Fantasy Football Quick Hit: Could Laurent Robinson Re-Emerge as a Sleeper?

Eric StashinSep 2, 2010

Last season Laurent Robinson made a small splash early in the season, with 11 receptions for 141 yards and 1 TD over the first two weeks of the season.

He appeared to be the go to guy for the Rams, but in Week 3 he suffered a high ankle sprain and fractured fibula, ending his season.

Now, recovered from surgery and seeing the man expected to be the Rams top receiver in 2010, Donnie Avery, go down with a torn ACL, Robinson has again emerged as the Rams’ number one receiver.

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It’s easy to overlook Robinson, being the best receiver on a team likely to struggle offensively, but that would be doing your fantasy team a disservice. At least you would think.

Robinson was not able to catch a pass in the third preseason game and has just two catches for 27 yards thus far. Plus, there has been word that Robinson is struggling with a foot injury himself.

With last season’s injury still fresh in our minds, it’s impossible to ignore this latest news. Hopefully it’s minor and he will be ready to play in Week 1, but can we really be sure?

I know there will also be concerns with the QB play, with rookie Sam Bradford likely manning the position, as well as the team being more run oriented, handing the ball to Steven Jackson early and often.

Those are both reasonable concerns, but the team is going to have to put the ball in the air, and Avery’s loss increases targets to everyone.

The team is not exceptionally deep at WR, with Danny Amendola (43 career catches for 326 yards), Mardy Gilyard (rookie) and Keenan Burton (38 career catches for 425 yards) also fighting for catches. Rookie TE Michael Hoomanawanui has been the biggest surprise, leading the team with eight catches for 112 yards and 2 TD (click here for more on him).

In other words, all bets are off in the Rams’ receiving corps.

With the potential Robinson showed in 2009, he certainly has the potential to reemerge, when healthy. He’s certainly worth considering in the last rounds of your draft in deeper leagues and should be watched closely on the waiver wire.

Is it a guarantee that he emerges? Absolutely not, but no one expected him to sneak up on us as he did last season, with an aging Marc Bulger at the helm (he completed 32 passes for 316 yards over those first two games in ‘09).

The opportunity is there. Robinson just needs to reach up and grab it.

What are your thoughts on Robinson? Is there any chance that he emerges as a usable option in 2010?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s 2010 rankings: