Fantasy Football

Apr 20, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide White Team quarterback AJ McCarron (10) drops back to pass against the Red Team during the annual A-Day game at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports Height: 6’3″ Weight: 214 pounds Drafted By: 40 Yard Dash: Bench Press: Vertical Jump: Broad Jump: Scouting Report/Player Notes 2013 Pre-season notes McCarron had an unbelievable junior campaign in 2012 on his way to leading the Crimson Tide to another National Title. He finished with just under 3,000 yards passing, 30 touchdowns, and only three interceptions. My biggest concern with McCarron? His performance in some of the Tide’s biggest games last season. It’s hard to knock a guy who plays on such a dominant team, but there is no question about it, his production dipped when Alabama played teams like Michigan, LSU, Texas A&M, and Georgia. Then, he came out and played the game of his life against Notre Dame in the National Championship game. It’s tough to get a read on McCarron, but this is what I know for sure: The guy has the mental toughness to be a good NFL quarterback. He has a strong arm and is capable of making every throw. He throws a lot of quick passes at Alabama, and he’s very efficient with the football. He doesn’t make bad decisions often, and I think that will translate well to the NFL. Not afraid to take risks or take big shots down the field, and has a great competitive drive. I think looking at the Senior quarterback class of 2014, McCarron is a guy who stands out on one of the most talented teams we’ve seen in decades of college football. He is the team’s leader, and he backs that up on the field with his arm. Based on what we saw this past year, I would venture to say McCarron is a first round prospect who could cement that status with another good year. The biggest thing with this guy is, he is a proven winner at the college level and he has the arm talent to play in the NFL. That’s a good combo to have but he will need to “prove it” with his performance in 2013. 2012 Notes McCarron has been a leader on an Alabama team that is one of the best teams in the entire country. He has pretty much everything that you look for in a quarterback prospect in terms of measurables, coming from a pro-style offense, intangibles, etc. Alabama is certainly not a pass happy offense by any means, but McCarron has proven in just a short amount of time that he is capable of making any kind of throw. He has a strong arm and a quick release, and while his numbers aren’t staggering, he has some really good experience and a national championship as a starting quarterback, a game in which he was an offensive MVP over Heisman finalist Trent Richardson. He really got better as last season progressed, which is encouraging. He is only a junior in 2012, so he could still potentially have two years of college left. Doesn’t lock in on specific receivers, and does a good job of distributing to the plethora of talent on Alabama’s roster. He is going to have a great offensive line once again this year and should be very productive. As a young quarterback, efficiency and minimizing mistakes was the name of his game. He will always have great running backs behind him, but he can grow as a passer and I think that Alabama will let him loose a bit as a junior, which could cause his overall efficiency to take a slight dip. Career Highlights • AP third team All-American • Second team All-SEC • Finalist for Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award • 24-2 (.923) as a starter at Alabama • Leads nation (173.08) in passing efficiency • Alabama record 26 passing touchdowns in 2012 • Went 291 pass attempts (2011-12) without throwing an interception (second-longest streak in SEC history) 2012 (JUNIOR): Veteran signalcaller who leads nation with 173.08 passer efficiency rating … one of five finalists for Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award … semifinalis

Buffalo Bills QB EJ Manuel, the team's first-round pick at No. 16 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, is the club's only unsigned draft pick following the agreement on a 4-year deal with second-round pick WR Robert Woods on Sunday, May 19. Huddle Up: Striking an early deal with Woods is a plus, but getting Manuel signed is the most important item on Buffalo to-do list due to the steep learning curve for rookie QBs. To be certain, Manuel will need every edge he can get if he has any chance of beating out vets Kevin Kolb and Tavaris Jackson for the starting job.

Free-agent DB Charles Woodson (Packers) said he is willing to sign with the Detroit Lions if he is comfortable with the salary. Huddle Up: Add another suitor to the list for Woodson, who suddenly has gained quite a bit of leverage over the past week with the Broncos, Panthers, Raiders, Giants and now the Lions showing interest.

New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (forearm, back) is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday, May 20, on his injured forearm. The doctors are expected to take cultures from his forearm to see if the infection is still there. If there is no infection, the plate in his forearm will be replaced and Gronkowski would start a 10- to 11-week rehab process. The plate will not be replaced if there is still signs of an infection. Huddle Up: Best case scenario here is that Gronk returns early in camp, but there's also the possibility of a lingering infection and also the reports of a back issue that have cropped up over the past week. Translation: The TE's availability for Week 1 is still very much in question.

. . Christian Petersen/Getty Images . 2013 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection: Jets RB Chris Ivory Bell Cow Back Author: Sal Conti Price Check: Jordan Cameron Author: Steve Wyremski Rob Gronkowski (forearm) to have surgery tomorrow Fantasy Football Poll: Which 2nd-Year QB Will Have Most Fantasy Points in 2013? 2013 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection: Jets RB Chris Ivory Oakland Raiders Draft OT Menelik Watson In The 2013 NFL Draft Author: Fantasy Football Junkie 2013 Team Outlook: New England Patriots 2013 Fantasy Football Auction Values Fantasy Football: Yearly Trends in VBD (FBG) Author: Chase Stuart NFP Sunday Blitz Author: Dan Pompei Gronkowski’s fourth surgery set for Monday Author: Terry McCormick Patrick Peterson: The Numbers, The Tape, The Verdict Author: Cian Fahey AFC South Fantasy Review Author: Allen Bassett Stats Speak: Foster over Peterson Author: Kyle Soppe Secret Superstar: Adam Jones Author: Ben Stockwell 2013 NFL Comings and Goings (May 19) Author: Russell S. Baxter, ProFootballGuru 2010 NFL Draft Class, Best Fantasy Football Group – Ever Author: Jim Heath FIVE ROOKIE RUNNING BACKS THAT WILL MAKE AN IMAPCT Author: Scott Engel, Managing Director Buffalo Bills 2013 Rookie Class Author: Brandon Houser Rob Gronkowski’s Surgery: Roundtable Discussion Author: Mike Tanier First Down: Sizing up Stafford, Gronk’s soap opera and ‘Felony and Ivory’ Author: Brad Evans Redskins fans buy all sorts of things on Robert Griffin III’s wedding registry Author: Doug Farrar Broncos QB Peyton Manning’s renegotiated contract cleared $2.5 million in cap space in 2013 Author: Brian McIntyre Patriots hold ‘Football For You’ clinic for children of Newtown Author: Doug Farrar 2013 PPR Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings: Top 40 (Post NFL Draft Update) Oakland Raiders Draft OT Manelik Watson In The 2013 NFL Draft Raiders fans doing their part to land free agent Charles Woodson Vikings’ Chris Cook says he’ll “handle” opposing number one receivers Charlie Batch not ready to retire just yet Chip Kelly is changing the Eagles culture: ‘If I can’t trust them when they leave this building then we probably brought the wrong guys in here’ Weeden surprised by Browns signing of Hoyer RGIII receives loads of wedding gifts from fans (Photo) Greg Schiano: “We have a starting quarterback.” Vick: Chip Kelly taught me how to hold a football Recent Pittsburgh Steelers History Says Reggie Dunn Has a Shot at Making the Roster Linebacker Bruce Carter is drawing comparisons to Buccaneers’ great Derrick Brooks New quarterback Matt McGloin is ready for offseason training activities: ‘I’ll control what I can control’ Trouble brewing for Seahawks? Team has a history of violations Larry Fitzgerald says 2012 was a personal low The Seahawks took a huge step forward last season. Can they keep enough players active to continue moving forward? NFL Predictions 1.0

The Cardinals wouldn't have traded for and then signed 33-year-old Carson Palmer if they believed he could no longer throw the deep ball. So far, head coach Bruce Arians likes what he has seen from Palmer. Most importantly, Arians said Palmer can still launch it. quot;He's tough as nails," Arians said about Palmer on Sunday in an ESPN interview. "As good a deep-ball thrower as I've ever seen. I mean really accurate on the deep ball. He still has it. What he did last year with the Raiders, in a crazy situation, I thought was very, very impressive." FANTASY ANALYSIS: That deep-throw ability is one of the foci of Arians' offense. He loves to throw the ball down the field, and I am really looking forward to seeing how Palmer operates with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Andre Roberts around him. Palmer could be a stellar QB2 this year.

The Jordan Cameron hype machine keeps charging forward, this time with the help of the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot. Here's what she wrote in her latest mailbag column on Saturday: quot;The Browns really like tight end Jordan Cameron as their starting tight end and plan to throw to him a lot. Cameron was targeted on plenty of deep balls in OTAs." FANTASY ANALYSIS: Everybody's talking about Cameron's opportunity as the Browns' starter this year. The 24-year-old is a former basketball player with a big 6-foot 5-inch frame and natural receiving skills. And he's being coached by a couple of men who know how to get the best out of tight ends: head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Given how mediocre the tight end position was in general last year, Cameron is looking like a TE1 in fantasy this season. I don't play in many leagues, but at this point, I can basically guarantee that I will get him in drafts. I'll reach if I have to. I'm all up on the bandwagon.

Apparently. You would think that some coach -- Dan Reeves? Jim Mora Jr? Andy Reid? -- would teach one of the most dangerous running quarterbacks in the history of football how to carry the ball while running. But Vick said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly finally got it done. quot;Chip told me how to run with the football the other day," Vick said in a radio interview last week. "He tought me how to run with the football and how to carry the football, and I think it's something that you just have to work on. "The other day, I broke out of the pocket, and the first thing Chip told me was to tuck the football. So I showed him how I was running with it, and he knocked the ball right out of my hands. And he was like, 'Hold it like this.' And what he told me felt comfortable. I had a tighter grip on the football. That should secure that problem as long as I work on it." FANTASY ANALYSIS: Hilarious. Vick has lost 12 fumbles in his last 35 games and is the active leader among all QBs in fumbles (87). Ball security has been a problem for Vick his entire career; I strongly doubt that Kelly is the first to try to teach him how to protect the ball. This is probably a case of a more mature Vick actually listening to his coaches and taking their tutelage seriously.

The New York Giants are making slow progress in contract talks with restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz on a long-term contract. The two sides are expected to resume negotiations this week. Huddle Up: Slowly but surely the talks seem to be picking up steam as the Giants look to extend the deal of a highly productive wideout who ranks ninth in receptions (168), fifth in receiving yards (2,628) and eighth in TD grabs (19) in the league over the past 2 seasons.

New York Jets OG Willie Colon said he does not think RB Mike Goodson will remain with the team after being arrested earlier this week on drug and weapons charges. 'It's one of the things where it's zero-tolerance with stuff like that,' Colon said. 'It's sad. Mike could have been huge for us.' Huddle Up: It remains to be seen if Goodson's run with the Jets is over before it really began, but in any case, the news is a boon for the fantasy stock of Chris Ivory, another offseason RB addition for the squad.