Who will be the season's biggest breakout player?
I think we're going to get a 2011 Matthew Stafford-type season out of Matt Ryan in Atlanta. With Michael Turner slowing down, there will be even more of an emphasis on the passing game than ever before. Atlanta also knows it's a quarterback-driven league and it's time to give in to that fully. With a healthy Julio Jones for the entire campaign, this offense is ready to explode. I can see Ryan, who keeps getting better in increments, making a huge fantasy jump this year - 4,700 yards and 40 touchdowns are well within his reach.
Play fantasy football on NFL.com
Your fantasy team plays in the NFL, so why don't you? Sign up to play the NFL's official free fantasy football game.
Who will be the biggest fantasy bust?
It's easy to point a finger at Marshawn Lynch, who finally gets paid after a career year, but I'm going to go a little left of center. Not because he'll suddenly fall on his face, but there's no way Rob Gronkowski puts up the numbers he did last year. Record-setting numbers for a tight-end doesn't happen every season. Secondly, New England added Brandon Lloyd, who is going to get more than his fair share of footballs. Throw in that defenses will have had an entire off-season to counteract the Patriots two stud tight end strategy, and I think New England will change their focus just a bit to keep other teams off balance. I see a big dip in Gronk's stats. Let someone else take him in the second round, which is what's going to happen.
Biggest fantasy impact with new team?
Brandon Marshall will return to being the beast he was with the Broncos, and what he showed flashes of with Miami. Re-united with Jay Cutler, who really has no one else to throw to, he's going to get all the balls in Chicago. He'll fill every need they have: Possession receiver, security blanket, and exclusivity in the red zone. I can easily see 100 catches and 12 touchdowns for Marshall. Better get him early, because he'll be gone by the end of the 3rd round.
Comeback fantasy player of the year?
Not only will Chris Johnson be the comeback player of the year in fantasy, he's going to lead the NFL in rushing (or at worst come in 2nd behind Arian Foster). Throw away last year with the lockout and him being out of shape. He's got a lot to prove in 2012, and with a full off-season to get back to regular strength, he'll once again be back to being CJ2K. Owners will sleep on him come draft day - you could potentially snag him late 2nd, early 3rd round. Get ahead of the curve on him.
Fantasy rookie of the year?
Trent Richardson of the Browns. I say this because while I think Andrew Luck is going to have a very good season, (say 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns), there's a lot of quarterbacks who will give you that, so I don't know if anyone will even be starting Luck. But Richardson is going to get the football 300 times in 2012. He'll stay on the field on 3rd down to block or catch a pass out of the backfield. He's going to be a 1,000 yard runner easily and probably hover around the double-digit mark in touchdowns. He's a high-end number two running back, or, depending on how your draft goes, could be your number one.