Upside by Mike Anderson
Like Lazarus walking out of his tomb, Marcus Robinson brought his career back from the dead with two 100-yard games and six touchdowns in the final five games. In week 12 alone he posted 7 receptions for 131 yards and 4 touchdowns to rock the fantasy world.

But if you remember, Robinson isn't just some wall flower that got lucky. After spending his rookie season on the bench, Robinson put up an 84 catch, 1,400 yard, and 9 TDs in just 12 games of his sophomore season for the Bears. That made him the #5 fantasy point producing WR in the NFL for 1999, and that was just in 12 games!

What makes Robinson special is his deep threat speed. He can stretch the field, and get down field behind the defenders for big gains. With that speed playing opposite of WR Randy Moss, Robinson is going to enjoy single coverage game in, and game out. All it will take is a few steps on his defender way down the field, and the arm of QB Daunte Culpepper will be hooking up with Robinson for the score.

It should also be noted that Baltimore (Robinson's 2003 team), was arguably the worst passing attack in the NFL, and he was still able to explode for those numbers at the end of the season. With Minnesota, Robinson will enjoy the #1 offensive attack in the league in 2003. The Vikings lead the league in total offense, ranking in the top three in passing touchdowns, passing yards, and yards per attempt.

Now, this projection isn't really fair, and don't build your entire case around it, but just to show the kind of potential Robinson has, I'm going to just look at the 12 games in 1999, and then the last 5 games of 2003. During that time, Robinson averaged 6.2 receptions, 104 yards, and 0.9 TDs. Not to say that Robinson is going for over 100 yards and a TD in every game he plays, but he has proven to have that kind of potential. Look for him to be the best running mate Moss has had since Cris Carter.

Downside by Cathy Fazio
Marcus Robinson has joined the Minnesota Vikings, his third team in his 8-year NFL career. Many think that he will be a solid second receiver working alongside Randy Moss. But will that perception equal reality? To borrow a quote from one of my favorite yet obscure Dr. Seuss books The Glunk that Got Thunk, "It's very doubtful whether"

Over Robinson's 8 year career only once has he broken the 1,000 receiving yard mark; that being in 1999 for the Chicago Bears when he made 84 receptions for 1400 yards. In 2000, he followed up with 55 receptions for 738 yards. But those 2 years have been the only performances of note throughout his career. Last year with Baltimore he finished the year with 31 receptions for 451 yards and 6 touchdowns. But 7 of those receptions and 131 of those yards and 4 of those touchdowns came in one game against the Seattle Seahawks. One game during which he was clicking with his former college teammate, quarterback Anthony Wright.

Marcus Robinson also finds himself on a team with one stud wide receiver and a couple of younger receivers. Nate Burleson in his first season last year had 29 receptions for 455 yards. Kelly Campbell in his second year had 25 receptions for 522 yards. Both receivers with comparable numbers to Robinson's last year. With younger, talented receivers knocking at the door, Robinson had better play well and play well early on if he hopes to hold on to his tentative starting position.