Larry Fitzgerald has been a productive fantasy player over the course of the last few seasons despite the marginal play of his quarterbacks. In essence, it made a great deal of sense ignore the Arizona Cardinals quarterback mess when taking a look at Fitzgerald.
After all, he has accumulated nearly 270 reception for 3,600 yards and 27 touchdowns over the course of the last three seasons.
Something has changed during the Cardinals first two preseason games of 2012. Their quarterback situation seems to have deteriorated to a point where your going to have to be skeptical that Fitzgerald can produce the same numbers we have seen since the start of the 2007 season.
Kevin Kolb and John Skelton have combined to complete just nine of 21 passes for 92 yards and two interceptions; an accumulative QB rating of 16.5. I don't care that it is the preseason, these numbers are just not acceptable.
Moreover, Arizona quarterbacks have been sacked a total of 10 times in two games, further indicating that their offensive line is going to struggle in 2012. Adam Snyder and Bobby Massie starting a long the left side of the line definitely leaves a lot to be desired. You have to remember that the Cardinals gave up a NFL high 54 times last season.
These are not indicators for success as it relates to Fitzgerald.
There are a myriad of other elite fantasy wide receivers that have much better quarterbacks throwing them the ball. Andre Johnson with the Houston Texans and Victor Cruz with the New York Giants both come to mind as under-the-radar options.
I am not even taking into account the presence of 2012 first-round pick Michael Floyd, who has gotten off to a rocky start in his first training camp. The former Notre Dame standout clearly has the talent and physical ability to be a starter in the NFL. It is all going to be about motivation for him moving forward.
Even if Floyd starts to look better and gets more reps in the final three preseason games, he isn't a guy that I would recommend drafting in standard leagues. Most of the targets are going to go to the aforementioned Fitzgerald on the outside, leaving Floyd out on the cold. This obviously depends on the Cardinal's ability to pass protect either Skelton or Kolb and the quarterbacks' ability to get the ball to the outside.
Of course the dynamics of the Cardinals offense could lead you to believe that either Beanie Wells or Ryan Williams will be great sleepers at the running back position. That doesn't seem to be the case. Neither one has played in each of the first two preseason games, continuing to leave question-marks in regards to the running game in the desert.
The next three weeks will be telling, but right now it doesn't seem like the indicators are there for much fantasy success in Arizona. While Fitzgerald is still your best bet, you need to take a long look at other options as they related to the WR1 position.