this upcoming season.
So, what’s Jeremy Shockey’s true fantasy value?
In his 6-year Giant career, Shockey has averaged 61 catches for 704 yards and 4 ½ touchdowns a season. While good numbers for an average tight end, Shockey’s statistics are quite deceiving
.Take 2007 for instance.
Last year, Shockey caught 57 balls for 619 yards and 3 TDs. If you take out his Week 10 performance (12 for 129 yards) against the Dallas Cowboys, Shockey averaged a mere three catches for 35 yards in his 14 other appearances; certainly not production that puts him among the top tight ends in the league.
Shockey’s true fantasy value lies with other Tier 2 tight ends like Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley and Jason Witten. I’d draft Shockey in the 7th or 8th round of your league’s draft and strongly consider handicapping him up with emerging Giants tight end Kevin Boss – for the games that Shockey inevitably sits out with an injury.
1 comment:
Damn good article, especially since your bashing one of your own. However, I know where you lost the editor; "Shockey’s true fantasy value lies with other Tier 2 tight ends like Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley and Jason Witten." Tier 2? I guess Antonio Gates is the only tier 1 tight end? He was 4th in catches and receiving yards last year. Very questionable logic. If you go to: http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&statisticPositionCategory=TIGHT_END&season=2007&seasonType=REG&experience=null&tabSeq=1&qualified=true&Submit=Find
you will see that Tony Gonzalez led all tight ends in receptions and yards. Jason Witten finished a close second. Cooley and Shockey were in your Tier 2 at 5th and 8th respectively. You are still talking about a top 10 tight end who you acknowledged missed some time because of injury. He has also been to 4 pro-bowls, don't judge him too harshly. I think the offense under-utilized Shockey because the offensive line needed help on passing downs. Great stuff tho...
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