Top 30 Fantasy Football Relevant Players on the Move: Jeremy Shockey, No. 25

No. 25 on the FFSpin.com list of fantasy relevant players who may (or, in this case, will) have new surroundings in 2011, is the always soft-spoken Jeremy Shockey. 

Don't forget to check out the first five players we profiled (links are at the bottom of this article), and join the Fantasy Football Spin mailing list to get ahead of all the fantasy football news.

Remember Jeremy Shockey's rookie year? 

The brash rookie out of the "U" took the league by storm.  His combination of physical tools and tenacity promised to make him an all-timer. 

Something happened on his way to dominance and the Hall of Fame, though.  He got injured, and injured, and injured, and rarely seemed to be healthy. 

Over his nine-year career, he has never quite captured that awe-inspiring brutality and game-changing presence he had in 2002.  His rookie year marked his career-highs in catches (74), yards (894), yards per catch (12.1) and catches of 20-plus yards (16).

Make no mistake, Shockey has had a very good career and even played at an All-Pro level certain years.  Perhaps it is a testament to his mentality and playing style that full health has eluded the 6'5", 250-pound tight end with a well-known mean streak. 

Shockey is one of those players you can't stand when he's on another team, but you must love when he sports your colors.  He's loud, outspoken, tattooed and unapologetic.  He's also without a team right now because the Saints have seen a changing of the guard.  Basketball-player-turned-pass-catcher Jimmy Graham is their future, and Shockey is the past.

There will be interest in the free-agency market for Shockey.  There already has been.  He has taken the Miami Dolphins' physical and has been linked to the Titans.  Short of the perfect situation, though, his time as a starting tight end, fantasy-speaking, is almost surely over. 

Shockey could land in the perfect situation and compile a 60-plus catch season, but everything would have to break just right for that to happen.  The more likely scenario is that he shares time and accepts somewhere between starter and back-up money to play another couple years.

Shockey has averaged 56 catches, 587 yards and 3.6 TDs per season over his NFL tenure.  The only way he produces numbers even approaching those is as a full-time starter for a team that heavily utilizes the TE position in the passing game.  Those opportunities are not aplenty at this moment; as a matter of fact, they are seemingly nonexistent.  Unless Shockey is filling in for an injured starting TE like Antonio Gates, Jermichael Finley, Owen Daniels or another big stat producer, he is looking at 20-30 catches in a time share situation.

There are few teams on which Shockey would represent a clear upgrade at the starting position.  The Bills, Cardinals, Broncos, Titans and Rams fall into that category, but not the Dolphins.  At the time of this writing, however, the Miami Dolphins appear to be on the verge of adding the nine-year vet to their roster. 

The move is a bit surprising considering they have bigger needs, not to mention a starting TE on their roster in Anthony Fasano. While not among the league's elite, he should be capable of holding off Shockey for the starting job.  The Dolphins may feel Shockey adds more of a threat in the passing game and good blocking on the strong side. 

They may also know that they can get him at the right price.  He' clearly going to have to accept much less money than the $4.5 million he was due from the Saints, and the fact that he wants to return to his old college town may get the Dolphins a hometown rate.

The fantasy prognosis: Shockey is a No. 3 fantasy TE with the Dolphins.  There is almost no foreseeable situation in which he vaults himself up to No. 1 TE status in fantasy leagues.  Monitor his situation, but don't be fooled by positive media stories or the inevitable fans of the team with which he signs who claim he is going to have a monster year—he won't.  His reputation has exceeded his ability for some time now. 

Click to read the full articles on No. 30 Plaxico Burress, No. 29 Roy Williams, No. 28 Thomas Jones, and No. 27 Martellus Bennett and No. 26 Vince Young.