Brandon Marshall: Fantasy Football Sleeper in 2011

Call me crazy, but I believe in this Dolphins offense that's been assembled for the 2011 season.

Now, by "believe" I'm not expecting 28 points per game, but I certainly think they can be close to the mid-point of the league in scoring. That would be a huge step up from 30th out of 32 teams last season.

If the offense improves like I'm expecting it to, the biggest beneficiary in the fantasy world would be Brandon Marshall.

The running backs are probably going to be more effective in the real world than in fantasy, and Chad Henne still won't throw enough touchdowns or for enough yardage to merit a week-to-week start.

So it falls on Marshall. His 86 catches last season were very good, especially considering he missed two full games and half of a third. Granted that stat is much more valuable in PPR leagues than in standard formats, but still, if he tops 90 or 95 catches and he is healthy, it should translate into more yardage and more touchdowns.

Let's not forget Marshall's strength is his ability to break tackles after the catch, and his size gives him a huge advantage in the red zone. New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has made it a point that Marshall and Henne be on the same page more often this season, and the preseason has certainly showed the effects of that work.

Marshall will also benefit from defenses having to focus more on Davone Bess (who will not catch anyone off guard this season) and on Reggie Bush out of the backfield, who is much more of a pass-catching threat than the Dolphins running backs in previous seasons.

Henne and Marshall will connect much more this season.

My projection for Marshall: 95 catches, 1,150 yards, 7 touchdowns.