Rosen ascent puts Cards on the table
IF YOU drafted your fantasy football team properly, you probably covered yourself pretty well for the upcoming bye-weeks. Unfortunately, some of the twists, turns and injuries that come with the first few weeks of the season have thrown a monkey wrench into your grand plan, and now you’re left staring at your waiver wire, wondering where you can find help.
There is one place where fantasy dreams may emerge — the Arizona Cardinals. Since their Week 1 loss to the Redskins, the Cardinals have been a laughingstock in both fantasy and reality. Critics say new head coach Steve Wilks is completely overmatched, running back David Johnson has not delivered on his first-round cost, and with Sam Bradford leading the pass attack, the offense was a cocktail-party joke.
Yes, the offensive line struggles can be held accountable for some of this, but overall, this team — even with the great Larry Fitzgerald — has been a desolate wasteland for fantasy.
Enter Josh Rosen, the cure for all that ails the Cardinals. After all the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the rookie quarterback class, Rosen was the last of the top four QB picks to be handed the reins of his team’s offense. After a short relief appearance in Week 3, he made his first start Sunday. Though there wasn’t anything mind-blowing about his 180- yard, onetouchdown debut, his arrival brings hope to those looking for wide receiver and tight-end help.
Rosen played a solid game in his first career start. He tried to be as efficient with his passing as he could and led the team up and down the field well against the Seahawks. Improvements will come with experience, but what fantasy owners need to focus on are the team-leading seven targets for Fitzgerald, Rosen’s strong rapport with rookie receiver Christian Kirk and his ability to thread the needle to an acrobatic, downfield threat like Chad Williams. Rosen also did some nice leaning on Johnson out of the backfield and veteran tight end Ricky SealsJones. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers, most of whom are sitting on your waiver wire.
Williams and Kirk seem like the most promising of those available. Johnson and Fitzgerald can certainly be considered decent buy-low candidates, but if you’re just looking to test the waters without paying a steep price, both receivers fit the bill. As this team looks ahead, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is going to expand the playbook for Rosen. They will be a work in progress for weeks to come, but with the heavy bye-weeks ahead, this offense should have jelled enough to help keep you winning.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm. com for all your fantasy sports advice, NFL player rankings.