Debate Series: Larry Fitzgerald vs. Andre Johnson

July 21, 2009 @ 01:00:01

By Cory J. Bonini
Edited by Tim Heaney

Fantasy football owners are faced with a minor dilemma when it comes to choosing which wide receiver should come off the board first. For the most part, the debate has been fairly one-sided, but some owners are still opting to buck the trend.

The debate we speak of today is none other than Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald versus Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson.

Let's get this battle started!

Larry Fitzgerald

Pros

• Size: At 6-foot-3, 217 pounds, out-muscling defenders and breaking free from a jam isn't a problem. His vertical ability allows him to out-jump practically anyone.
• Experience: Fitzgerald has started 76 games in his five NFL seasons.
• Production: Three seasons of 96-plus receptions in five years never hurts. Fitzgerald has eclipsed 1,400 yards in each of these three seasons and has scored double-digit touchdowns three times in his career.
• The former Pittsburgh Panther was targeted 160 times in 2008, good for third in the league amongst receivers. No wideout was targeted more in the red zone (33).

• Fitz had more explosiveness in '08

  Fitzgerald is the youngest player in NFL history to record three 1,400-yard receiving seasons as well as being one of four players to accomplish the feat in their entire career: Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss - not bad company to keep.
• Quarterback play: It doesn't get much better than a healthy Kurt Warner throwing the ball one's direction.
• Arizona's defense isn't known as a stalwart just yet, so passing the ball to play catch-up is quite common.
• Fitz's yards-per-reception average has increased the past two years and he showed signs of big-play ability in 2008 for the first time his career.
• The Cardinals have plenty of options in their offense that can occasionally prevent defenders from completely blanketing him.
• The NFC West is a weak division.

Cons

• Fitzgerald has missed four games in the past three years.
• The Cardinals will feature a new defensive coordinator in 2009 (Bill Davis). Head coach Ken Whisenhunt has taken over the play-calling duties since former offensive coordinator Todd Haley vacated for the Kansas City Chiefs' head coaching job. Whisenhunt was more balanced with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his play calling than Haley was with Arizona.
• The first-round selection of running back Chris Wells also points to the Cardinals running more in '09.

Andre Johnson

Pros

• Standing 6-foot-3, 228 pounds, Johnson is about as strong as they come at the position.
• Johnson has topped the 100-reception plateau twice in the last three years and was on pace (106 catches) to do such in 2008 (nine games played).
• His 1,575-yard campaign last year was the 16th-best single-season total in league history. His league-leading 115 catches in 2008 tied him with Marvin Harrison (1999) for the ninth-most receptions in a single season in NFL history.
• The Texans passed for 4,474 yards as a team in 2008, which ranked fourth in the NFL.

• Good health, great '08 production

  Johnson was No. 2 in on the list for most targeted receivers (175). His 30 red zone targets were second to only Fitzgerald in the NFL. 
• Running back Steve Slaton looks to be the real deal, which can only help take some of the pressure of Johnson and keep defenders honest. Tight end Owen Daniels and wide receiver Kevin Walter are both emerging as legitimate threats in the passing game - both players also Johnson from being overwhelmed with extra coverage.

Cons

• Johnson has missed 10 games in his career due to injuries.
• The Texans are a balanced offense and have an improving defense, which should lower Johnson's utilizations.
• The former Miami Hurricane doesn't find the end zone very often - his career-best touchdown output is eight. Fitzgerald scored more touchdowns in his first four years than Johnson has in six seasons (34 to 33).
• Johnson's career average of 13.1 yards per reception illustrates that he is more of a possession receiver than a deep threat; the highest average of his career came as a rookie (14.8). Some of this is due to the Texans' inept offense throughout the years.

The verdict

Fitzgerald's average draft placement is an insane 8.0, which pales in comparison to recent drafts that have witnessed him go No. 2 and No. 1 overall. Johnson's ADP is 11.1 at the moment, which is probably where Fitzgerald's should be, at best.

In point-per-reception formats, some owners have chosen Johnson higher than Fitzgerald, but the highest placement in non-PPR leagues goes to Fitzgerald (No. 1) and Johnson at No. 5. In formats awarding points for catches, Johnson's average placement is 9.9 to Fitz's 7.8.

Winner: Larry Fitzgerald has been more consistent and more productive in a shorter time. We love Johnson's potential and expect a breakout year from quarterback Matt Schaub, but until AJ starts scoring more touchdowns we have to side with Fitz.

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

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1

willie bates, at 09:42 on 07/22/09, says: thats a know brainer larry fitzgerald is comming off a superbowl year and showed up in the superbowl with run after catch yards are supperb.

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2

superfly, at 06:41 on 08/04/09, says: Fitz is only as good as Warner is there. What are the chances that Warner will have another complete season back to back esp. at his age. Then again, schaub hasn't been the pillar of qb consistency either. These early WR runs are ridiculous. When was the last time a stud wr from one year repeated his performance the next. Just ask peole who drafted randy moss last year.

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Cory J. Bonini

Cory J. Bonini is a senior editor at KFFL. In late 2002, Bonini joined the KFFL staff as a research analyst. He vaulted himself into one of the industry's leading fantasy analysts.

Bonini has been involved in fantasy sports since 1996. A member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association as well as Fantasy Sports Writers Association, he has been featured in print, on the radio and is also a published writer on scores of sites. Bonini co-hosted Big Lead Sports on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio from 2011 to 2012.

Bonini was recognized with the 2010 Best Article in Print Award from the FSWA and was a finalist for the same award in 2011. In '11, he finished first overall in the FSWA NFL experts challenge that featured 60 of the industry's best competitors.

Follow him on Twitter @CoryKFFL

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