While he’s been one of the most reliable and productive wide receivers of the last decade, many are writing off Larry Fitzgerald in 2015 for a variety of reasons. He’s old, the Cardinals have two young receivers in Michael Floyd and John Brown who will steal targets, he’s old, he has declined in the last few seasons, and he’s old. I am here to defend the veteran, as I think he’s got one last hurrah in him before he fades into fantasy irrelevance.

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While Fitzgerald’s numbers were lackluster in 2014, I’m chalking it up entirely to shoddy quarterback play. The Cardinals were forced to start the likes of Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley after Carson Palmer was injured in Week 6, leaving the receiving corps high and dry. I’ll call your attention instead to the 2013 season when Carson Palmer was healthy—Fitzgerald had 954 receiving yards and a whopping ten touchdowns on the back of 18 end zone targets. That was in his age-30 season, proving Palmer had no reservations about heavily utilizing the veteran. I expect him to return to this tendency in 2015, as Fitzgerald is still as much of a red zone threat as he always has been.

I think the existence of Michael Floyd and John Brown has been somewhat overblown in regards to Fitzgerald. In the offseason, the Cardinals signed Fitz to a two-year, $22 million guaranteed contract, proving that they are committed to utilizing him. He’s still the number one receiver in this group that should benefit from a much-improved passing game under Carson Palmer. He’s capable of 4,000 yards in any given season, meaning that there will be plenty of love to go around.

Fitzgerald’s current ESPN ADP is at 102 overall, making him a ninth or tenth round pick. I love this ADP, as I think he’s still fully capable of WR2 production. I don’t think you’ll need to fight anyone for him, so don’t feel like you need to reach any higher than the eighth round to get him on your roster. He has no long-term dynasty or keeper value, but in redraft leagues he could be the steal of your draft if you can get him this low.

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