Never Too Early: Washington Redskins Fantasy Football Preview

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
New look offense! Out with Al Saunders and Joe Gibbs and in with Jim Zorn's high-powered west coast offense. The offense Zorn is installing is the one used in Seattle under Mike Holmgren and has made fantasy stars of numerous players through the years, including Brett Favre, Shaun Alexander, and Matt Hasselbeck. This has caused everyone to expect that Clinton Portis -- since he's arguably more talented and much tougher than Alexander -- to become an absolute beast. That's all well and good ... just remember that Portis isn't following Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson on one side of the line.

The Breakout
Jason Campbell has shown flashes of being a productive QB, but been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. He has plenty of tools and weapons to become a fantasy starter (top 12ish) in this offense. The Skins even tried to overload the receiving corps during the draft by selecting TE Fred Davis and WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly with upper round selections. He did throw for 215, 348, 301, and 216 yards in the last four full games before he was injured. Be ready to pounce on Campbell as a quality backup with the chance to become a starter at some point in '08.

The Bust
I'm gonna go with Santana Moss, as I'm counting on the offense to spread the ball around -- other than to load up Portis with touches. Look at the depth the 'Skins drafted ... they obviously want to run guys in and out while utilizing the quick throws of the west coast offense. I'm not saying he's going to suck, but if you are drafting him with the hopes that he's going to be a standout performer you'll be quite disappointed ... 60 catches, 900 yards, and five TDs are his ceiling this year. Expect more? That's why he's listed here.

The Depth Chart
QB1 - Jason Campbell
QB2 - Todd Collins
RB1 - Clinton Portis
RB2 - Ladell Betts
RB3 - Eric Shelton
WR1 - Santana Moss
WR2 - Antwaan Randle-El
WR3 - Devin Thomas
WR4 - Malcolm Kelly
WR5 - Anthony Mix
WR6 - James Thrash
TE1 - Chris Cooley
TE2 - Fred Davis
K - Shaun Suisham

The D/ST
Kinda mediocre here. The Skins were 16th last year in points and didn't make any real adjustments. They do have an experienced nucleus that doesn't have to go through the system change like the offense does (new D-Coordinator Greg Blache was promoted from within). They don't get a ton of sacks or takeaways, and they only scored two times last year. All in all, they are a much better real unit than fantasy. You can use them as a bye week replacement, or when they face an anemic offense; but other than that it's just not that exciting a pick.

The Skinny
Like I said in the intro, this offense has been given a makeover. Hopefully it's not one of those makeovers that's an acquired taste, because there is some seriously explosive potential here for fantasy players. It's possible that Campbell emerges as a top ten QB -- yes, it really is -- with six viable receiving options by year's end (including the two TEs). Thomas, Kelly, and Davis have lots of talent and they can learn from the veteran leadership at their positions provided by Randle-El, Moss, and Cooley.

With Portis making a run at the top five overall, the offense will have an incredible balance by the season's midpoint. I alluded in the intro that I don't think you should overreact about Portis, but he's still gonna be a stud. An overreaction would be to pick him first or second. For now, take Portis as the seventh RB -- we covered the top six here -- Campbell as a sleeper-type backup QB, Cooley as a solid TE1, and let the WRs fall below their perceived value before taking them because of the unknown in this new offense. Still, it's an exciting time for a formerly boring offense.