5 days ago
#1509 Quote
Nowadays everything in Hollywood gets a sequel. Even if it . Reboots and reprises have become so customary that we're excited if the second film can even come close to capturing the magic of the original -- I'm looking at you, .Fortunately, in the NFL and we have higher expectations. Year Two is often a period of growth and improvement ... at least it is if you plan on seeing a trilogy. For the astute fantasy manager, being able to truly determine if a player has future potential is paramount to prolonged succe s. To that end, I took a look at last season's three best rookie quarterbacks (sorry, ) to see if their sophomore efforts would play more like The Godfather: Part II or, well ... The Godfather: Part III.Click here for Alex Gelhar's breakdown of .Derek CarrCarr led all rookie quarterbacks in fantasy scoring last season. But that is a little misleading because he was the only one to play in all 16 of his team's contests. Nonethele s, Carr gave both fans and fantasy enthusiasts reason to be optimistic about how high his ceiling could be. The Fresno State product threw for 3,270 yards while to sing 21 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. Those numbers are particularly remarkable when you look at the group of pa s-catchers he had to work with (more on that later). Some have mentioned that Carr's air yards per completion numbers (5.3) might not , but it also seems a little too soon to panic.Watching Carr's game tape gave me a serious case of the sadz. The problem wasn't with the quarterback -- it was his receivers. There are plenty of things I could say about this group, but Around the NFL's Chris We seling summed it up best. Slowest WR corps in the league last year. Chris We seling (@ChrisWe seling) Comb through tape of Oakland's pa sing game last season and you'll see a young signal-caller dancing around in the pocket beseeching someone -- anyone -- to get open downfield. As such, this young quarterback with the big arm rarely got a chance to show it off.But not all of Carr's i sues can be attributed to his pa s-catchers. There were times when he held the ball too long or would be late on throws. And while he showed a deft touch on plenty of throws, there were times when he might have been better off to let it rip. He's also not a big threat to run, as evidenced by his 92 rushing yards in 2014. Yet, he does po se s some mobility and a penchant for buying himself extra time in the pocket, even if he sometimes Brian Edwards Jersey  fails to feel the rush coming.I've been a fan of Carr since his collegiate days and believed that the were an excellent landing spot for him. Nothing I saw in his tape has changed my mind. After having started for a full season, hopefully the game has slowed down and Carr is able to fit throws in a few more windows. Then again, it did reinforce why Oakland made the choice to draft over with the fourth pick in the draft. It also explains why there's so much around the rookie wideout. Adding a receiver who can stretch the field to go along with the veteran presence of should help open some of those windows a little wider.Last season, Carr was no more than a late-round flier in re-drafts and a stash in dynasty leagues. This season, he'll upgrade to being worthy of a late-round pick as a QB2 in just about all formats.Teddy BridgewaterCarr was the top scoring rookie fantasy quarterback in 2014, but not by much. Bridgewater finished fewer than 13 points behind while making four fewer starts. Bridgewater's numbers weren't eye-popping (2,919 yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs), but his fantasy totals were good enough to land him in the top 25 at the position. Teddy Two Gloves made his first appearance in Week 3, relieving an injured and a sumed the job permanently when Ca sel went on injured reserve. His biggest fantasy performance came a week later in his first start. Bridgewater threw for 317 yards while rushing for 27 yards and a
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