5 Reasons to Draft Santonio Holmes in Your Fantasy Football League

Last year, Santonio Holmes was a malcontent. He was an overtly dissatisfied figure who drifted into diva receiver status and quarreled with his starting quarterback Mark Sanchez when the team entered the most vital portion of its season.

His grouchy, rebellious attitude was emblematic of a divided New York Jets team that stumbled down the stretch in 2011, losing its final three games en route to missing the playoffs after advancing to consecutive AFC Championship games. 

Despite all the unsettling actions in Holmes' past and the potentially combustible situation at quarterback, here's why you should draft the former Super Bowl MVP on your fantasy team this year. 

He's Still the Jets' No. 1 Receiver

Plaxico Burress seemingly made a big splash with the Jets last season, but realistically, he was a supplemental pass-catching option. 

The former New York Giants wideout caught 45 passes for 612 yards with eight touchdowns. 

Holmes' numbers? 

Fifty-one grabs, 654 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Though tight end Dustin Keller may be Mark Sanchez's favorite target, with Burress gone, Holmes is undoubtedly the team's No. 1 wide receiver. 

The more towering Chaz Schilens will factor into New York's passing game, but he isn't nearly as established as Holmes, and Stephen Hill's a rookie. 

It's never a bad idea taking a true No. 1 wide receiver option in your fantasy draft. 

He's Caught More Touchdowns in Each of the Last Three Seasons

Holmes caught five touchdowns in 2009, his last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In 2010 with the Jets, he reeled in six touchdowns. Last year, he had eight receiving touchdowns. 

Though his receiving yards have dramatically dipped since his career year of 2009, his touchdown total is trending upward. 

And, you know, touchdowns are a fantasy football owner's best friend. 

He's Made Peace with Mark Sanchez

Though they've formulated quite the late-game rapport, Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez had their differences late in 2011. 

It's never good to be feuding with the guy throwing you passes, so the two made peace this offseason. 

According to ESPN.com, "Sanchez also accepted his share of the blame for a feud with wide receiver Santonio Holmes, saying they recently cleared the air during a dinner meeting near Holmes' home in Orlando."

The status of their relationship will significantly influence the effectiveness of the Jets offense, so ending the hostility toward each other could certainly affect the production of both in a positive way. 

He Had More Than 100 Targets Last Season and Should See More in 2012

Though it ranked him No. 41 in the NFL, Holmes did garner 102 targets in 2011. 

To put that in perspective, he had six more targets than the Packers' Jordy Nelson and the Falcons' Julio Jones, one more than Greg Jennings and one fewer than Dez Bryant. 

The 102 targets came with Burress on the roster, a guy who received 97 targets of his own. 

The intelligent fantasy football owners know how critical target numbers are for wideouts. Based on his current situation, Holmes is set for many more targets in 2012. 

Tony Sparano Is the Team's Offensive Coordinator

Tony Sparano's Miami Dolphins weren't offensive juggernauts, but the watered-down offense of Brian Schottenheimer is no more for Mark Sanchez. 

Many believe Shottenheimer's system hindered the production of Sanchez and didn't give his receivers a chance to reach their true production potential. 

With years of tape to watch what went wrong, it'll be hard for Sparano to field as vanilla of an offense in 2012. 

In an ESPN radio interview, via Newsday, Holmes was quoted saying the following about his former offensive coordinator in regards to the season-ending loss to the Dolphins: 

"

"It was playoffs on the line and your best receiver doesn't get but two passes thrown his way in 60 minutes. That's just hard to understand and to cope with ... And nobody has the answers for it, but the scapegoat. The scapegoat is the answer. And that's what happened."

"

Though the Jets want to return to the "ground-and-pound" style of offense that predominately features the running game, it'll be surprising if Holmes is ignored in any game as much as he was in Week 17 of last year.