Following the 2008 season, Larry Fitzgerald was to the receiver position what the Spice Girls were to music in the mid-90s (or at least that’s how I remember it).

A raucous postseason saw Fitzgerald’s Cardinals nearly steal Super Bowl XLIII from the favored Pittsburgh Steelers while the Pitt product posted one of the greatest playoff runs from a wide receiver in NFL history.

Since the ’08 season, calling Fitzgerald’s productivity a roller coaster would be understatement. While dealing with an array of drugstore quarterbacks over the past four seasons, Fitzgerald’s fantasy stock waned.

After finishing first among receivers in ’08, Fitzgerald has failed to find a statistical groove; and it largely stems from the uninspired play of his quarterbacks.

Kurt Warner’s retirement following the ’09 season was the first shoe to drop for Fitzgerald. Since then, the Cardinals’ starting quarterback position resembles a turnstile at a stadium more so than a stable situation.

The chart above depicts only a portion of Arizona’s quarterback woes since 2009 that began with Warner’s departure.

The PFR column refers to positional fantasy ranking for quarterbacks; while the F-PFR recalls Larry Fitzgerald’s fantasy ranking during the same season.

It’s evident from the chart that Fitzgerald hasn’t posted consecutive top 10 fantasy seasons at wide receiver since ’08 and ’09 (Warner’s final two seasons).

Since then, the following cavalcade of quarterbacks took a snap for the Cardinals:

• Derek Anderson
• Richard Bartel
• Max Hall
• Brian Hoyer
• Kevin Kolb
• Ryan Lindley
• John Skelton

Duh, that’s an awful set of quarterbacks.

So, when Arizona picked up Carson Palmer during the offseason, it signified a chance for hope from Fitzgerald fantasy owners.

Palmer hasn’t exactly been in Pro Bowl form either recently. However, he is a stark upgrade from Arizona’s previous mess.

Palmer’s worst fantasy finish over the last four seasons was in 2011 when he finished 26th (during a 10-game stint in his first year with the Raiders) among quarterbacks but that still places him ahead of Arizona’s Less-Than-Magnificent Seven.

Plus, he’s coming off of a year where he threw for 4,018 yards along with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Arizona’s quarterbacks last season combined to throw for 3,383 yards. They totaled just 11 touchdown passes to 21 interceptions.

Those paltry touchdown totals finished 31st in the NFL; meanwhile, Arizona’s passing attack dropped to 28th.

As a result, Fitzgerald’s woes from last season (798 yards and four touchdown receptions) faded his fantasy star heading into draft season.

Palmer’s arrival in the desert should lead to a better passing attack and help Fitzgerald’s return to prominence.

Keep your eye on Fitz. His average draft position according to  FantasyFootballCalculator.com places him as a third rounder.

He may not be on Megatron’s level but he can easily return to his days as a top fantasy receiver and become a draft day steal.