Do you hear that? Listen closely — it is the sound of the Tom Brady’s fantasy stock rising. More notably, though, Chad Ochocinco’s becomes fantasy relevant again in a big way. He immediately jumps into top-20 fantasy WR territory, and he may threaten the top 10 in that offense. He is no Randy Moss, but he does add a lot to an already-potent Patriots offense.

When the Patriots acquired Albert Haynesworth with zero risk earlier today, I thought they had made the best move of the day. As it turns out, they were saving a better one for later. Despite being 33, Ochocinco still has plenty in his tank and immediately brings the reliable receiving threat to the offense that was missing one since Moss decided to quit on New England. Brandon Tate is a nice upside player, but Ochocinco is proven and motivated, and he will benefit from being in a great offensive system with a superstar quarterback.

Chad and Bill Belichick already have a great relationship, so the whole “problem child” thing is overblown. He will always be outspoken, but Ochocinco is no Randy Moss — I do not expect much trouble out of him in New England. Performance-wise, he did have a poor -2.9 rating last season, but that was mostly because of his -5.5 run block rating, though that is something he will need to turn around for Belichick. He will also need to improve a bit on his 56.8% catch rate from a year ago.

Fantasy Spin:

It is going to be difficult to gauge where the Artist Formerly Known as Johnson actually lands in fantasy drafts until he rehabilitates his ADP, which will take some time. The fact of the matter is, folks will likely tend to overreact to this sort of acquisition and overdraft Ochocinco, though — he may be top-20 WR material, but do you really want to spend a third round pick on him? Wait and see where he is going in drafts, but I would say he is a strong WR2 candidate at this point — just be wary of overpaying for him. Incidentally, this also increases Wes Welker’s value a bit, as Ochocinco will certainly require attention on defense. Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning, Tom Brady’s value gets a bump, but he was already pretty high on everyone’s list.

Questions and comments are always welcome via Twitter – @PFF_Alex.

Related posts:

1. Re-Focused: Week 1, Bengals at Patriots
2. Fantasy: Reaction – New England Patriots Trade for Albert Haynesworth
3. Fantasy: Offensive Depth Chart Review – New England Patriots
4. The Wow Factor – Haynesworth to the Patriots
5. PFF Primer: Chargers at Patriots

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