2016 Fantasy Football Team Preview: Arizona Cardinals

 

2015 Fantasy Recap

In 2015, the Cardinals were a real powerhouse among the fantasy community with a nice mixture of veterans and newcomers on their squad. Carson Palmer had an ultra-rejuvenating season for the team following an injury-plagued 2014 campaign. It honestly didn’t matter which of their running backs were on the field because they all produced at some capacity at one point or the other. Even Chris Johnson found success once again, running behind this confident offensive line. The defense was even a bright spot for us fantasy players, scoring plenty of points all season long. I’m expecting another great year for this franchise in 2016 with some exciting up and comers such as David Johnson and John Brown getting an even heavier workload.

Key Additions and Losses

Additions:

• Lamarr Woodley OLB
• Mike Iupati G

Losses:

• Chris Johnson RB
•  Sam Acho LB
•  Antonio Cromartie CB

QuarterBack Fantasy Outlook

Like I said above, Palmer looked stellar all season long last year, racking up a ton of fantasy points for his loyal owners. For the most part, he was a late-round draft pick that people really were gambling on, which probably won a lot of people a championship in their league. In 2015, Palmer completed 63.7 percent of his passing attempts for 4,671 yards, 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He easily put in an MVP-caliber performance on a weekly basis and will once again be on my radar for my upcoming fantasy football drafts.

The one negative against Palmer is truly his inability to stay healthy. I know that last year turned out well for him but he is an older player with a treacherous injury history, so keep that in mind for your drafts. But with the receiving corps that he has in place and a steady running game behind him, there is no reason at all why Palmer can’t put in another extremely productive season again in 2016.

Grade: B+

 Running Back Fantasy Outlook

The running back spot was very cloudy all last season due to just about everyone having success behind the Cardinals’ offensive line. From Chris Johnson to Andre Ellington, no one could shut these guys down. There is one guy that really sticks out among Arizona’s running backs and that’s the crazy talented David Johnson. Johnson played in all 16 games last season but only received the starting nod just five times, so if he is indeed the guy this season and I’m expecting a monstrous effort from the second year stud.

In 2015, Johnson rushed the ball 125 times for 581 yards and eight scores. He’s also a dual-threat back because he can do extreme damage within this Cardinals’ passing game as well. Last season, he caught 36 passes on 57 targets for 457 yards and four touchdowns, making him a big-time pick in your PPR formats. Other than Johnson, Arizona has young talented backs such as Ellington, Stepfan Taylor and Kerwynn Williams on the roster, so I’m expecting another stellar year from this group.

Grade:  B+

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

While researching for this article I realized just how great of a season Larry Fitzgerald had last year for these Cardinals! In 2015, he caught 109 passed on 145 targets for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns for Arizona. This was a big deal for both his fantasy owners and Cardinals fans because he was coming off a few tumultuous campaigns. For the most part, Fitzgerald has stayed rather healthy throughout his career, playing in all 16 games in eight of his twelve seasons for the franchise, so I’m expecting a potentially big year once again for the crafty old veteran.

Outside of Fitzgerald, Arizona has some quality options at wide receiver in guys such as John Brown and Michael Floyd. Both of these guys play a key role within this offense and will be utilized this year. In his first full season with the Cardinals, Brown caught 65 passes on 101 targets for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Both Floyd and Brown are extremely fast players, who really strive in Palmer’s offense, so I’m excited to see what they do this year!

Grade:  A-

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

The tight end spot is easily the worst part about this Arizona squad. Last year, guys such as Jermaine Gresham and Rob Housler were relied on at the position and just weren’t very fantasy relevant. Well, this year it won’t be much different with Darren Fells, who is in his second season with the franchise. In 2015, Fells caught just 21 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona. I’m honestly not expecting really anything from Fells other than the occasional Redzone score or two catch performance this year, so don’t waste your time.

Grade:  D-

Defensive Fantasy Outlook

Everyone brags about how good this offense was last season but the defense also really stepped up their game as well! I for one was an owner of this squad and they could put in fantasy points in a variety of ways. Yes, the loss of guys such as Cromartie could put a damper on things but I’m still confident that they’ll get the job done. Talented players such as Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu will anchor this defense and lead them to another solid fantasy campaign.

Last year, this Cardinals defense put up 148 fantasy points and really flourished for our teams. In 2015, Arizona’s defense had 36 sacks, 14 fumble recoveries, 19 interceptions and six defensive touchdowns. Obviously, scoring touchdowns are the key to having a successful fantasy defense and this franchise can do that both on the defensive and special teams side of the ball, making them one of my favorite options once again in 2016.

Grade: B+

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