T.J. Houshmandzadeh

A reliable possession receiver with good hands, Houshmandzadeh’s play has dropped off the last three seasons, beginning with his inefficient 112-catch year in Cincinnati (6.7 YPT) and through last year when Matt Hasselbeck’s injuries and Seattle’s inconsistent quarterbacking did him no favors. In fact, for the third straight year, Houshmandzadeh averaged just over 6.5 yards per look, a number that ranked him 27th among the league’s 28 100-target receivers. At 6-1, 197, Housmandzadeh has decent size and plays bigger than he is, given his willingness to fight for the ball in traffic and absorb contact in the middle of the field. He’s not fast, so don’t expect many big plays — just 11 catches of 20 or more yards and one for 40-plus in 135 targets last year. But he is a frequent redzone option — 21 targets (tied for 9th). Houshmandzadeh returns as the team’s top receiver, but he’ll need a healthy and productive season out of a declining Matt Hasselbeck in order to thrive this year. Houshmandzadeh had some health issues of his own this spring — he underwent hernia surgery but is expected to be 100 percent healthy for the start of training camp.

Despite losing his star quarterback for most of the year and missing the season’s final meaningless game with a back injury, Houshmandzadeh was more or less himself last season, catching a ton of passes, just about all of them short. In fact, of the 92 balls he hauled in (5th), only 10 went for 20 yards (tied for 33rd) and just one for 40. As usual Houshmandzadeh caught a high percentage of the balls thrown his way (67, 6th), but part of that’s a function of how little distance the ball typically travels before it reaches him. At 6-1, 197, Houshmandzadeh has slightly above average size, but he plays like a big receiver, able to absorb contact and fight for the ball in close coverage, particularly in the red zone. Houshmandzadeh’s a good route runner, and he has reliable hands, making him a good choice on third down. With his offseason move to the Seahawks, Houshmandzadeh goes from one polished veteran quarterback in Carson Palmer to another in Matt Hasselbeck. Given that Houshmandzadeh got a $15 million signing bonus, we can confidently assume the Seahawks intend to use him as heavily as the Bengals did, meaning plenty of targets, catches and red-zone looks. He should be one of the safer plays on draft day – just realize he’ll turn 32 in September and has played through a number of nagging injuries the last couple seasons.

The polar opposite of Santonio Holmes, Houshmandzadeh is purely a possession receiver, who doesn't do much except catch short passes. But any time you tie for the league-lead in targets (170) and receptions (112) and are tied for fourth in red-zone looks (27), fourth in inside-the-10 looks (13) and fourth in goal-line looks (8), that's plenty. And this is nothing new for Houshmandzadeh – from 2005-07, he easily lead the NFL in redzone targets with 74 and was third in red-zone touchdowns with 18. His more flamboyant teammate, Chad Johnson, whose name has surfaced in trade rumors this offseason, actually saw 22 red-zone looks last year (up for 11 in 2006), but Houshmandzadeh is still the preferred target when the team gets in close, especially now that Chris Henry has criminalized himself from the league. On the flip side, Houshmandzadeh's harmless from anywhere beyond the red zone, catching just one pass out of 112 for 40 yards or more and nine for 20-plus. To put that in perspective, James Jones, Justin Gage, Andre Davis and Brandon Stokley all had 10. Houshmandzadeh’s 6.7 yards per target rank ranked 31st among the 34 100-target receivers, and his 10.2 yards per catch ranked dead last. As long as Houshmandzadeh's getting so many targets and looks from in close, he'll continue to put up good numbers, but it’s never going to get better than leading the league in targets; 2007 represents his ceiling.

While Chad Johnson is the Bengals’ downfield playmaker, Houshmandzadeh’s the guy they look to when they want to score a touchdown. Despite missing the first two games of the year with a heel injury, Houshmandzadeh saw 22 red-zone looks (fifth), and reeled in five for touchdowns. (By contrast, Johnson saw only 11 targets from inside the 20 over the full 16 games). And Houshmandzadeh’s status as Carson Palmer’s go-to guy near pay dirt dates back to 2005 when Palmer targeted him 26 times in the red zone, good for second most in the league. Moreover, for the second year in a row, Houshmandzadeh brought down a huge percentage of the balls thrown his way – in fact, his 69 percent led the NFL in 2006 among receivers with 100 or more targets. (He caught 68 percent in 2005). Houshmandzadeh’s not known for his downfield speed – he’s had just four receptions of 40 yards or more in his career – but at 6-1, 200, he has the size and strength to overpower defenders and the toughness to go up for balls in traffic. He’s also a good route-runner with excellent hands and has one of the top quarterbacks in the league getting him the ball.

Houshmandzadeh was the 2005 Reggie Wayne – the No. 2 man who performed like a No. 1 for much of the season despite behind paired with one of the game’s big stars. Houshmandzadeh missed two games with a hand injury last year, but if you prorate his stats over a 16-game season, he’d have 1,093 yards and eight scores. Of course, for the No. 2 guy to put up numbers like that, there has to be a big pie to split up, and whether that’s the case in Cincinnati will in large part depend on the health of quarterback Carson Palmer who tore his ACL and MCL and dislocated his kneecap. If Palmer isn’t ready to answer the bell in Week 1, it will be a different world for Chad Johnson and Houshmandzadeh with Anthony Wright under center. Houshmandzadeh’s not especially fast, but at 6-1, 200, he has the size and strength to overpower defenders and the toughness to go up for balls in traffic. He’s also got excellent hands, dropping just one ball all year, and bringing in 68 percent of his 115 targets (sixth in the league). And Houshmandzadeh’s size and reliability actually made him Palmer’s favorite target in the red zone – his 26 looks and six scores from inside the 20 tied for second in the NFL with Marvin Harrison.

Playing opposite the most heavily targeted receiver in the league, Houshmandzadeh was able to carve out a role of his own in the Cincinnati passing offense, seeing 110 passes and catching 66 percent. Houshmandzadeh benefits from the defensive attention shown to Chad Johnson and makes plays in the middle of the field. Houshmandzadeh won’t often stretch defenses – just two catches of 40-plus yards – but with good hands, quick feet and decent size (6-1, 197 pounds), he’s a nice possession threat. Houshmandzadeh didn’t see a lot of action in the red zone – just 13 targets, three of which he caught for scores. With Carson Palmer developing as a signal caller, the Bengals offense is poised to take off in 2005, and Houshmandzadeh should continue to be a part of that.

Running out of time to make his mark with the Bengals - he'll be either the last to make the team out of training camp or the last to get cut.