When Matt Hasselbeck on Twitter says "Happy 26th Birthday to this year's fantasy sleeper, TE John Carlson." we got to jump on this bandwagon.
Many things are certain about the TE spot for the Seattle Seahawks, one is that John Carlson will be catching the majority of the balls thrown to his position for the next two years [2 seasons left on a 4 yr/$4.52 million contract, including $2.5 million guaranteed). Unlike last year, where the struggles of Matt Hasselbeck and the absence of his protection forced Carlson to spend less time catching balls and more time blocking, there-in-lies his low fantasy output from last season.
The off-season acquisitions by the Seahawks (OT Russell Okung via Draft and signed TE Chris Baker) look to add a significant lift in Carlson’s fantasy football value. The Seahawks have finally figured out how to make the most of Carlson’s potential as a catching TE…..lets take a peak at where his stats are heading….
John Carlson TE – Seattle Seahawks
ADP: 189th – 13th TE selected
By the numbers:
- Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who studied under Mike Shanahan, runs an offense that relies a great deal on the TE position.
- Carlson was the # 11 overall fantasy TE in 09, and #7 in 08. Just another reason to wait on tight ends in 2010 fantasy football drafts.
- History proves that Carlson's stats significantly rises the last four weeks of the season…he had 4 and 3 TD’s respectfully in the last two seasons during the fantasy playoffs. This came in handy for me as he helped me win my fantasy football league last season.
- In his rookie season he caught 55 passes for 627 yards and 5 TD’s. His next year became his sophomore-slump, even though his stats would not suggest it right away (51 catches for 574 yards and 7 TD’s). The explanation for this lies with his lengthy TD drought from week two all the way till week 9, but obviously the talent is there.
Summary:
The Seahawks have done well in the offseason in a lot of positions…..QB not being one of them. So the questions at the QB position are still present, however I don’t see their passing game being any worse then it was last year and that was 3771 yards and 20 TD’s including 19 INT’s…which is not bad, but not great either. Who knows maybe the old Hasselbeck gets hurt again and the newly acquired J.P. Losman or Charlie Whitehurst rejuvenate the passing game to it’s 2005 prime. With all this new upside to John Carlson’s value I think you will get a steal of a deal for him in your drafts because he will go under the radar and probably wont get drafted till the 15th round in most leagues. Last year I drafted him in the 10th round because I had a hunch about this kid, but I think this year will be his year. I also believe that it cant hurt that offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who studied under Mike Shanahan, runs an offence that relies a great deal on the TE position.
