Tony Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason. Recently, he has started to practice with the team during Atlanta’s minicamp. Considering that Gonzalez was arguably the best fantasy football tight end last season, this trade made a big impact in the fantasy world.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons - Fantasy Football 2009 (Image: Newscom)

Will Gonzalez be better off with the Falcons? Considering that he had 96 catches for 1,058 yards and ten touchdowns, it’s difficult to imagine him doing much more. But with the Falcons, Gonzalez very well might be able to top those numbers.

The best thing going for Gonzalez is Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan. Coming off of a fantastic rookie season, Ryan should continue to blossom in his second season. With running back Michael Turner helping to move the chains, Gonzalez could often find himself in position to pick up a touchdown.

On the other side of the coin, three things may hold Gonzalez back during 2009 fantasy football. First of all, he’s 33 years old and he could start slowing down. If he loses too much speed, he’ll be much easier to scheme against.

The second and third things that could hold down Gonzalez’s numbers are Roddy White and Michael Jenkins. With the Kansas City Chiefs, Gonzalez didn’t have a wide receiving duo that demanded targets. In Atlanta, he has White who is coming off of an 88-catch campaign and 50 additional catches by Jenkins. With all the weapons on offense, each part may suffer a little bit statistically.

All that said, Gonzalez remains a very good fantasy football prospect at the tight end position in 2009. If he’s the first tight end off the board in your 2009 fantasy draft, don’t be surprised.

In the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft, there were a number of players taken that could have a fantasy football impact during the 2009 season. We’ll take a look at these prospects in Part 4 of this series.

• 2009 NFL Draft - Fantasy Analysis Part 3
• 2009 NFL Draft - Fantasy Analysis Part 2
• 2009 NFL Draft - Fantasy Analysis Part 1

2009 NFL Draft - Fantasy Analysis Part 4:

RB Shonn Greene, New York Jets
With the first pick in the third round, the Jets got a running back who could take over the reigns in a year or two.

RB Glen Coffee, San Francisco 49ers
With Frank Gore always an injury risk, Glen Coffee will be a must-have handcuff.

WR Derrick Williams, Detroit Lions
The Lions will try this new Williams next to Calvin Johnson.

WR Brandon Tate, New England Patriots
Don’t look for him to have an impact this year but down the line Tate has potential.

WR Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers
Wallace could eventually fill in for Hines Ward but not this season.

WR Ramses Barden, New York Giants
With Plaxico Burress out of the picture, the Giants are looking for wide receivers.

WR Patrick Turner, Miami Dolphins
He’s a big target who could eventually become a touchdown-heavy wide receiver.

TE Jared Cook, Tennessee Titans
Cook doesn’t have a high ceiling next season but could eventually win the starting job.

WR Deon Butler, Seattle Seahawks
With so many injures last season, the Seahawks decided to add another Deon.

TE Chase Coffman, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have had a lot of trouble finding a reliable tight end. Coffman could be the answer.

TE Travis Beckum, New York Giants
Beckum isn’t the toughest player around but he has a chance to be good receiving tight end.

The 2009 NFL Draft will take place in April. Here’s an early look at the top ten offensive players in the 2009 NFL Draft that could impact your fantasy football team next season:

1. Matthew Stafford, QB
2. Michael Crabtree, WR
3. Knowshon Moreno, RB
4. Mark Sanchez, QB
5. Beanie Wells, RB
6. Jeremy Maclin, WR
7. Brandon Pettigrew, TE
8. Percy Harvin, WR
9. LeSean McCoy, RB
10. Josh Freeman, QB

Here are the top players in the 2009 football draft by position:

• Best Quarterbacks
• Best Running Backs
• Best Wide Receivers
• Best Tight Ends
• Best Kickers

Although the 2009 fantasy football season is a long ways away, here’s an early look at a mock draft of the first round. It should be noted that the first round of the 2009 fantasy football draft looks like it will be all running backs in virtually every format.

1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
3. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
5. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
6. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
7. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
8. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
9. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans
10. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
12. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers

Here’s an early look at the 2009 NBA Draft. This mock draft should give those in fantasy basketball dynasty leagues some idea what will be available next season.

1. Blake Griffin
2. Ricky Rubio
3. James Harden
4. Hasheem Thabeet
5. Stephen Curry
6. B.J. Mullens
7. Al-Farouq Aminu
8. Brandon Jennings
9. Jrue Holiday
10. Gani Lawal
11. Chase Budinger
12. Austin Daye
13. Patrick Mills
14. Earl Clark
15. Damion James

It’s never too early to look at next year in the world of fantasy football. Here’s a look at a 2009 fantasy football mock draft. It’s early but this could very well be what we see next year in fantasy drafts.

1. Adrian Peterson
After a great rookie season, AP is proving it wasn’t a fluke.

2. LaDainian Tomlinson
His career may be winding down LT has too much history to pass up.

3. Brian Westbrook
When healthy, Westbrook remains arguably the best fantasy RB.

4. Clinton Portis
He’s been great in 2008 and should be able to keep it up in 2009.

5. Matt Forte
Multidimensional Bears RB will be tough to overlook next season.

6. Brandon Jacobs
With the Giants looking like a powerhouse, Jacobs will retain value.

7. Marion Barber III
Even though not as explosive in 2008, he’s still a TD threat.

8. Frank Gore
Gore continues to prove he’s one of the most talented backs in NFL.

9. Michael Turner
Against poor defenses, Turner is money.

10. Chris Johnson
If LenDale wasn’t in the way, he’d be top five pick.

11. Steve Slaton
The Texans offense is getting better and Slaton is growing in value.

12. Tom Brady
Those 50 touchdowns won’t be easily forgotten.

Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets is atop the mock draft.

With fantasy basketball 2008 right around the corner, it’s time to update our fantasy basketball mock draft. Where should each player be drafted? Here’s our updated look at the draft:

1. Chris Paul, PG
2. LeBron James, SF
3. Amare Stoudemire, PF/C
4. Kobe Bryant, SG
5. Dirk Nowitzki, PF
6. Dwyane Wade, SG
7. Steve Nash, PG
8. Josh Smith, PF/SF
9. Kevin Garnett, PF
10. Shawn Marion, SF/PF
11. Dwight Howard, C
12. Deron Williams, PG
13. Allen Iverson, SG/PG
14. Elton Brand, PF
15. Tim Duncan, PF/C
16. Al Jefferson, C/PF
17. Baron Davis, PG
18. Kevin Martin, SG
19. Chauncey Billups, PG
20. Carmelo Anthony, SF
21. Danny Granger, SF
22. Chris Bosh, PF/C
23. Andre Iguodala, SF/SG
24. Marcus Camby, C/PF
25. Carlos Boozer, PF
26. Caron Butler, SF
27. Rudy Gay, SF/PF
28. Jose Calderon, PG
29. Paul Pierce, SF/SG
30. Jason Kidd, PG
31. Yao Ming, C
32. Vince Carter, SG/SF
33. Joe Johnson, SG/SF
34. Kevin Durant, SG/SF
35. Pau Gasol, PF/C

Manu Ginobili, the star shooting guard on the San Antonio Spurs, is back on his feet and is running once again. Ginobili underwent offseason ankle surgery and is expected to miss up to 25 games during his recovery.

Recently, Ginobili was able to run for 15 minutes on a treadmill. It was his first time running since the surgery. While Ginobili is sidelined, the Spurs will likely start either Michael Finley, Ime Udoka or Roger Mason, Jr. at shooting guard.

The news of Ginobili running is good news for fantasy owners. There are whispers around San Antonio that Ginobili may in fact be ahead of schedule. Ginobili himself is hoping to return at the end of November instead of the end of December.

In fantasy basketball drafts, Ginobili continues to be a bit of a fantasy sleeper. Many fantasy owners are scratching him off of their draft cheat sheets due to the injury. While the injury shouldn’t be ignored, it also shouldn’t be forgotten how well he played last season.

Wilson Chandler of the New York Knicks continues to look like a potential sleeper for the upcoming 2008-09 fantasy basketball season. Earlier in the month before the preseason began, we called Wilson Chandler a small forward sleeper. So far in preseason, that possibility is still alive.

After two preseason games, Chandler is averaging 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks. Those are the same type of all-around numbers he put up during the NBA Vegas Summer League.

The biggest question for Chandler this fantasy season will be the number of minutes he’ll play. If he plays a lot of minutes, he should be a very fine fantasy basketball player in Mike D’Antoni’s fast pace attack.

In this Wilson Chandler video, you can see his very good athleticism that has the Knicks and their fans excited about the second year small forward out of DePaul:

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Marcus Camby, Los Angeles Clippers
Although Marcus Camby has been a very good fantasy basketball player the last few years, look for his reign of dominance to come to an end. First of all, Camby is always an injury risk and he’s dodged quite a few bullets the last couple of years. Second of all, the Clippers will play at a much slower pace than the Nuggets. That in itself will lower his stats across the board. There is also some question regarding how well he will mesh on the court next to Chris Kaman.

Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
Pau Gasol is a very good NBA player but he may take a hit in the fantasy world this year. With Andrew Bynum next to him, he’ll likely have to forgo some of the touches downlow that he got all of last season. Additionally, Bynum will likely take away some of the rebounds and blocks that Gasol was getting. His shooting percentages should go up but that in itself won’t make up for the loss of production elsewhere.

Brad Miller, Sacramento Kings
The first strike against Brad Miller is the fact that he’s suspended to start the season. More importantly, he doesn’t quite fit the Kings any longer. The Kings are rebuilding for the future while Miller is already in his prime. In order to take a look at young players, don’t be surprised if Miller sees his minutes limited and other bigs on the roster such as Jason Thompson, Shelden Williams and Spencer Hawes get their opportunities in the sun.