Coming Off Injury? Worry Not ... These Four Will Be Just Fine

Heading into fantasy football drafts, one of the main words that can strike fear into an owner's eyes is the word injury. Whether it's an injury-risk, a current injury, injury-history, or someone who suffered an injury last season. Everyone gets scared because you don't want to be saddled with a high draft pick that works his way into bust status, especially when you saw the warning signs. I'm here to alleviate these fears on four different players. All of these guys are tumbling too far down draft boards for one reason or another, and it needs to stop.



Marvin Harrison, Colts WR, coming off rare injury-riddled season and a slight legal brush
Don't even worry about the legal stuff. He would have been charged or at least questioned further by now, so he's completely in the clear. I mean, who doesn't own a custom-made Belgian piece anyway?

Now, if you don't want to draft Harrison, I want you to look at the stats from 1999-2006. Yes, I know he's 36. Jerry Rice was productive at age 40. Those who watch the Colts regularly know that Harrison has avoided injury quite well over years because of his knack for avoiding hits. Even when he catches a ball over the middle he finds a way to elude a highlight reel stick. Thus, his wear and tear is minimal for his age. Like Rice before him, he's not done at 36.

What about a chemistry standpoint? No tandem in the history of the NFL has had better statistical chemistry than Harrison and his QB, Peyton Manning. That doesn't just vanish into thin air because of his absence for the majority of one season. Sure, Reggie Wayne is going to be the top wideout. The point is, Harrison's being drafted in fantasy leagues like he's the Eagles number two option, not the Colts.

Finally, what about motivation? Elite professional athletes are a rare being, fueled by naysayers even when there aren't any. Harrison never had to hear a negative word about his on-field performance until now. The inner drive will rear its head this year for Harrison, and he'll return to the 1000 yard and 10 TD plateaus.

Jake Delhomme, Panthers QB coming off baseball surgery
All reports from Panthers camp have Delhomme as being in perfect health. The P-Cats have added Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett to bolster the receiving corps and take pressure off Steve Smith. The running game has been firing on all cylinders thus far with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart as well.

Steve Smith is suspended for two games. I get that. So maybe you suffer through two mediocre weeks with Delhomme and then he's easily startable. That offense appears loaded with depth and talent (excluding Moose when it comes to talent, of course). So why am I seeing Jason Campbell, Vince Young, Jeff Garcia, Jon Kitna et al drafted ahead of Delhomme in fantasyland? When things like this start happening, just keep your mouth shut and grab Delhomme as your second fantasy QB.

You could grab him and Philip Rivers and just play matchups each week instead of wasting a much higher pick on Ben Roethlisberger while scoring nearly the same amount.

Ronnie Brown, Dophins RB1 -- or RB2? -- coming off ACL tear
Everyone is fawning over Ricky Williams now in fantasy drafts, meanwhile Brown's stock just falls and falls. So Scoop Mortensen said the Dolphins were gonna start with Williams atop the depth chart, oh no! We've seen his penchant for making things up in the past.

Brown led the NFL in yards from scrimmage when he tore his ACL last year. With training and technology the way it is nowadays, he should be back to full strength within the first few weeks of the season. By the end of the season, he'll be a beast again ... and he's being drafted after Willie Parker, Edgerrin James, LenDale White, and Matt Forte? Really?

Brown's going to end the season as a solid number two fantasy runner. The four names I just listed ... not so much.

What happened last time you relied on Ricky Williams, by the way? Fool me once ...

Jeremy Shockey, Saints TE exiled after a luxury suite party in the Super Bowl
Who do I want from the group of Dallas Clark, Chris Cooley, Tony Gonzalez, and Shockey? Gimme Shockey every time. He's a better bargain in fantasy circles, and I believe he'll outshine the others listed above anyway.

The bare bones are this:
- Shockey is motivated because of how things ended in New York and that they won without him. He's the type of player to take his vengeance out on the field by showing everyone that he can "still do it."
- Shockey's best season as a pro was his rookie year in New York when Sean Payton was calling plays. Well, Payton is calling plays for him again.
- Drew Brees loved to use his tight ends at Purdue, and he made a star out of Antonio Gates (mutual help, of course) in San Diego. He's surely missed the reliability of a quality tight end, and now he'll have an extremely athletic one.

Go ahead and take the elite tight ends. I'll fill up my other non-kicking starters and have Shockey in the seventh, please. A guy doesn't have to be nice to garner fantasy points.