The New Orleans Saints offense has added another weapon after agreeing to send two draft picks to New York in exchange for Jeremy Shockey.
Jay Glazer from FoxSports.com reports that, pending league approval, the Giants will receive a 2nd round pick and a 6th round pick in exchange for the moody tight end.
Shockey joins an offense that stars Marques Colston at wide receiver and has a trio of running backs that will share duties in Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush and Aaron Stecker while the Giants rid themselves of a potential headache.
Shockey definitely adds a weapon to Drew Brees’ arsenal. He has caught 371passes for 4,228 yards and added 27 touchdowns in six years. At a minimum he’ll draw some coverage away from Colston. But is he worth it?
The Giants went on their Super Bowl run after Shockey broke his leg last season. While he was active the team played like a playoff pretender. And Kevin Boss’ performance during Shockey’s absence was likely a major part of why the team felt okay about trading the TE.
Additionally, while Shockey has generally been considered among the top tight ends in the game he’s a hot head – possibly a cancer – and his numbers indicate that he’s never been worthy of that high ranking. He’s never reached 900 yards receiving nor has he caught more than seven touchdowns in any one season. While he’s not as overrated as, say, Deion Branch, Shockey remains outside of the top tier of tight ends until proven otherwise.
A change of scenery will probably do him good and he should give the Saints offense a boost. But fantasy players should stick with Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow Jr., and Tony Gonzalez. Players also could justify taking guys like Dallas Clark, Chris Cooley and up-and-comers like Tony Scheffler or Vernon Davis ahead of the new Saint as well.
I’m going to steer clear of the Saints this year. I don’t like their schedule. The road games, the London game…I don’t think these distractions are going to help the team’s offense, nor do I think the addition of Shockey is enough to rank Brees higher than he already is.