FanHouse Brandon Marshall

When one prepares to draft a fantasy football team, myriad criterion should be considered in evaluating who to target, and, likewise, who to avoid. One word bouncing around just as frequently as anything else during said evaluation? Injury. Maybe a guy was injured for several games last season, maybe he suffered a season-ending injury or maybe he's just an injury-prone guy. This affects the value of players on draft day.

Let's check out the value of 10 guys with injury concerns, and judge whether or not they are up to the task for 2009.

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When rumors about Brandon Marshall leaving the Broncos started percolating, most people assumed that the wide receiver wanted a trade because he was either unhappy about his contract or unhappy that the team traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Bears. Those may both be valid, but he started dreaming about a departure from the Rockies long before either of those issues came to the forefront.

The first inklings of Marshall's desire occurred way back in 2007, although he didn't make them known to any member of the Broncos front office. Pro Football Talk unearthed a copy of the police report from an incident of suspected DUI, which featured Marshall's colorful initial trade request.

It's been 10 days since the last update on Brandon Marshall, the latest disgruntled Denver Broncos star looking to get dealt. Earlier this month, the organization was allegedly for a trade before they were against.

And now, according to ESPN.com's Bill Williamson, the Broncos plan on keeping Marshall, and they'll be expecting him when training camp starts.

While no Kurt Warner, I consider myself to be a morally upstanding citizen. I give up my seat on the subway to the elderly (as well as shoot an annoyed look to the teenagers who do not), refrain from unnecessarily yelling fire in a crowded movie theater, and always take the side that steroid users like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa have no place in the Hall of Fame. When it comes to fantasy football though, my competitive nature tends to go into overdrive.

In more occasions than I would like to admit I become as desperate as Nick Nolte in the first act of Blue Chips, kick the soapbox to the curve and go all out signing every player with character issues that I can find to help me win. To prevent future me from some deep soul-searching sessions, I have traversed the murky terrain of morally dubious players and separated the individuals that I am allowing myself to own this season from those that will be off-limits.

On Second Thought is Matt Snyder's look back at the initial FanHouse staff rankings, which were compiled nearly a month ago. As we all know, fantasy players' value changes frequently, even when no games are being played.

Formerly a relatively unpredictable position with just a small handful of reliable WR1-types, wide receiver now sports a solid upper-echelon. With the overemphasis on the pass game in the NFL, you must have one elite wideout to compete in fantasy football.

There is also good depth. It seems to me most of the shaky players here in terms of good value are in the teens. Meaning after the elite wideout, you should let everyone fill out their WR2 while waiting to stockpile good value guys in the seven and eight round range.

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Last week, the Denver Broncos' Brandon Marshall requested a trade. Just like former teammate quarterback Jay Cutler a few months before. Cutler got his wish (he's now in Chicago), but head coach Josh McDaniels says he has no plans to grant Marshall his wish.

Of course, that's what McDaniels said about Cutler right up till he was traded, so who knows how this works out. In the meantime, the 33-year-old, first-year head coach, like the rest of us, will have to wait and see on Marshall, who left Denver yesterday to resume his holdout.

Last Brandon Marshall post for a bit, I promise (unless he's traded, then there will be approximately 14 more plus a graphic novel).

But when there are trade rumors floating out there, it's best to go right to the source. And so we turn here to Brandon Marshall's personal Web site. As everyone blabbered on Tuesday about whether or not the Broncos would relent to Marshall's wishes and trade him, Marshall himself filed a post that sounded a lot like a goodbye to the fans of Denver.

There appears to be some communication problems coming out of Denver.

First, owner Pat Bowlen tells wide receiver Brandon Marshall that he will trade him, according to Marshall's agent, Kennard McGurire. Now, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said he expects to see Marshall in training camp, according to the Denver Post.

What a mess.

As we passed along yesterday, Brandon Marshall has requested that the Denver Broncos trade him. According to reports from the Denver area Tuesday, that request will be granted by Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen.

"Yes there was a meeting between Brandon, and Mr. Bowlen. There was a request for a trade. Mr. Bowlen has said that ownership will do everything in it's power to accommodate his wishes," said Marshall's agent Kennard McGuire to Fox31 Sports' Josina Anderson Tuesday morning.

Later in the day, McGuire told FanHouse's Calvin Watkins that the two sides will progress with trade talks, despite Broncos coach Josh McDaniels' claim that he expects Marshall to attend the team's training camp.

The word from the front office in Denver (outside of McDaniels) wasn't much, as they merely offered a "no comment." Teaming the report with the information we have in front of us -- in addition to the way the Jay Cutler fiasco went down -- it would appear Marshall will be wearing a different uniform come Week 1 of the season.

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The Baltimore Ravens are not necessarily scrambling to send Denver a trade offer for Brandon Marshall, but they are at least exploring the possibility of pursuing a deal, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun.

The Ravens are often the subject of rumors involving potentially available wide receivers, and it's not hard to see why. Their leading pass-catcher in 2008, Derrick Mason, is still struggling after offseason shoulder surgery -- and he was the only player on the team to catch more than 41 balls last year (80 for 1,037 yards). Their third most-productive WR, Demetrius Williams, missed nine games, and three of Baltimore's top seven receivers were running backs.

Heck, the team's eighth-leading "receiver" was quarterback Joe Flacco, who caught one ball for 43 yards.

So the need is there. But, based on comments made by Baltimore coach John Harburgh on Tuesday, Marshall might not be a great fit.