The 6 Riskiest Players in Fantasy Football This Season

Jerricho Cotchery

Someone has to catch passes from Cam Newton, right?

Jerricho Cotchery figures to be the top receiver in Carolina in 2014, as the Panthers will hope that his touchdown-producing ways and once-reliable 70-80 catch hands will return despite being five years removed from a 50-plus reception campaign.

Last season, Cotchery found himself on the receiving end of a career-high 10 touchdown passes on only 46 receptions. The production translated into his NEP numbers here at numberFire, as he finished with a career high in Reception NEP per target. But the targets won't be quite as efficient and timely in Carolina as they were in Pittsburgh.

Leaving the fairly loaded offense of the Steelers for the barren cupboard of the Panthers means that Cotchery will be relied upon to be a leading man rather than a role player, a situation that suited him well in the mid 2000's. He produced a trio of decent seasons as a leading receiver for the Jets, hauling in passes from Kellen Clemens and Chad Pennington en route to a miraculous 1,000-yard season in 2007.

So where's the risk in Cotchery? It all comes down to finding the end zone. Last year's 10 touchdown breakout figures to be an outlier given his previous scoring record, but he'll also be in a better situation in Carolina - with a good quarterback in Cam Newton - than he was for the majority of his career with the Jets.

Is it a late-career resurgence, or simply a fluke after playing second fiddle to Antonio Brown last year and falling into a productive season in the red zone? Again, this is the risk you'll have to consider. Cotchery's range of likely outcomes span from finishing 25th and 50th among receivers, but that's well ahead of his current ADP, meaning he's probably worth a shot in the late rounds of your draft, PPR or not.