Welcome to Week 9 of The Docket, a weekly column that will highlight rule and policy issues effecting players as well as offer strategy and advice on a select few players that you should be targeting or avoiding.
CASE PENDING
This is where we look at select players who are on the verge of an upgrade or downgrade.
Charles Sims (RB, Tampa) – Tampa Bay needs a spark and Sims could potentially be that player. The Tampa coaches mentioned in the pre-season that they did not want to just rely on Doug Martin, well, at this point, they don’t want anything really to do with the underperforming, and now injured, Martin. Enter Sims. He is often compared to Matt Forte; not as smooth and fluid as Forte, but a good runner who is a bit more straight line, with just as good hands. Sims just got healthy, so they may till ease him in, but he is worth a shot at this point in the season and could be the spark your fantasy teams needs as well, especially in PPR.
Jeremy Hill (RB, Cin) - Hill has been a bit underused all season, but he is an explosive runner who keeps his feet moving on contact and moves the chains. Unlike Giovani Bernard, Hill can punish defensive players and is tough to take down on first contact. He also has a bit of wiggle to his game, so he is not just a straight-line guy. Despite his use this year, Bernard is not suited as an every down back. Now that Bernard is a bit banged up, Hill may finally get his chance to truly shine.
Martavis Bryant (WR, Pitt) & Donte Moncrief (WR, Ind) – I’ve been pushing this years rookie receiver class in this column every single week and I hope that some of you have listened. If you did, then you have these guys on your roster already.
Both Bryant and Moncrief are physical freaks. Bryant had 5 catches on 7 targets for 83 yards and 2 TDs this past week, while Moncrief had 7 catches for 113 yards and a TD. Bryant is still very raw as a route runner, but they will take a few deep shots to him every week and also target him in the redzone, so he should have value the rest of the season. Moncrief is a better all around talent, and in the long term, has a better situation, starting on the outside with Andrew Luck as his QB. Although this year, when Reggie Wayne comes back, Moncrief will certainly see his role diminish.
This is how I rank this year’s rookie receiving class for this season and beyond, but an argument can easily be made for one to be higher or lower than the others:
This Season (PPR)
- Sammy Watkins
- Kelvin Benjamin
- Brandin Cooks
- Odell Beckham Jr
- Mike Evans
- Allen Robinson
- John Brown
- Martavis Bryant
- Davante Adams
- Donte Moncrief
- Jordan Matthews
- Jarvis Landry
- Paul Richardson Jr
Dynasty Rankings (PPR):
- Sammy Watkins (The cream of the crop, AJ Green type talent)
- Kelvin Benjamin (Better than expected this year and only getting better)
- Brandin Cooks (A PPR beast going forward, on pace for 85 catches this year)
- Odell Beckham Jr (Can play any WR position that has barley had any practice time with the team)
- Donte Moncrief (if he is starting, he will be beastly. Greg Cosell compared to Andre Johnson and Josh Gordon)
- Cody Latimer (Erick Decker 2013 is his floor)
- Martavis Bryant (If he improves his route tree, real stud potential)
- John Brown (Depends if they keep Fitz, could be higher if starting in 2 WR sets, TY Hilton type stats possible)
- Allen Robinson (Going to be a PPR stud and their WR1 for years to come)
- Mike Evans (the QB play and OC caps him for the foreseeable future, but talent is there)
- Davante Adams (a monster if Cobb or Nelson get hurt. They run a ton of 3 WR sets)
- Marqise Lee (Has a ton of talent, but as a smaller WR, will take a year or two).
- Jordan Matthews (A lot of mouths to feed and this offense doesn’t truly feature one WR)
- Jarvis Landry (Ryan Tannehill loves throwing to the slot)
- Paul Richardson Jr (this offense caps his upside, near Desean Jackson type talent)
- Jeff Janis (probably two years off, but a Jordy Nelson clone)
THOUGHTS FROM THE BENCH
Here is where we highlight situations or strategies that are worth monitoring.
Manage Expectations – A lot o people picked up Bryce Brown last week and were yelling and screaming when he didn’t perform. Many people will be dropping him this week. The problem with this is that you have to take a look at the big picture when evaluating players and not just make kneejerk reactions. Is Brown a guaranteed difference maker this year, who knows, but is he worth dumping already, absolutely not. This past week the Bills played the Jets, and if you listened to any pundit with any knowledge of football, they would have told you that the Jets are a tough team to run on. So Brown should not have been in your lineup to start with. Some will say, well, the Bills blew them out, so why didn’t Brown get more carries. Simple answer to that one too, Brown is taking over more of the Spiller role, with Dixon taking over the Fred Jackson role. So Dixon was used as the grind it out, clock killing running back. There was no need to give excessive carries to the upside, break a big play running back. Spiller is done for the year and Fred Jackson is expected back in a few weeks, we expect Brown to remain involved when Jackson returns. So while you don’t have to start him, don’t dump him just yet either.
Keep this lesson in mind when evaluating the rest of your roster and new pickups. Chris Sims is a perfect example this week. If you picked him up and expect him to explode week one, you are expecting too much. It may take him two or three weeks for him to get into a groove and to even get the number of touches That said, if a few weeks go by and a guy isn’t getting it done, cut bait for one that may. Upside is key this time of year. You need players that can change your season, not mere bench fodder.
Song of the Week
This week I present, The Preatures, a cool indie band out of Australia that just released their debut album last month. Check out “Is This How You Feel” below:
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