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Brandon LaFell made plenty of fantasy football fans happy when he decided to sign a three-year deal with the New England Patriots.
He is a big play threat with good size and speed. The 27-year-old accumulated 167 catches and 2,385 yards during his tenure with the Carolina Panthers. Those are pretty impressive numbers considering Greg Olsen and Steve Smith were Cam Newton’s favorite targets during that span.
That’s why I’m buying LaFell for fantasy football this year.
Newton has shown he can be an effective quarterback, but he has an unimpressive 59.8 completion percentage and has yet to post a quarterback rating greater than 88.8. LaFell’s new quarterback, however, is hailed as one of the greatest of all time.
Ton Brady had somewhat of down year last season, posting some of the lowest numbers he has had in five years. That could be contributed to his rather small group of receivers and the absence of guys like Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker.
Adding LaFell is a big plus for both himself and Brady. LaFell is fearless in the middle of the field and can go get jump balls down the field. He is also impressive at finding the sticks, considering more than half of his receptions resulted in a first down (108 FD/167 REC).
He had five touchdown receptions last season which was a career high. The Patriots’ touchdown leader last season was Julian Edelman with six. Having LaFell in the red zone with Brady will give fantasy owners an extra boost as he should become the quarterback’s new favorite target near the end zone.
Lastly, LaFell should come as a bargain in most leagues. He has yet to really establish himself as a top receiver and giving him an elite quarterback will help. He should still be available in the middle rounds when owners begin working on filling their flex players and bench.
LaFell could be the steal of the season when it comes to receivers without sacrificing other household names.
Trey Warren is a Dallas Cowboys writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter@treydwarren and add him to your network on Google.
