Washington Redskins Tickets – Mcnabb Brings Veteran Leadership To Offense

In one of the toughest divisions in the league, the Redskins are looking to change the climate of the locker room under the leadership of quarterback Donovan McNabb and new head coach Mike Shanahan. Let’s take a look at who might have a huge impact on your fantasy roster this season.

Donovan McNabb, Quarterback:
It’s not often that a current Pro Bowl quarterback gets traded, particularly within the division. No one doubts that McNabb’s best years are behind him, but he’s also still one of the better quarterbacks in the league who brings instant credibility to a Redskins team that has scuffled in recent seasons. In 14 games last year, McNabb had a very strong 92.9 QB rating while throwing for 3,553 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Had he played in the first two games of the season, McNabb very well could have ended up throwing for more than 4,000 yards and somewhere in the 25 or 26 touchdown range. Though he’s not in quite as good of a scenario as he was last year in Philly, McNabb knows how to spread the ball around and I wouldn’t be surprised to see young wideouts Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly take big steps forward this season. While you shouldn’t expect McNabb to see a sudden resurgence, he projects as a nice backup that you should be able to grab in the later rounds.
Projection: 3,350 yards, 21 touchdowns, 13 interceptions.

Chris Cooley, Tight End:
From 2005-2008, Cooley was one of the very top tight end options in fantasy and it appeared that was going to continue in 2009. Unfortunately, Cooley’s season got cut short due to injury after just seven games and now he could be fighting for his job against Fred Davis. Still, Cooley is the more proven pass-catching tight end and as long as he recovers he should be McNabb’s go-to guy in the middle of the field. You need to be a little wary of Cooley recovering all the way but that risk should also cause him to slip in the draft. If you can grab him in the late rounds after all the top tight ends are taken, you could end up getting one of the bigger steals in the draft.
Projection: 62 catches, 780 yards, six touchdowns.

Clinton Portis, Running Back:
After carrying the ball 325 times or more in four out of five seasons, Portis seemed to start to break down in the 2009 season before finally getting injured and sitting out the second half of the year. Though players always want to avoid injury, it may have actually worked out to Portis’ advantage to rest his legs and essentially have half of a season off. This doesn’t mean that Portis is suddenly going to be a top-tier back again, of course, but Portis is only 28 years old and could very well have a couple of solid seasons left. Portis will be in a crowded backfield this year but he could also be the most surprising guy to crack 1,000 yards rushing if he can stay healthy.
Projection: 1,050 combined yards, seven total touchdowns.

Larry Johnson, Running Back:
With Portis and Willie Parker in the rotation, who knows how the backfield situation is going to shake out? If Portis is healthy he’ll probably be the guy, but Johnson and Parker will also be leaned heavily upon in order to keep Portis fresh. As long as you don’t expect Johnson to be a starter on your team, he could be worth grabbing with a late pick due to his potential upside if Portis is ineffective.
Projection: 480 yards rushing, four touchdowns.

Santana Moss, Wide Receiver:
When Moss first came over from the Jets, he certainly sold tons of Washington Redskins tickets. Moss isn’t the same guy who had 1,483 yards and nine touchdowns, as he did in 2006, but he’s still an explosive talent when he can regularly get the ball. With McNabb, Moss should see some statistical improvement from a mediocre 2009 season in which he had 70 catches for 902 yards and just three touchdowns. With a few more red zone targets, Moss could be a very nice second or third starting wideout if you can grab him in the right spot in the draft.
Projection: 79 catches, 1,020 yards, five touchdowns.