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For the past 10 years Larry Fitzgerald has been considered a perennial fantasy stud for the Arizona Cardinals. He is 30 years old and hasn’t shown signs of slowing down yet. His numbers have dipped a little in the past two seasons, but that is due more to the poor quality coming from the quarterback position. Carson Palmer has brought some stability to the position, which is comforting for fantasy owners looking to draft Fitzgerald.
The question isn’t is Fitzgerald worth owning, the question is should he be viewed as a WR-1, WR-2 or a WR-3?
In terms of a standard scoring system, Fitzgerald ranks 16th overall. He ranked 18th in receptions, 25th in reception yards and 7th in touchdowns for a wide receiver. These numbers are really good but they aren’t exactly elite wide receiver numbers. He can be viewed as a high end WR-2 for the 2014 NFL season. If he had a better quarterback throwing him the football, Fitzgerald might be able to elevate his numbers back into the elite range. Only time will tell if another year to create chemistry will only benefit the quarterback and receiver’s numbers and fantasy value.
Based on the fact that Fitzgerald cannot be considered elite going into the 2014 season, it seems like the earliest fantasy owners should consider drafting him is in the fourth-round. If you follow the general fantasy football rule of thumb when drafting, you should think about drafting two running backs and your WR-1 in the first three rounds. The fourth round would make the most sense for Fitzgerald.
Alexander Muir is a writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @AmuirAlex, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on your network on Google.
