Fantasy Football 2010: T.J. Houshmandzadeh To Ravens, Mark Clayton To Rams

In a surprising twist in the continuing saga that is receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, he has now signed with the Baltimore Ravens. With this move, the Ravens then moved wide out Mark Clayton to the Rams. While this move gives the Ravens another proven pass catcher, it may not be as good a fit as one would think.

The Ravens already have Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason as aging possession receivers. Now, all three of their top receivers are slower possession players and until Donte’ Stallworth comes back (out for eight weeks) they have no deep threat.

Fantasy Impact For Rams

In Clayton the Rams are inheriting a bust first round pick for future late round compensation picks. While acquiring Clayton is an upgrade at receiver (that’s not saying much) for Sam Bradford, I’m not ready to say Clayton is fantasy relevant.

We need to see if Clayton can actually win a starting job and then show some productivity.

If anything Clayton should provide the team with a decent option as a No. 3 receiver  to throw the football down the field.

Fantasy Impact For Ravens

The fantasy player who may have gotten the most help from this move could actually be Ray Rice. With another stout receiver on the field Rice will have some physical receivers for run blocking on the outside.

As for Joe Flacco and the passing game, defenses will now be able to cheat closer to the line of scrimmage as they won’t respect the deep ball.

Until Stallworth is back on the field, this passing game will need unknown role players to help Flacco down the field. Flacco is still a strong fantasy option as the Ravens will use many formations and spread the football around.

As for Houshmandzadeh, assuming he can take a starting role, he could be worth holding onto your team if you haven’t cut him already. Many feel that Houshmandzadeh is washed up, but he does have a much better situation to play in than the past two seasons.

NFL fantasy football player rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

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