NFL Fantasy Football Week 8: Is Carolina's Steve Smith Overrated?

I love the original Steve Smith. He’s undersized, but is as fiery as he is talented. He has been one of the best receivers in the game since helping establish the "third-year receiver rule" back in 2003. I think he may be a little overrated though.

He’s had a couple of monster seasons where he went for over 1,400 yards, but has just five 1,000-yard seasons in his 10-year career. He has reached double-digit TDs just once. He’s had just one 90-catch season.

It’s not all his fault though. He hasn’t exactly been blessed with quality QB play the past few years. He has managed to be productive in spite of inept QB play. He also hasn’t had many seasons in which he had a legitimate WR on the other side to take the pressure off him. Plus, Carolina has been a run-first team for the majority of his tenure.

Those circumstances may explain his career numbers, but they don’t help your fantasy team. While David Gettis and Brandon LaFell looked good last week, I wouldn’t go so far as to declare them legitimate threats that will take attention away from Steve Smith.

While Matt Moore torched the Niners for 308 yards and a pair of scores, I wouldn’t hang my hat on him just yet. It was his first good game this year, and only the third good game of his career.

The Rams (Carolina’s Week 8 opponent) don't have a good defense, but they are much better this year. They rank 18th with 221.9 passing yards allowed and tied for eighth (with six other teams) with eight passing TDs allowed.

Is Smith’s ankle 100 percent healed? Probably not. It’s good enough though. With the questions at quarterback, and their offense in general, it makes it tough to count on Smith this week. I’ve seen him ranked in the top 15-20, making him a WR2 for the week. Personally, I have him at 30 (click to see WR rankings), making him a WR3.

Would I start him this week? Sure. However, he is not a must-start. Until he and the rest of the Carolina offense shows they can move the chains and score some points, I will be hesitant to trust Smith.

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