The wide receiver position yielded some dynamic performances in week one. Some of them came from familiar faces like Michael Thomas and Tyreek Hill, while more under the radar players like DeSean Jackson and Kenny Stills broke the slate at sub $6,000 price tags. Of course we want to identify who this week’s version of those players will be; however, we need to avoid the disaster plays as well. So, let’s review some wide receivers to avoid in week two.
Davante Adams, while he is a good NFL wide receiver, has the same problem as every player at his position. His production is directly correlated to the production and competency of his quarterback. For those who paid attention, Adams was still productive in 2017 despite playing with a backup quarterback for the majority of his season. While Brett Hundley was a more than significant drop off from Aaron Rodgers, Hundley was completely healthy.
Rodgers’ health, regardless of his performance on Sunday night, is a major red flag. Chris Collinsworth and Al Michaels spoke as if Rodgers’ risked amputation by continuing to play against the Bears, but I digress. Two issues with Adams this week that can’t be ignored are his matchup and quarterback play.
While Adams isn’t incapable of producing in a bad matchup, this one being inside the division is particularly worrisome. In the one game Adams played against the Vikings last season he recorded five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. While that’s a good stat line, it didn’t come with an $8,100 price tag like it will this week. In fact, Adams only cost $7,200 last year in his only game against Minnesota in which he was .50 points away from making value. Now, that 13.90 points he scored wouldn’t make value in a cash game given his increased salary.
So not only does Adams have over an $8,000 salary, a break-even matchup at best, but he also will have to deal with a debilitated Aaron Rodgers. So many big plays are created by Rodgers’ ability to make second reaction throws, extend plays, and make defensive backs cover for five or more seconds. As we saw Sunday night, that will not be happening this Sunday against a tenacious Vikings’ defense.
Image courtesy of CBS Sports
Bravo to Mike Evans and the entire Tampa Bay Buccaneers for eliminating 30 percent of survivor pool players everywhere. Sadly, the clock will strike midnight on these Cinderella story Buccaneers for one reason.
The Philadelphia Eagles are going to pressure Ryan Fitzpatrick, something the Saints did not and could not do. The Saints were the only NFC defense who failed to record a single sack in week one. On top of that, they only deflected three passes. Conversely, the Eagles dominated the Falcons up front and in the secondary. They sacked Matt Ryan four times and deflected 10 passes. Essentially, if the front seven didn’t make a play, the secondary didn’t allow completions to players not named Julio Jones.
That trend is going to continue against the Buccaneers. The Eagles will dominate the line of scrimmage and limit their opportunities to attack down the field, which is problematic for Mike Evans specifically. Evans is notorious for being one of the NFL’s worst in yards after catch among eligible receivers. If they can’t target Evans down the field, his production is severely limited. There’s also a chance that DeSean Jackson doesn’t play, so that takes away another player to draw attention from Evans. We need to attack week two the same way we did week one: don’t get cute. If you want a player in this price range, find the extra $200 for the electric Tyreek Hill, or an extra $100 for Keenan Allen.
As juicy of a matchup as this will be, there’s no reason to shoulder any extra risk if you’re paying for a player in this price range. Even though Goodwin is not expected to see Darius Slay in coverage according to Pro Football Focus, his health is simply too volatile to consider playing. Even if Goodwin is cleared to play, there are plenty of other players in this price range with more consistency like Kenny Golladay, Pierre Garcon, or Quincy Enunwa.
Featured Image Courtesy of SB Nation
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