Fantasy Football 2011: Will Mark Sanchez Make a Leap in 2011?

Mark Sanchez threw for 2,444 yards and 12 touchdowns as a rookie. Last year, he improved to 3,291 yards and 17 touchdowns. He decreased his turnovers from 28 (20 INTs, eight fumbles) in his rookie year to 18 (13 INTs, five fumbles) as a sophomore.

His passer rating remained a modest 75.3, which was up from 63.0 as a rookie, but still not what you want from your starting quarterback. His completion percentage remained virtually unchanged (54.8 percent compared to 53.8 percent) and left plenty to be desired.

Nobody is worried about him as a starter. After all, not many quarterbacks can boast that they’ve been to the AFC title game in his first two years in the league. Fantasy owners, on the other hand, are more concerned with the numbers he produces.

Sanchez had a nice three-game span in which he averaged 316.7 yards per game. Of course, that was against Detroit in overtime, Cleveland in overtime and the historically bad Texans. In the other 12 games (not counting Week 17), he averaged 189.1 passing yards. Pretty brutal stuff.

So will things get better in 2011?

On paper I’d say no. The Jets are a run-first team. They put the pressure on their opponents with their punishing defense and stout ground game. The formula has worked well to this point so there is no reason to make a change.

Sure, Rex Ryan may allow Sanchez to open things up a bit, but they aren’t turning into a passing team overnight.

There also is the wide receiver issue. They are bound to lose at least one of Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith. There is talk that Randy Moss could join the Jets, but you don’t know what you’re going to get from him. He could be brilliant or he could sabotage the entire operation.

Sanchez’s Mock Draft Central ADP puts him at 24 making him a low-end QB2. Personally, I would probably just roster one quarterback rather than own Sanchez and pick someone up for my starter's bye week.

What are your thoughts about Mark Sanchez?

Also check out:

• 2011 Early Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football RB Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football TE Rankings