Brett Favre is officially a Minnesota Viking. Finally, some freaking closure. The ‘"will he or won’t he" is settled, and now we can officially commence with the "can he still do it" and "will he fade in December" debates.
Yes, fantasy footballers, The Brett Favre Reality Tour is back on the road, and, as far as 2009 is concerned, it’s here to stay. As always, snacks are included in the price of admission. Somebody remind Brett that you can’t make a pizza bagel out of a jelly donut. One thing the Golden Brett can do is make all of the Minnesota pass catchers better, and we think he’ll do just that. In fact, it’s probably harder to judge Favre’s individual fantasy value than the relative value of those around him. We see most all of the Vikings’ skill players getting a deserved bump on draft boards.
The former Packer should help the Vikes on third downs which ought to extend drives, giving Adrian Peterson more carries and more scoring chances. And, for you PPR GMs, he may even help Peterson catch a few more balls. Additionally, Favre may help Peterson’s yards per catch average as he is one of the best screeners in NFL history. This could be something to keep an eye on in preseason games.
The basic premise is that Brett Favre’s overall mastery of the NFL game and the way he understands the flow of the game, could really be a boon for the Vikings skill players. These guys have been suffocating for years under the stewardship of Tavaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. And, let’s face it, Sage Rosenfels wasn’t going to make things dramatically different. There’s just no way to compare his feel for the game versus Favre’s. As much as Brett’s detractors might not want to hear it, the guy is an artist as an NFL signal caller. Even at a diminished level, he’s a huge improvement over what the Vikings had last year or what they had going into this year.
The Vikings just got better.
The receivers are all giddy. Of this, I can assure you. Percy Harvin is now more of an everywhere threat, because he has a QB who can locate him anywhere on the field. Favre can make all the little touch passes and against the grain screens that will help Minnesota get the rookie highlight reel involved to the max.
If Bernard Berrian is healthy, he becomes a guy with potential #2 fantasy value, especially in performance leagues. If his hamstring issues linger, this could be good news for Harvin and Sidney Rice. Rice is still a starter on the team’s depth chart, and he may remain so in a technical sense. Still, we see Harvin making the bigger overall impact. Either way, Rice just became a much more potent red zone threat.
The other player who has to be doing cartwheels right now is tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. He was a good player with mediocre quarterback play, but with Favre, he could be a very solid starter. What’s great is that you can still probably nab Shiancoe in the 2nd half of your draft. That’s solid value.
Now to Favre himself. You really have to wonder how much they will open things up for the aged cheesehead. First off, they have Adrian Peterson, and, Favre or no Favre, this team will go as Purple Jesus goes. Second, Favre does not have the kind of weapons here that he had in his renaissance of 2007. Harvin may have great talent, but he’s not yet a Greg Jennings level NFL receiver. Third, and lastly, we still don’t know how much of the old arm strength he will retain after offseason surgery.
It’s very possible that they will use Favre’s skills just enough to loosen up defenses. In this case, his fantasy value could be closer to Chad Pennington 2008 than Brett Favre 2007. We’ll have to see. Word is that Favre could start the Vikings’ preseason game this Friday. So, we could be seeing some things pretty soon. The bottom line for fantasy is this, you can now take Minnesota skill players with much more confidence than you did yesterday.
So, buckle up, Though the Soul (searching) Train and its diva conductor may now be parked in the station, the reality tour is just beginning. Sixteen plus games of it. Game on.
