Same Face, New Place – Brandon Marshall
Basically ever since moving from Denver to Chicago, Jay Cutler has played behind a terrible offensive line without a reliable receiving corp. It’s a wonder how he has been anyway effective with Matt Forte as his best receiving option. Next year should be significantly different however as the Bears worked in the off-season to reunite Cutler with his former favorite target: Brandon Marshall.
Marshall was a leading receiver last year in terms of fantasy as he finished in the top 10 in receiving. That was in spite of playing for the Miami Dolphins who lacked an elite talent at quarterback. Jay Cutler is certainly an elite talent who should allow Marshall to flourish even further and return him to one of the most productive receivers in the league like he was in Denver.
With Michael Bush and Forte (probably) in the backfield, the Bears should be running a very balanced offense next season. That shouldn’t hurt Marshall’s production however because Cutler is the type of quarterback who looks to his most talented receiver opposed to picking the easiest grape from the vine. When they last played together, Marshall had 307 receptions in three seasons averaging 6.97 receptions per start.
In PPR leagues, Marshall should be considered an elite talent even on the levels of Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Wes Welker. With Devin Hester and Earl Bennett playing alongside him, and the two running backs, Marshall has enough talent around him to prevent defenses from zoning in on him completely while still remaining the most important piece of the offense.
In non-PPR leagues, Marshall’s stock has definitely risen to be considered a top five receiver. His greatest worry entering this year is if he can keep his nose clean off the field…at least Sam Hurd isn’t there anymore to lead him wrong…