thanks Pac-10.org

My work here is almost done and the only thing left is to wrap up the rest of the Pac 10.  After covering the main position players, we find ourselves hard pressed to find much at TE, D/ST and Kicker from this conference.   Well…I should say hard pressed except for possibly the best TE in all of fantasy college football.

Rob Gronkowski celebrating a TD at the Rose Bowl (courtesy Icon SMI)

1.  Rob Gronkowski, Arizona – He’s the top target on this team now that Mike Thomas went pro.  Last season, he had 672 yards and 10 TDs in only 9 games.  The only person able to slow him down last year was the young lass that gave him mono, causing him to miss three games.   Look for bigger numbers this season as the #1 TE in fantasy (at least in my opinion).

2.  Ed Dickson, Oregon – He got the 2nd most touches on this team last year putting up 35/508/3.  Expect similar this season.

3.  Kavario Middleton, Washington – Looks to take a leap forward on last year’s freshman numbers.  Worth keeping an eye on and really ranks here based on upside.

4.  Ryan Moya, UCLA – Moya was actually used in the redzone, catching 3 TDs with almost as many touches as the WRs.  Still, he’s nothing to get excited about…

5.  A. Cadaver – You might as well start a dead body if you are searching any deeper than Moya for a Pac 10 TE for your roster.

This conference is tons of offense and very little defense.  However, with all that speed at the skill positions some of these teams get interesting when you factor in the return game.

1.  Cal – One of the best in the Pac 10 with eight returning starters on Defense.  This team picked off plenty of passes and returns all their ballhawks.  They racked up plenty of yards in the return game and have the speed to hit more than the one homerun they got on a punt return.  I’m giving a slight edge to this unit over USC.

2.  USC – Only three returning starters.  This team is talented but lacks experience.  This year the team has a full time Special Teams coordinator, possibly setting up for more TDs in the return game.

3.  Oregon St. – Only three returning starters on D.  However, many of the new starters gained experience playing in certain packages last year so it’s not a complete weakness.  That being said, it’s still not a great choice for a fantasy D.  WR James Rodgers is such a dangerous weapon in the return game that I can’t help but rank the team here.

4.  Arizona St. – The D has tons of upside here and will try to keep the team in games.  Most of their tough matchups will come at home.  The return game had a bit of an off year as far as TDs.  However WR Kyle Williams covers quite a bit of ground and might actually hit pay dirt this season.

5.  Arizona - This unit has a lot of weapons but is also inexperienced at some key spots.  I picture a squad that will hold in there, most games. Unless it meshes well early, they could have a rough stretch at the end against Cal, Oregon and USC.  With Mike Thomas gone, the return game scrambles to replace his talent.

Kickers are kickers…except when they aren’t very good or don’t get many chances to kick.  There are a few of those types in this conference.  I’ll just touch on the few that might garner consideration.

1.  Morgan Flint, Oregon – Very accurate kicker and will get plenty of ops with this offense.  Last year, between him and Matt Evensen, Oregon kickers attempted 27 FGs and 65 XPs.  Now the job belongs outright to Flint.

Thomas Weber of Arizona State (courtesy Icon SMI)

2.  Thomas Weber, Arizona St. – His leg is too erratic, especially beyond 40…top end estimate is 90 points unless his accuracy improves.

3.  Kai Forbath, UCLA – He’s pretty accurate and can hit the long ones.  The weaker offense doesn’t offer many XPs so that dampens the potential here.  Now if Coach Neuheisel can make this team take a step forward, that might bode well for Forbath’s fantasy potential.

4.  Alex Zendejas,  Arizona – If the offense sets up the kicker as well as last year, this could be a great pick.  However, expectations are down on Arizona being able to replicate 36.6 ppg again.

5.  Joe Houston, USC – This position usually gets a ton of XPs for USC.  However, there weren’t many FG chances last season.  Houston is a victim of an offense that is too efficient.

Related posts:

1. SEC’s “Other” Rankings for Fantasy College Football
2. Big 12′s Other Rankings for Fantasy College Football
3. Catching Up with the Pac 10 Wide Receivers
4. PAC-10 2008 ALL-FANTASY TEAM
5. Running Through the Pac 10 Runningbacks

Tags: Pac 10