2010 Fantasy Football: Quarterbacks with New Receivers

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With four highly talented receivers joining new teams this offseason (Brandon Marshall, Anquan Boldin, Santonio Holmes and Antonio Bryant), I thought it would be important to see how quarterbacks have performed in the past with new receivers added to the squad. Would their numbers expand, or would they contract because of a potential learning curve with a new target?

Looking back since 2003, I looked at all quarterbacks who were given new receivers during the offseason, and I compared their stats before and after the acquisition.

All of these wideouts fit the following criteria:

  • They had a 1,000-yard season within two years of the acquisition.
  • They were 32 years or younger entering that season (i.e. in their prime).
  • They were placed on teams with quarterbacks who had started the year before for that same team.
  • They were actually added in the offseason; not during the previous regular season.

    So, here's a glance at all of the quarterbacks with their new receiver:

    **Click here for more 2010 Fantasy Football articles, rankings mock drafts, sleepers and busts.**


    Drew Bledsoe, Cowboys with Terrell Owens
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2005
    3,639
    23
    17
    2006
    1,164*
    7*
    8*
    * - through only 6 games. As you'll see, Drew Bledsoe is the only quarterback who didn't improve.


    Kyle Boller, Ravens with Derrick Mason
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2004
    2,559
    13
    11
    2005
    1,799*
    11*
    12*
    * - through only 9 games. Sadly, even Kyle Boller improved with a new receiver.


    Tom Brady, Patriots with Randy Moss
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2006
    3,529
    24
    12
    2007
    4,806
    50
    8





    Drew Brees, Chargers with Keenan McCardell
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2003
    2,108*
    11*
    15*
    * - through 11 games
    2004
    3,159
    27
    7


    Kerry Collins, Raiders with Randy Moss
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2004
    3,495
    21
    20
    2005
    3,759
    20
    12





    Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks with T.J. Houshmandzadeh
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2008
    1,216*
    5*
    10*
    * - through only 7 games
    2009
    3,029*
    17*
    17*
    * - through 14 games


    Eli Manning, Giants with Plaxico Burress
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2004
    1,043*
    6*
    9*
    * - through only 9 games
    2005
    3,762
    24
    17


    Donovan McNabb, Eagles with Terrell Owens
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2003
    3,216
    16
    11
    2004
    3,875
    31
    8





    Patrick Ramsey, Redskins with Santana Moss
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2002
    1,539*
    9*
    8*
    * - through 11 games
    2003
    2,166*
    14*
    9*
    * - Ramsey played only 9 games in 2003 before suffering a season-ending injury against the Dolphins.


    QB Dog Killer, Falcons with Ashley Lelie
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2005
    2,412
    15
    13
    2006
    2,472
    20
    13


    According to this trend, Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez and Carson Palmer all figure to improve in 2010.

    How much will they improve though? Before making any predictions, let's take Palmer out of the equation because he might not be 100 percent and Antonio Bryant may not try hard in the wake of his new contract (Bryant has a dubious history of sucking after getting guaranteed money).

    After extrapolating every quarterback's numbers over 16 games, the 10 quarterbacks above improved by an average of:

    657 yards, 9 TDs, -1.5 INTs.

    Appending those numbers to each of our three quarterbacks, we would get:

    Joe Flacco, Ravens with Anquan Boldin
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2009
    3,613
    21
    12
    2010
    4,272
    30
    11


    Chad Henne, Dolphins with Brandon Marshall
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2009
    3,289*
    14*
    16*
    * - numbers expanded for a 16-game season
    2010
    3,948
    23
    15


    Mark Sanchez, Jets with Santonio Holmes
    Year
    Pass Yards
    TDs
    INTs
    Notes
    2009
    2,607*
    13*
    21*
    * - numbers expanded for a 16-game season
    2010
    3101*
    20*
    20
    * - factored in only a 12-game improvement because of Santonio Holmes' 4-game suspension


    Now, will I project Joe Flacco to throw for 4,200 yards and 30 touchdowns when I release my 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings? No, like Chad Henne and Mark Sanchez, Flacco won't be asked to do too much in a run-heavy offense.

    That said, I think we should expect a tremendous improvement from all three quarterbacks - all of whom will be sleepers in my Sleepers/Busts column which will come out later this month.