Larry Fitzgerald has returned to form with a healthy Carson Palmer
Long-time Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, leads the league in receiving touchdowns through the first three weeks of the season. What can be expected of Fitz the rest of the way?
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Fitzgerald’s statistics thus far are 23 receptions on 28 targets, 333 yards, and five touchdowns. He was targeted 11 times during Sunday’s dismantling of the 49ers and will continue to see the ball thrown his way as long as Carson Palmer is healthy and under center.
The high-powered Cardinals offense has scored an insane 126 points on the year and although the Rams (Week 4) and Ravens (Week 7) have above-average defenses, the next five games are not likely to slow the offense down. Larry’s hot start has him on pace to score 26.6 receiving touchdowns by the end of the year. He is surely going to slow down a bit, but I don’t think it will be by much. Fitzgerald has a confident and talented quarterback for, arguably, only the second time in his entire career.
The last time Fitz had a quarterback of Palmer’s caliber was in 2008, when Kurt Warner was at the helm. During that 2008 season, Fitzgerald caught 96 passes for 1,434 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged about 90 yards and 0.75 touchdowns per game. Currently Fitzgerald has five touchdowns, which is already one touchdown shy of half the total of his best season.
I believe he can keep up this performance because of the other receiving threats on the team. John Brown and Michael Floyd require opponent’s attention, meaning they can’t afford to double- or triple-team Fitzgerald. Palmer is on fire so far and has thrown nine touchdowns in Arizona’s first three games, throwing for over 300 yards twice. Palmer is also 9-0 in his last nine starts in Arizona.
As great as Warner was in 2008, the Cardinals have a much better team overall in 2015. The defense is far and away better, the running game is very solid, of course Larry and the receivers are dominating, and the offensive line is extremely solid. The O-line is still awaiting the return of left guard Mike Iupati, who can improve the line even more. Palmer has only been sacked once so far, and once Iupati is back he will have even more time to throw.
My final point in the case for Larry Fitzgerald is that he is finally fully healthy himself. He had been dealing with a lingering hamstring injury for the past two seasons and couldn’t seem to stay entirely healthy. His hamstring is good to go and you can tell from the first three weeks that he feels great.
The Cardinals play the Seattle Seahawks twice in their last eight games, but I still believe that Larry Fitzgerald is a WR1 for the rest of the season. My expectations for Fitzgerald are very high, but with good reason, a healthy Palmer and Fitzgerald will dominate the NFL and your fantasy league.
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Fitzgerald’s remaining schedule:
vs STL, @DET, @PIT, vs BAL, @CLE, @SEA, vs CIN, @SF, @STL, vs MIN, @PHI, vs GB, vs SEA
Nathan Holmes is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Nathan, check out his archive and follow him @TheNathanHolmes.
