Weekly Twitter Observations
Each week I walk through the Twitterverse extracting some of the best commentary from trusted fantasy football minds. Twitter can be overwhelming with the amount of information that streams live, but it also proves to be one of the fastest and easiest ways to communicate. In 140 characters or less you can learn something about a player you may have never thought of from trends, stats or analysis.
LeSean McCoy, RB BUF
So, the NFL offseason is certainly getting interesting thanks to Chip Kelly and his affinity for Oregon football players. In a huge move, the Eagles sent LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso. McCoy was coming off a 2014 season viewed as disappointing both in real life and this fantasy world we play in. He still managed to get over 300 rushing attempts, though his yards per carry dropped nearly a yard. His total of five touchdowns was also disappointing for a player who has shown he can be a machine at scoring six. He did experience a drop off in receptions with the emergence of Darren Sproles and when he did catch the ball he averaged the lowest yards per reception of his career.
So, what are the Bills getting?
LeSean is still only 26 years old and while he has some good mileage on him he can still be effective and will surely be the lead back. The Bills managed only 402 rushing attempts in 2014, which was 20th in the league so getting back to 300 carries may be a stretch. Of course, the entire offense in Buffalo struggled limiting opportunities compared to a team like Philadelphia. Rich Hribar and John Paulsen both weighed in highlighting the fact that receptions will likely remain sparse.
Two short changes for McCoy are he’ll be in a lower scoring offense and likely won’t see reception totals rebound under Roman.
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) March 4, 2015
Re: McCoy… Unfortunately, Roman doesn’t like to use his RBs in the passing game. 23 combined receptions for Gore/Hyde. — John Paulsen (@4for4_John) March 4, 2015
That is actually discouraging as Bills RBs totaled 109 receptions last season with Fred Jackson becoming relevant in the PPR game. Rich also notes the reduced scoring opportunities in the Bills offense, which again is a negative for McCoy’s value. At this point his 2014 season appears closer to his ceiling in terms of fantasy production when he finished as the 12th best running back in standard leagues. One more note to consider that DLF’s Karl Safchick shared when thinking about McCoy’s fantasy value,
LeSean McCoy has 500 more career carries than DeMarco Murray, is only 5 months younger and is going from best to worst O line (per PFF).
— Karl Safchick (@KarlSafchick) March 5, 2015
Prior to the trade LeSean’s dynasty value still was around the 2nd or 3rd best back, but now I see him falling behind players like DeMarco Murray, Jeremy Hill, Eddie Lacy and even Carlos Hyde.
Kiko Alonso, LB PHI
To be honest, I do not track the defensive fantasy players but Kiko Alonso’s stats from his rookie season in 2013 were great when he ranked third in the NFL in tackles. He unfortunately tore his ACL last July and missed the entire 2014 season. For a better perspective from a trusted mind read Jeff Ratcliffe’s latest article and what to expect in your IDP leagues.
The IDP lowdown on the #Eagles trade for Kiko Alonso https://t.co/leGGm1msaY pic.twitter.com/Y7mpVXEtaK
— Jeff Ratcliffe (@JeffRatcliffe) March 4, 2015
Chris Polk, RB PHI With LeSean McCoy exiting stage left, Chris Polk emerges as the most likely beneficiary at the running back position, at least for the time being. Darren Sproles has his role in the passing game and Polk is currently the only other viable option. Of course, there is plenty of time before September for the Eagles to acquire more talent through the draft or free agency. I found the fantasy community somewhat split as evidenced in tweets from Evan Silva and Sigmund Bloom
Wouldn’t project Chris Polk for much larger role despite Shady trade. Oft-injured & restricted FA. Not even a lock to return to #Eagles imo. — Evan Silva (@evansilva) March 4, 2015
The #eagles kept Chris Polk on the roster last year despite a hamstring tear that kept him from playing in September. They like him. #hype
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) March 4, 2015
You can bet on the Eagles picking up a couple runners this off-season and it is also likely that none of them will total the 340 touches McCoy racked up. Polk did show a knack for vulturing touchdowns at the end of the season so he may find success if he can become the goal line back. No matter the outcome the best advice in regards to Chris Polk’s fantasy future I came across was from Alessandro Miglio stating
#FantasyFootball note: now would be the time to sell Chris Polk in dynasty leagues. Can’t imagine his value will ever be higher. — Alessandro Miglio (@AlexMiglio) March 4, 2015
Bryce Brown, RB BUF
If you were looking for a fantasy loser in the McCoy/Alonso trade it was likely Bryce Brown. Displaying the comedic side of fantasy both Jake Ciely and Allen Bassett delivered when contemplating Brown’s value.
Bryce Brown shares pic.twitter.com/XBtJdRzLbX
— Jake Ciely (@allinkid) March 3, 2015
All my Bryce Brown shares go up in flames. And I had a lot of them. — Allen Bassett (@Allen_Bassett) March 3, 2015
For any owners hoping the ageless Fred Jackson would finally break down and Bryce would assume the lead role duties in Buffalo think again. Brown is still only 23 so opportunities could present themselves, but without a McCoy injury or a new team in 2016 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent he is nothing more than a running back handcuff.
Cole Beasley, WR DAL
Most of the focus on the Dallas Cowboys’ receiving corps is squarely on the recently franchised tagged Dez Bryant. But the Cowboys did lock up Cole Beasley to the tune of $13.6 million over four years. DLF’s Jeff Miller shared his thoughts on the wide out tweeting,
After some DLF Voxer talk I’ve been thinking about Beasley today. If DAL is w/o Murray and throws more this year, can he be Edleman-lite?
— J3ff Miller (@FFJeffM) March 4, 2015
Witten is winding down. Williams isn’t anything more than a situational deep threat. Beasley broke dbl digit PPR points in 4 of last 6 gms. — J3ff Miller (@FFJeffM) March 4, 2015
Despite playing half the snaps Terrance Williams did over the last six games of 2014, Beasley out-targeted him 28 to 16 with eleven more catches, 82 more yards and two additional touchdowns. Cole was fifth out of 110 qualifying receivers in catch percentage in 2014 and was top ten in yards after the catch per reception. Dallas obviously has shown a commitment to him and at only 25 years of age, I would look to place his dynasty value somewhere in the 50’s at wide receiver.
NFL Draft Misinformation
I liked this quote from Zach as I normally repeat something similiar to myself every year. NFL teams are gearing up for the draft and free agency and rumors and speculations will be flying. Just make sure to not buy into any simple quote or suggestion as the NFL front offices play mind games with each other.
Just a reminder to my homies, this is the time of year when teams leak TONS of misinformation. Take most reports with a grain of salt.
— Zach Bahner (@BahnerFFett) March 3, 2015
Special call out to Pro Football Focus’ Premium Stats for providing a great tool to pull some of the data and information in this article.
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