FANTASY FOOTBALL: After injuries and dramas, Chiefs and Broncos no longer look so promising

Broncos, Chiefs suddenly big question marks

AFC West rivals Denver and Kansas City entered the offseason as intriguing fantasy football teams with a lot in common. Both had big-time receivers, new offensive-minded coaches, running backs with impressive resumes and new quarterbacks with plenty of potential.

Now, all of a sudden, the dud alarms are going off in a big way for both teams.

Thanks to injuries, tantrums, surprising firings and a peculiar suspension, Chiefs and Broncos are scary propositions for fantasy owners trying to figure out where — or if — to draft their players.

The Broncos’ weirdness started before the draft when they deported star quarterback Jay Cutler after his offseason tantrum, but even then the team had fantasy appeal.

The 33-year-old coach, Josh McDaniels, had directed the New England offense that set the NFL scoring record in 2007. Maybe he could lift new QB Kyle Orton from mediocrity, the thinking went, considering Denver’s many offensive weapons. When Denver drafted running back Knowshon Moreno, fantasy players envisioned a big-time rookie making Orton’s job much easier.

But it didn’t take long for that optimism to fade.

The Broncos’ biggest fantasy star, receiver Brandon Marshall, decided he didn’t really like Denver anymore. He asked for a trade, ignored the new playbook, got hurt and barely practiced. It soon became pretty clear that the Broncos didn’t care much for Marshall either, and last week Marshall was suspended until Sept. 6 after a day of creative goofing around at practice.

Marshall was a steal in many fantasy leagues last year, going late because of an early season suspension then putting up a second straight 100-catch season. But it’s hard to imagine this year’s scenario working out so well. Marshall, a top-10 receiver even without Cutler, drops in the rankings a bit due to general team dysfunction. He’s a good pick as a No. 2 receiver — as long as you understand it’s a gamble.

That hurts Orton’s fantasy stock, which already had tumbled thanks to preseason interceptions and a finger injury that could keep him out of the regular-season opener. So the one-time fantasy sleeper is now a late, late gamble.

All that spells trouble for receiver Eddie Royal. He should still be a solid No. 2 fantasy receiver, since he’ll pile up 4-yard receptions no matter who’s passing, but if Marshall misses time he’ll face more coverage. (It gets really scary if rookie Tom Brandstater gets the opening day start at quarterback.)

Even the notion of a big season from Moreno looks a little dicey now, after he hurt his knee in his preseason debut.

He’s back at practice, but McDaniels has already shown a very Bill Belichick-like tendency to do things his way regardless of what other people generally accept as good ideas. The Patriots won a lot using a crew of aging backs, so maybe McDaniels will roll out a committee consisting of a banged-up rookie and the gaggle of 29-year-old journeymen the Broncos have assembled.

About 545 miles to the east, Kansas City has had its own offseason drama.

The Chiefs lured 42-year-old Arizona offensive coordinator Todd Haley as the coach and then acquired Matt Cassel in a trade that many considered to be a steal.

The arrival of Cassel and assorted midlevel veteran receivers had many fantasy players figuring on another monster year from receiver Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs’ top fantasy player.

And the thinking went that if Cassel was solid and Bowe was solid, there’d be more running room for Larry Johnson. Early in camp Johnson appeared set on proving those people right, looking sharp despite advancing age, high mileage and an often cranky demeanor.

But then things got shaky.

Haley didn’t like the work ethic he saw out of Bowe, and soon he was practicing with the backups. The line looked so flimsy that the Chiefs traded for two linemen with the season just a few weeks away.

And things truly went south this past week, with Cassel hurting his knee and possibly not being ready for the regular season. (Even if he is ready, a gimpy starter behind a shaky line against the Ravens seems to be a fantasy disaster in the making.)

Then Haley fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey less than two weeks before the opener, deciding he’d add that small task to his head coaching duties.

So Cassel’s value is sliding dramatically, maybe even to the point you avoid him even as a backup unless he’s still floating around extremely late in the draft.

Bowe’s still one of the top 20 receivers, but only because he’s proven he can still produce with the Tyler Thigpens and Brodie Croyles of the world throwing toward him. Now he seems like a good second or maybe even third fantasy receiver.

As for Johnson, he’s still worth taking, but with that terrible line it’s probably best to make him your No. 3 back.