Dynasty Dilemma: Kenny Britt
As we mentioned with CJ Spiller in one of our recent Dynasty Dillema articles, there are some player who will absolutely break your heart when they enter the league because they can’t reach expectations due to lack of development or playing time. There’s an entirely different group of players who will make you sick to your stomach for a completely different reason.
Enter the fabulous world of Kenny Britt.
Anyone who has drafted and kept Britt on their roster since he was the 30th pick in the 2009 Draft will tell you all about the highs and lows of having him. They’ll attest to some very high “highs” and very low “lows.”
Britt has unquestioned talent and a supreme skill set. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to count five other receivers who have more genuine ability than he does. However, you’d also find just as great a challenge in finding another group of receivers who have been arrested SEVEN times in the past three years.
SEVEN.
In each of the Dynasty Dilemma articles, there are two distinct sides to the coin. Let’s roll with the upside first.
Britt is a monster on the field, plain and simple. In his 31 career games, he’s posted 101 catches, 1,765 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those stats don’t come anywhere near giving him justice, though.
Prior to his ACL injury last year, Britt had 17 catches, 289 yards and three scores in just three games. More importantly, he looked unstoppable to the naked eye. There are some players who simply have the “it” factor and there’s little doubt that “it” resides heavily in Britt. If you extrapolate those stats for an entire season, you’d have player who would have generated something close to 90 catches, 1,541 yards and 16 touchdowns. I’ll admit that’s a small sample size to simply multiply, but anyone who watched him at the beginning of the season would likely agree that wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities.
Britt has all the makings of a WR1 in the league based on his ability. In addition, he’s still just 23 years old. Reports are that he’s matured over the past year and has been humbled somewhat by his injury. He’s married now and has kept his nose clean for the better part of a year now – that’s actually quite an achievement for Britt considering how much free time he had after getting hurt. It’s hard to remember, but Britt was the youngest player in the league for over a year.
It’s easy to see Britt being a pillar to build around in dynasty leagues for the better part of the next decade based on his abilities and the productivity that could come.
It’s also easy to see the bad side with Britt.
Even though he’s still very young, a torn ACL is a torn ACL. It’s very difficult to project exactly how explosive he’ll be until we actually see him on the field. In addition, he’s dealt with hamstring issues in the past. Building around any player with an injury history can be very, very dicey.
In addition, the Titans are a team in transition. Jake Locker looks the part, but nobody can really say definitively how he’s going to fare this season. If he struggles, Britt’s numbers are going to suffer, at least in the short term.
The obvious downfall with Britt is his off the field behavior. After avoiding a suspension due to three of his arrests coming during the lockout, you can bet that Britt is squarely on the radar of the league office. Anything he gets in trouble for, and I mean anything, is going to carry with it a very stiff penalty from the league office.
So, where do we go from here?
If you’re not the gambling type, Britt is the perfect candidate for a little method I’ve shared on this site before – the rule of 1.5. Basically, that rule of thumb means you take that player’s dynasty ranking and multiply it by 1.5 in order to minimize your risk in acquiring him or give you at least some value in return if you decide you want out from the danger they represent. For example, Britt is currently ranked at #16 in our dynasty rankings. If I was to trade for him, I’d be looking to give up some type of value around the #24 ranked wide receiver – even though that’s likely not going to get it done. Any more than that would start to get a little too rich. Using that same general rule, I’d also be looking to get something around that value if I wanted out from under him. Again, that’s a rule to use ONLY if you don’t like risk.
If you can stomach the risk, there’s major upside here. As I stated, it’s very easy to see Britt be a WR1 and a pillar to build around for a long, long time. He could easily finish any given season in the top five at his position. If you’re a competing team, he could represent a great “buy” right now.
Personally, I’ve had players like this bury my team. From Michael Vick to Plaxico Burress, and countless names in between, you name them and I’ve been burned. I’ve seen it time and time again where a player with questionable character traits ends up being waived off rosters with owners getting nothing back for them – that’s THE major mistake in dynasty leagues and one that can ruin a franchise for years.
With Britt, I’d take him, but only if I was able to get him at a discount from a long-time disgruntled owner who has had enough. If not, I’ll take my chances with someone who hasn’t spent as much time in the infirmary or the County Lockup.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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