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2014 Fantasy Football Face-Off: Roddy White vs. Marques Colston

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By @bradberreman24

Marques Colston, 2014 Fantasy Football

Streeter Lecka-Getty Images

2013 was a down season for both Roddy White and Marques Colston, as both were hampered by injuries during the early part of the season and finished with numbers far below their previous standards. Colston and White are no longer elite fantasy wide receivers at this point in their careers, but is one more likely to rebound this year? Let’s take a closer look.

The Case For Marques Colston

Colston started last season solidly, with 21 receptions over the first four games, and he finished strongly (48 receptions for 601 yards and four touchdowns over the final eight games). It’s the three games he played in between that dragged his overall numbers down, with just six catches for 44 yards combined. If he had maintained his per game averages from his other 12 games, Colston would have had 86 receptions for 1,124 yards in 2013.

Colston is the most reliable Saints’ wide receiver for fantasy owners as long as he’s healthy, and the arrival of rookie Brandin Cooks will not alter that this year. Colston is only behind tight end Jimmy Graham in the pecking order for red zone targets, which is a good place to be in a Drew Brees-led offense.

The Case For Roddy White

White missed games for the first time in his career in 2013 due to a sprained ankle, and he was at far less than 100 percent health even when he was in uniform for a big chunk of the season. But he resembled his old self late in the season, with 43 receptions for 502 yards and two touchdowns over the final five games, so those that hung onto him were in line to reap the rewards during the fantasy playoffs.

White will turn 33 in November, which brings the possibility of lingering injuries going forward, but the Falcons showed faith that last year was an aberration by signing him to a four-year contract extension last week.

Injuries helped keep White’s red zone target (11) and touchdown (three) totals down last season, but he had 36 touchdowns from 2009-2012 with at least seven each season.

Final Analysis

This decision is a tough one for me, since I like both White and Colston’s chances to rebound this year as part of two of the most pass-happy offenses in the league. No fantasy owner should expect production in line with their primes this year, but both are worth a close look as a WR2 in all scoring formats. But Colston’s average draft position is in the eighth round right now (per Fantasy Pros.com), while White’s ADP currently sits in the fourth round range, so that gives Colston the slight edge for me.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter or connect on Google +. 

 

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