Just two seasons removed from Shaun Alexander’s MVP season where he led the NFL in yards, touchdowns, and points scored; the Seahawks have decided to go in a new direction and cut their big name back. Taking his place will be Julius Jones (formerly of the Cowboys) and Maurice Morris in some sort of tandem. Many fantasy experts think this is Julius Jone’s year and are very high on him. I however am very skeptical as Jones had plenty of opportunities in Dallas where he underperformed greatly, especially when it came to spiking the ball in the end zone. The Seahawks have Maurice Morris who I expect to take a significant amount of carries away from Jones as the year progresses (Morris averaged 4.5 ypc w/ 5 td’s w/ only 140 carries last season). The Seahawks have also signed TJ Duckett who it is presumed will take over goal line & short yardage situations, meaning more fantasy points that can be stolen from Jones. Julius is still worth starting if you draft him, just don’t draft him too early and it might be wise to have some other options in case Seattle ends up being just like Dallas for Jones.
Matt Hasselbeck is pretty much the only viable fantasy starter I see on this team. He is consistently one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL though never a top tier QB. Right now Hasselbeck is hovering around 6th best on my floating mock draft list but that always changes the more preseason games I see. But definitely averaging the last 3 seasons almost 3,300 yards passing per year and 23+ touchdowns per year is something that makes him a very safe and reliable pick to lead your fantasy team.
Seahawks 2008 NFL Schedule
- Week 1- Sep 7 @Buffalo 1:00pm
- Week 2- Sep 14 San Francisco 4:05pm
- Week 3- Sep 21 St. Louis 4:05pm
- Week 4- BYE
- Week 5- Oct 5 @N.Y. Giants 1:00pm
- Week 6- Oct 12 Green Bay 4:15pm
- Week 7- Oct 19 @Tampa Bay 8:15pm
- Week 8- Oct 26 @San Francisco 4:15pm
- Week 9- Nov 2 Philadelphia 4:15pm
- Week 10- Nov 9 @Miami 1:00pm
- Week 11- Nov 16 Arizona 4:05pm
- Week 12- Nov 23 Washington 4:15pm
- Week 13- Nov 27 @Dallas 4:15pm
- Week 14- Dec 7 New England 8:15pm
- Week 15- Dec 14 @St. Louis 1:00pm
- Week 16- Dec 21 N.Y. Jets 4:05pm
- Week 17- Dec 28 @Arizona 4:15pm
2008 NFL Draft Picks
1. DE Lawrence Jackson USC
2. TE John Carlson Norte Dame
3. DT Red Bryant Texas A&M
4. FB Owen Schmitt West Viginia
5. C Tyler Schmitt San Diego State
6. RB Justin Forsett California
7. K Brandon Coutu Georgia