Will the Anquan Boldin-Joe Flacco Marriage Pay Dividends For Fantasy Owners?

Eric StashinJun 19, 2010

Anquan Boldin is among the elite wide receivers in the league…

Joe Flacco is a big-armed quarterback who has never had an elite receiver at his disposal…

Their marriage in Baltimore could be a deadly combination for opponents.

Last season Flacco was fifteenth in the league with 3,613 yards, despite getting over 500 yards from only one receiver (Derrick Mason). While Ray Rice (702 yards) and Todd Heap (593 yards) certainly help, a quarterback needs to be able to get more on the outside in order to really be successful.

Donte Stallworth will certainly help that, but Boldin is the key and we all know it.

Boldin already has five 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and will now step out of Larry Fitzgerald’s shadows. While we can call them WR1 and WR1A, that just wasn’t the case. No longer will defenses have to focus on stopping Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston. We all know who the main receiver in Baltimore will be and defenses will key up on him.

The presence of Rice in the backfield will help. If he is running wild (and as he emerges as one of the premier backs in the league, why wouldn’t we expect that), opponents may opt to bring an extra man in the box, leaving Boldin in a man-to-man situation on the outside.

Also, you have to factor in Boldin’s desire to prove that he deserves to be paid like one of the top receivers in the league. He certainly will be motivated, to say the least.

Injuries are always a concern, having played in 16 games just twice over his seven-year career (the last time coming back in 2006). Last year he missed just one game, but that certainly hasn’t been the norm.

If he can stay on the field, the Ravens have the weapons to open things up and again allow him to perform like a top fantasy receiver. I wouldn’t bump him up due to the trade, but I certainly wouldn’t downgrade him either. He’s always been a Top 15 WR and nothing should change in his new surroundings.

What are your thoughts on this pairing? How good could they be?

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