Second and Third Year Player Development: Week Seven

In this weekly column, I typically explore some young players who haven’t made much of a consistent impact to date. Some players may be available on your waiver wire, some may be available via a cheap or moderate trade. Acquiring or not acquiring one of these players could decide how well your dynasty or keeper team does for the next few years. This week I will be taking a look at New York Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle as well as the somewhat disappointing New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley. I will focus on their most recent matchup to draw the majority of my insight.

Michael Floyd, WR ARI

If you drafted him in last year’s rookie draft, you might have felt Floyd was a huge disappointment for your fantasy team in 2012. His best game was week seventeen against the San Francisco 49ers when he caught six passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. That game helped propel Floyd into a starting wide receiver role over Andre Roberts this season. So far in 2013, Floyd has been targeted at least six times each game and has shown great improvement.

Floyd runs sharp routes, can sit down in the zone, and will fully extend to make the catch. Carson Palmer is not afraid to target him deep and despite all-pro Richard Sherman getting a step on the play maker, it was Floyd that broke up a potential interception. The young receiver is very elusive when running crossing routes, as he can find the cut back lane and use his blockers down the field to gain extra yardage. Because Larry Fitzgerald was slowed by injury, Floyd received not only Sherman’s attention, but Seattle’s other all-pro cornerback Brandon Browner’s as well.

The young receiver caught six of his ten targets with some of the best coverage the NFL has to offer. He used his strength and leaping ability to shield the defensive backs from the ball on most occasions. Floyd catches the ball at its highest point and brings in the ball with his fingertips, not his body. Keep in mind, he was being pressed by either Sherman or Browner on almost every play, winning more battles than he lost. He is a long strider who can eat coverage quickly, and is not afraid of physical battles. I came away impressed with his efforts and the transition to a fantasy WR1 may not be as far away as I originally thought. Although Floyd stills plays on a weak offensive team with Fitzgerald in front of him, he might still be acquired for a reasonable price.

Jacquizz Rodgers, RB ATL

The third year running back always seems one step away from the spotlight. In 2011 and 2012, former all-pro Michael Turner prevented him for seeing more playing time. Yet with less than 150 touches, the young back produced over 760 combined yards with two touchdowns. Many fantasy owners got their hopes up in the off-season when Turner was released. That brief optimism was lost when the Falcons signed former all-pro Steven Jackson.

At 5’6″ and 196 lbs. Rodgers is not a big back, but he has proven to be very durable. In the game against the Bucs, Rodgers was both the lead back and primary kick returner. The Falcons have used fullback/tailback Jason Snelling for more of the short yardage work, seeing 33 carries for 106 yards, in the last four games.

During the game, Rodgers was clamped down early behind the line of scrimmage. Rodgers is good at using spin moves to create separation in masses of humanity. He gets small in the hole taking advantage of his low center of gravity and does a great job of keeping his balance. Rodgers demonstrates real explosion once the ball is in his hands. He is better running in space than as a power inside runner like Stevan Ridley.

Rodgers does a good job pass protecting Matt Ryan as he keeps his feet and stays in front of the defenders, while also being quick enough to break away to be a passing outlet. The young back starts and stops quickly causing most defenders to misjudge where he will be. His upper body is stronger than you would think as he swats arm tackles away with his short powerful mitts. Speaking of those hands, Rodgers is adept at catching the ball and making defenders miss. He can run a sweet wheel route, like he did against Tampa Bay, gaining a head of stream straight into the end zone.

With most of Ryan’s receivers out of this game, Rodgers was targeted nine times and the only pass he missed was swatted out of his hands on the one-yard line. The running back uses his quick twitch agility as he is more quick than fast. He scored his second touchdown of the game on a little eight yard shuffle pass where he made the first guy miss and took a great angle into the end zone.

It’s hard to tell what his role will be once Jackson is back, but do not count Rodgers out of your fantasy lineups just yet. The Falcons need play makers in the passing game and with Julio Jones out and Roddy White out, he and Tony Gonzalez are the best receivers on the team.

I had wanted to write about two of the Falcons young up-and-coming receivers, Kevin Cone and Drew Davis. It’s a shame that between the two of them, only Davis managed to catch a pass. The reception was a beautiful one-handed reception, where Davis showed nice balance and concentration. These young receivers’ chances to impress might be over given the success of Harry Douglas’ big 149 yard and one touchdown performance.

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