Michael Strahan

The numbers on Strahan are simple. In 16 games, he makes 50 solo tackles per year. He’s done it seven times and five seasons in a row if you exclude 2004, when he missed eight games to a torn pectoral muscle. Part of his success is because he’s so good against the run that he plays on every down. On top of the tackling, add double-digit sacks in four straight full seasons and 9.5 in 2000 that would make it five straight if you play “close enough” rules. Strahan’s a supernatural when it comes to explosion, bull strength, speed and balance. Fifty solos and 10 sacks (at three points per) add up to 80 fantasy points and a five points per game average that guarantees year-end top 10 every season and top 5 in most. That means the baseline for Strahan is top 5, and everything higher is gravy. What’s more, linemate Osi Umenyiora was second in the league in sacks last year with 14.5. And the Giants added pass rush demon LaVar Arrington to play weak-side linebacker. You can’t double-team all of these guys, so the Giants’ sack artists are going to be seriously pounding quarterbacks this year. Strahan turns 35 in November, but doesn’t miss games to chippy injuries. He did have that torn pectoral, but the last time before that he missed a game? 1995. There’s no one easier to project and it's no question he's the best out there.

If Strahan is healthy, he could be the steal of the defensive side of the draft. He played just eight games last year before tearing a pectoral muscle and having surgery, but is expected to be ready for training camp. He’ll be 33 and coming off of a season-ending surgery, but he’s still Michael Strahan. What that means is solo tackles. In the past nine years, he’s averaged 52 solos per season. Read that again. That many solo tackles are a reach for most linemen, but Strahan averaged it and did it not over three or four but nine years. Of course, his sacks totals fluctuate rather wildly. He’s had anywhere from 5.5 to 22.5 sacks in his run of fantastic years, but did have three straight years in double digits before last year. He’d also played 16 games in eight consecutive years leading into 2004. It all comes down to how he looks in training camp. A healthy Strahan should be a top-10 lineman.

You could almost as easily put Simeon Rice or Jason Taylor in this top slot, but there's a good reason we favor Strahan: tackles. Mr. Chunky Soup is as much of a lock as anyone to make 10 sacks this year, and he'll also vie for the lead among linemen for solo tackles with upwards of 60 (fantasy linemen are typically in the high 30s and low 40s). The tackles will sustain you in between the sacks, though, given 22.5, 11 and 18.5 QB crunches in the past three years, there may not be much of an "in between." Strahan loses both of his defensive tackles, Cornelius Griffin and Keith Hamilton, and his end partner, Kenny Holmes, unfortunately. The expected dip in production brings him back to the pack, not down in it.

The single-season sack-record holder didn't match his 22 sack-rampage a year ago, instead settling for half that number. Still, Strahan has had 9.5 sacks or more in five of the last six seasons, and he racks up plenty of tackles for an end. With DE Kenny Holmes (eight sacks) playing opposite him, and DTs Keith Hamilton, Cornelius Griffin and rookie William Joseph in the middle, Strahan should be good for another 10-sack, 40-tackle year.