Frisman Jackson. Kevin Ogletree. Allen Hurns? The undrafted rookie wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars turned heads this preseason, but there was little expectation of it carrying over to the regular season with a pair of early-round receivers ahead of him—not to mention Cecil Shorts. Alas, Shorts’ balky hamstring led to an inactive, and before most fantasy owners had checked their live scoring Hurns had a pair of touchdowns. But, before you go out and add him, please remember the first two names on the above list. Sure, if you’ve got a useless spot in your lineup, go ahead and take a flyer on Hurns. Otherwise, feel free to pass.
Didn’t take Ben Tate long to suffer his first injury. Those who handcuffed him with Terrance West have to like what the see—sans the Isaiah Crowell touchdown, of course. If you have Tate and West is still available, you’d better spend some FAAB to nab him. If he isn’t still available, well, you knew what you were getting into with Tate. Hopefully his knee injury isn’t serious, but assuming it isn’t, this won’t be Tate’s last early exit from a game.
The New Orleans Saints are exactly what we thought they’d be—an offensive machine that struggles to defend on the road and spreads the ball around. Ten targets for Jimmy Graham, eight each for Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks. Where the touchdowns will be is anyone’s guess from week to week, but Colston and Cooks both showed they’re going to be decent plays on a weekly basis.
Roddy White looked like the No. 1 receiver he was before getting hurt a year ago, as did Julio Jones before getting hurt a year ago. I wouldn’t worry too much about Devin Hester’s 99 yards unless you’re a Harry Douglas owner, as Hester’s going to dilute the lower tier Falcons in the passing game. Speaking of which, get used to the Levine Toilolo box score: 3-19-1. Except he’s only going to score another six or so times this year, so when he doesn’t you’re going to get pretty much nothing from him.
My concerns about Le’Veon Bell’s workload appear to have been unfounded. Not feeling great about missing out on him in all five of my leagues.
Kyle Rudolph wasn’t as much of a factor in Minnesota’s passing game as hoped by those waiting for a breakout, but he saved fantasy owners by getting in the end zone. The good news is that I expect Rudolph’s size and hands will make him a popular red zone target all season, so while his yardage totals may be low more often than not, Rudolph should net a double-digit touchdown total.
Chip Kelly said all along that Darren Sproles would be a factor in Philly’s run game, so his 11 carries and a touchdown shouldn’t have caught folks off guard. LeSean McCoy still had 27 touches—plenty to be a fantasy stud despite not finding the end zone Sunday—so at this point it looks like there will be two fantasy assets in the Eagles backfield on a weekly basis.
Chris Johnson, 13 carries. Chris Ivory, 10 carries. Geno Smith, 10 rushes. Have fun with the Jets backfield! Johnson’s still the guy I’d rather own, but both could be starters on a weekly basis, and either guy could be a fantasy asset on any given Sunday.
Same goes for the New Orleans backfield. I mentioned the passing game already, and the running backs had just as much success. Depending on league format, all three guys may have proved useful for fantasy owners. I presume Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson will remain a coin flip in terms of which gets in the end zone, while Pierre Thomas’ damage will be done between the 20s in the passing game. In other words, not guys you’re rushing to put in your lineup, but if injuries or bye weeks rear their heads, you could do worse.
I warned against drafting Bishop Sankey, and sure enough, he tied for third with Jake Locker for rushing attempts. The rookie very well may turn out to be the lead back in Tennessee by midseason, but Shonn Greene’s made an NFL career of being “good enough” and ruining the fantasy prospects of others. Looks like more of the same coming.
I also warned against drafting Lamar Miller. Luckily for Miller owners he did find the end zone and frankly didn’t look terrible, but Knowshon Moreno looked even better and got 24 carries in Miami’s big victory over New England. I was worried this would be close to a 50/50 job share, but it looks like 60/40 at minimum in favor of Moreno—which is enough to make him valuable as at least a flex play on a weekly basis.
Recent Comments