I feel that Lance Moore has been pretty under the radar this offseason, despite having 10 touchdowns last year. In yahoo, he is projected as the 87th ranked player and as 107th in ESPN. I'm fairly confident that there won't be many (or really any) other receivers with that kind of production at that time. There were only seven receivers who reached double digit receiving touchdowns and moore was one of them. The league leaders, Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson only had 12, two more than Moore. I feel that with the return of Marques Colston, everyone is writing off Moore as a one year fluke. But, there are many out there who are doubting Colston's return to the elite WRs, too. If you even have a question about Colston, why isn't Moore a prime target in the later rounds as the beneficiary? Moore is coming off of his own surgery, but at that point in the draft the risk seems minimal considering. Will Deverey Henderson start in front of Moore with the return of Colston? I just wonder what I am missing and why this guy isn't more on the radar. Drew Brees loves to spread the ball around and this was the best offense last year, bar none.

Give your projections and support for your ideas.

I love the guy and agree with you. But I think you already answered your question. If it wasn't for his shoulder injury he would be A LOT higher on the draft boards. His surgery was only in April for a torn labrum, not too long ago. If he can come back from the injury, he will definately be an undervalued pick. I guess you just have to keep abreast of the situation of his health and steal that guy in the 7th or 8th round, and you will probably end up with a WR 2 for a great price.

If that's the case, does anyone have info on his rehab for the shoulder injury?

Personally, I would stay away from Lance Moore. He saw all those targets because of Colston's thumb injury. Colston is back and healthy, so he should become the focal point of the passing game again.

Let someone else take Lance Moore.

Even after Colston came back last season Moore still outproduced him. He could do it again this year or Colston could become the alpha dog again, who knows with that offense. Brees spreads it around so much. I think Moore is a nice pick in later rounds because of the upside though.

Moore is another nice Option for Brees to throw too. He had 10 TD's and had a break out season. He should come close to putting up the same numbers in '09 i think. NO is a pass happy & heavy offense

I had Colston last year and it just seemed it took him longer than normal to get fully integrated in the offense when he came back. I watched several games and it wasn't like Brees wasn't targeting him, they just seemed not to connect. I still like him to dominate Moore this year in terms of looks and TDs. Also, a healthy Bush diminishes Moore's value as well, although with Reggie, staying healthy is a huge IF.

Since the thread title calls for projections:

If fully healthy all year, 66 catches, 925 yards, 8 TD.

Moore lines up in the slot (mostly) with Colston and Devery on the outside so I wouldn't worry about Devery eating into his touches (he only catches 30 something balls a year anyway) but Bush getting more snaps in the slot with Pierre in the backfield could potentially limit Moore somewhat, but then again, how long will Reggie stay on the field anyway?

I'm all systems go on all Saints for fantasy purpose, just make sure you draft them in a round where you're getting value.

Thanks for the information. To some of the above posters, I just feel that Colston's role as the overwhelming lead receiver is far from cemented with the Saints. He's been in the league for three years. In 2006, he had 70 catches for 1,038 yards and 8 TDs. In 2007, he had 98 grabs for 1202 and 11 TDs. Last year, plagued with injuries, he had 47 receptions 760 yards and 5 TDs. Whereas, Lance Moore had 79 catches for 928 and 10 TDs. I think they both have chances for success in that offense if they are healthy.

With regards to Colston, how has he responded to the offseason microfracture surgery? I think that Moore can be successful either by
1. an injury to Colston and his re-emergence as the WR1
2. Single coverage in the slot, as Colston will most likely be double teamed
3. Both receivers can get 8-10 TDs and near 1,000 (which I will gladly take with Moore's ADP)

I guess it won't be a decisive factor for a fantasy season, but I guess regardless of the information so far, he is worth the pick late because of his upside to me.

Since Colston appears to be a major injury risk...There appears to be a great liklihood that Moore will spend at LEAST a few games as the number on receiving option on a crazy, pass happy team. Even when Colston was playing, Moore remained a big part of the offense most games. My projections with this in mind:

82 receptions, 10 TDs, 1080 Yards

Why not, in that offense with Brees throwing the ball...Someone is going to get the ball. I like Moore a lot this year and his shoulder injury is just the thing to scare enough people away to make him a value. Some of the rankings I saw with him were ridiculous....He was ranked in the high 40's by a few sites in the WR ranks...COME ON, in that offense?? I will gladly take him.

Theres 5,000 yards and ~34 TDs to go around in New Orleans each year... Moore is going to get his large share of that IMO. I'd venture to guess somewhere around 68/900/7.

Moore def has better draft value than Colston..it would be foolish to write him off this year. Brees will throw to who is open and he won't be guarded by opposing defenses best CB and with Colston the #1 drawing most of the double teams, Moore will get open.

Check this out..

Moore: first 8 games (basically without colston): 38/431/3

after the bye week (with Colston)
Colston: 8 games – 42/678/5
Moore: 8 games – 41/497/7

Now project those 2nd numbers out over a 16 game season..

Colston:80/1350/10
Moore: 80/1000/14

tell me who you think is the better value in drafts?

Meachum will outscore them both

Colston may have been back those last 8 games, but he wasn't 100%, and Brees wasn't clicking with him 100% either.

I took Josh Morgan over Lance Moore in a recent draft. It may come back to bite me, I'm kind of second guessing it now. Moore probably would've been the safer pick, I guess I went with upside since Morgan's ceiling is higher IMO. I think the projections above are accurate for Lance though, he should be good for 900 and 7-8 tds in that offense.

lol

69 catches for 828 yards and 7 TD's.

He will have some big games but will be inconsistent.

Last year he had 8 games with under 40 receiving yds.

Those 8 games: 20/178/1
Other 8 games: 59/750/9

That type of inconsistently can make for a frustrating fantasy football season!

The only issue with this is most WRs have it.

Check Andre's game log. Even check Moss's from 07. He had some bad games that were saved by a 50 TD season.

I agree. At the end of the season Moore will have his numbers, but in that offense there will be a good amount of weeks where he is non-existent.

Randy Moss in 07 is not a good argument. He scored a TD in 13 games out of the 16.

AJ in 2008 is better.

yea because he was too busy clicking with lance moore..brees is so good hes going to get the ball to whoever is open and will make a play..moore caught 70% (79/113) of balls thrown to him last year..yea, ridiculous, i know..obviously, a lot of that has to do with Brees and he will keep feeding him the ball as long as hes open, which hes very good at doing, and will be easier to do when he's lining up opposite Colston aka not being guarded by top CB's and double teams.

a lot of team's have had 2 fantasy studs/elite receivers

Harrison/Wayne
Fitzgerald/Boldin
Moss/Welker

what do they all have in common? good QB's and Drew Brees is arguably the best, ill take my value pick with Lance Moore

Well said Ansky and i agree 100%! Prolific offenses have multiple weapons and multiple 'fantasy' weapons. The guy threw for 5k yards cryin out loud. Moore will get his!!!

Whoo.

Any new thoughts on Moore? 90% of the fantasy world seems to be calling him dead and lost in an offense with too many parts. He cleared waivers again this week so I picked him up in my league at Matthew Berry's convincing. Apparently he's at least one man sold on Lance Moore. From his weekly pickups article at ESPN:

Here's some super-obvious names who may be available in your league if it's very shallow or you play with morons.

Lance Moore, WR, Saints (80 percent), will be back from injury soon and will become a big part of the best offense in football.

Is this a reach at this point? I can't think of anyone else high on Moore right now.

His value has completely plummeted...all stemming from his injury.

He was a great ww pick last season due to the to Colston and was great with Brees

He's missed the past 2 games and now that Brees has publicly stated that he trusts Colston and that he's his guy...I don't see him producing anywhere close to last year with a healthy Colston.

He got dropped in my 14 team league and actually made it through me to the last waiver priority.

Even with a healthy Colston and a healthy Bush, when a QB completes 400 passes, you want the #2 or even #3 WR.

I was happy to get him.

It depends on the league format. In a 14 team league, where team owners are scrambling over WR's like Kelly Washington, Mike Wallace, Keenan Burton, etc., a player like Moore is a very good pick up. In a 10 team league, you let him sit in FA until he starts producing.

What Brees is saying about Colston this year, he said the same thing about Moore last year when Moore picked up the slack during Colston's absence. Sean Peyton had nothing but good things to say about Moore as well. It is also pretty well known that Moore is the hardest worker on the team - he was undrafted, played NFL Europe, came into camp on an invite, played on the taxi squad, became the punt returner, then finally won a WR job.

If you look, nobody's really taken Moore's slot receiver position. Colston and Henderson are wideouts and like running sideline or deep patterns. Colston's too big to come across the middle, Henderson took a shot at the slot last year and it didn't work, and now Meachem's turn in the slot isn't working - he's strictly a long ball threat. You need somebody besides Shockey over the middle, and it was obvious last year that Bush wasn't the answer, plus he's pretty damn fragile and fumble prone.

I think Moore plays his way back onto the field. With a healthy Colston and Shockey, he may not generate the same stats as last year, but if he is physically at the same level as before, he'll get 5-6 per game from Brees. When you have a QB with the talent of Brees, you give him as many weapons as you can. I think Moore in the slot position makes the Saints already formidable offense even more so.

when everyone's healthy, moore is the WR3 on the team with colston and henderson seeing the majority of the snaps (moore plays the slot in 3 WR sets)...

moore's production will be limited, regardleses of his health, as long as colston, henderson, shockey, and bush stay injury free... as you alluded to in your post, moore is an incredibly hard worker and has a ton of heart, but he's not as athletic or skilled as the other WRs on the team (he benefited last season from the entire offense falling victim to injury)... as it stands now, moore is the odd man out for intermediate targets between colston, shockey and bush... contrary to popular belief, henderson is NO's deep threat, not colston (he does the majority of his work within 20 yds)... when moore returns and is inserted into the WR rotation, he'll be lucky to see 5-6 targets a game (although he very well may catch them all)...

he's good insurance for colston owners (in deeper leagues), but he won't be productive enough to stay on rosters for long in small/shallow leagues...

any chance moore shows up this week or is he dead in the water? i drafted him and we have fairly deep benches, so i havent dropped him yet....just curious if people think theres any reason to hang on to him.

Well, I just picked him up in my 16 team PPR league. Just because he may get 4-5 catches in the slot if all goes well. I dont think he will have any value in shallower, non PPR leagues until someone in NO gets injured.

Think he is now the second receiver to own on the Saints team?

Now that he is healthy I think there is a good chance. I just picked him up for depth as I have Mason and Megatron on a bye week and Ward's bye to follow. Cautiously hoping that I can strike gold with him.

I hope so too, I have the same 2 receivers on bye as well I need him to contribute.

is he droppable in 12 team leagues? other than colston, just seems like a crap shoot at to which NO wr will get targets in any given week......

For those clinging to some value from him.....

Lance Moore (ankle) has been formally ruled out for Week 9.
Moore was in a walking boot all week and didn't participate in any practice. He looks to be out indefinitely with what may be a high ankle sprain.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune

man this guy has just been a bust for me this season. I reached for him in a draft based off of Will Carrol's (Football Outsiders/Prospectus) opinion that Colston coming off of Microfracture surgery would be no where near ready to play this season. Figured he would be pretty valuable on this team but he just cant get it going and when he gets near the field he gets injured. I'm probably gonna hold him just because Colston does get knicked up continusouly and he could end up being valuable down the stretch. But if anyone needs a roster spot I would consider dumping him for the flavor of the week.