Fantasy Football: Will Dwayne Bowe Rebound for Owners in 2010?

Eric StashinAug 8, 2010

After his sophomore season, many people would’ve anticipated Dwayne Bowe being on the verge of super-stardom entering 2009.

He had amassed over 2,000 yards…

He was coming of an 86 catch campaign…

He had 12 receiving TDs over his first two seasons…

His 2009 season turned into a disaster, however.

He and new QB Matt Cassel never appeared to put things together over the first nine games of the season (Bowe only played in eight of them). He only had two games of at least 90 yards and didn’t have more then six catches in a game.

Then came his four game drug suspension. Yeah, he had a nine catch game once he returned, but he totaled just 123 yards over the final three weeks of the season.

Now Bowe enters 2010 with a huge chip on his shoulder and something to prove. He has a full year working with Cassel under his belt, so you would think the chemistry between the two has improved.

As much as that may or may not be true, the maturation of Jamaal Charles and the addition of Thomas Jones may be the most important aspect at play.

Defenses now have to respect the running game, instead of daring the Chiefs to beat them on the ground. Charles (1,120 yards) proved that they already could run the ball, but the addition of Thomas Jones (five straight seasons of at least 1,100 yards) makes them that much more dangerous.

Fatigue of their running backs should not be a concern, as they have the talent to bring a Carolina Panthers-esque attack. Obviously, I wouldn’t expect the duo to be that good, but they should be extremely productive.

That should allow Cassel to settle into the pocket, as he completed just 55.0% of his passes last season, good for 27th in the league. You can say it was the Patriots system if you want, but he was just a year removed from a 63.4% completion rate.

An improvement there will benefit all of the Chiefs receivers, most notably Bowe. He should be the main threat on the outside.

Chris Chambers, who is expected to be the number two receiver, played his way out of San Diego. He did play well down the stretch, but how much can you really expect from him?

After that, it’s a litany of question marks like Terrance Copper and Jerheme Urban.

You can’t simply ignore last season’s failures, but there were factors that led to that including poor QB play and the suspension.

I would fully expect him to rebound in a big way this season, making him a great selection at his current ADP in the sixth round, according to Mock Draft Central. As my second WR, I’d love to have him.

What about you? Would you select Bowe at that point in the draft? Why or why not?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s 2010 rankings:

Also, make sure to check out our recent rookie rankings:

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