Flowers--Agree
This is an obvious one, he has been in the NFL for several years and had several abysmal seasons, with one outlier last year at guard. This would be obvious.
Howard--Disagree
He is having a bit of a difficult offseason, so I guess I understand this one, but disagree. Having Byron Jones opposite him will mean he gets a lot more targets, and I can see him grabbing as many as 7 INT's this year. I'm actually expecting a banner year from Howard.
Fitzmagic--Disagree
He has been trending better and more consistent in the last few years despite learning myriad new systems. He was saddled with an entirely new and very complex system last year, and he did very well, but was held back by his teammates adapting to that system. He had a horrible OL. Even if this year's OL is just as bad, he has had a year of chemistry with his entire receiving (WR and TE) corps, so he should do better, not worse. The new Chan Gailey system is more familiar to these guys and less complex than the Patriots scheme we ran last year, so even if it takes a while to get up to speed, these guys should be better than last year at adapting to the new system. Fitz is settled and has played and done well in Gailey's system before, so Fitz should have another good year. Not expecting any regression from Fitz. But, don't be surprised if the transition period for the offense is weathered by Fitz, and then once the offense starts to click he is yanked and supplanted by Tua. That I could definitely see happening to Fitz.
Williams--Agree
Preston Williams could go either way. He had everything to prove last year, and that motivator will not be the same this year. But, he could well do significantly better too, as year 2 is typically a major improvement year for young WR's. The x-factor for me here is that Williams is young and his issues have never been physical. It's all about his head ... does he make the right decisions to grind daily ... does he start slacking as he feels he has 'made it' ... does he buy into what the coaches are preaching ... and does he have the same rapport with Tua eventually as he does with Fitz? Fitz loves his big targets, so after Parker and Gesicki, Williams gets a lot of snaps. But, with a healthy Albert Williams, passes to Breida, and a different QB, Williams' snaps and targets may be reduced. Hard to get a read on this one yet, but tentatively agree.
Gesicki--Disagree
Gesicki has shown to have a rather typical TE learning curve as he struggled with flashes as a rookie, and showed significant development as a sophomore. I'm expecting continual improvement in his 3rd year, particularly if Fitz remains the QB. But even if Tua takes over, rookie QB's typically lean heavy on their TE's with checkdowns, and Gesicki is a large target and Tua knows Gesicki is the future. So, I expect to see whomever is QB targeting Gesicki a lot, and his production go up. If everyone is healthy, we know Parker will get his share of targets, with Preston Williams and Albert Wilson fighting for the 2nd WR spot. Gesicki, as the security blanket TE as well as the seam threat TE, will get plenty of targets. Breida will get targets. Until the injuries hit, if one person gets squeezed out, I'm expecting it to be Preston Williams or Albert Wilson, and Jakeem Grant losing most of his targets this year until injuries hit.
All in all ... can't say that I agree with this article.
