Pulse of the Twitterverse
I was on the Twitter machine, talking with my friend, Luke Taylor (@DSEmpire_Luke), when he asked who I thought could be a breakout TE in 2013. I have much love for Dennis Pitta next year – it’s well documented, in fact. Unfortunately, Pitta was too mainstream for Luke’s liking. After I called him a hipster, I decided to dig a little deeper. For what it’s worth, Rob Housler was a close second.
Last season was supposed to be the year of the tight end, remember? There was value to be had at each round, extending out to the deeper portions of startup drafts. There was a gluttony of talent at the position. Who needed Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham when you could feast on lesser-elites like Vernon Davis, Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Pettigrew? You were the smart drafter. Only you could unlock the later value that was the tight end position – only you.
Then, 2012 happened. When the dust settled and payouts were given to the victors, you were left hopeless…and moneyless.
Do not fret gamers, for a new season is imminent. There’s still plenty of time to jumpstart the tight end hype train, so let’s do just that.
Versatility is the cat’s meow in a Chip Kelly-led offense. If you’re capable of lining up in multiple formations, you’re going to be successful in said offense. Creating mismatches is Kelly’s calling card. The Philadelphia Eagles and Kelly have found their versatile weapon that can lineup wherever you need him to. Meet James Casey – former minor league pitcher of the Chicago White Sox turned football player.
He’s not a sexy name. In fact, his name is sort of “blah.” What he lacks in a name, he more than makes up for in upside and, that word of the day – versatility. Whether it’s the name or the lack of stats, Casey is a name I’m targeting this “off-season” as someone to buy low on. Heck, I even got into a bidding war with Josh Norris for his services on my squad. I ended up winning the Casey sweepstakes for a pretty penny. I’m a sucker for versatility, apparently.
Sought out by Kelly this off-season, Casey is an interesting name to keep tabs on. There’s little data supporting any Herculean efforts during his time with Houston and if you’re looking purely from a stats/numbers mindset, nothing is going to jump out at you. He’s not Gronkowski nor Graham – he’s not a freak. He’s just a TE/FB/H-back buffet of goodness. You need only watch the Texans game versus the Tennessee Titans in week four to grasp the versatility Casey can bring to the table.
If you’re not able, the basic Cliff Notes are he lined up in the slot, at fullback and at tight end – caught passes at each position, with the most impressive one being the 11-yard touchdown from the slot. Casey ran an angle route (out to in), caught the ball at the six yard line, surrounded by four Titan defenders, and still managed to find pay dirt.
If you watch the entire season, you’ll see much of the same thing. He’s a player they liked to put in motion, usually ending up in the backfield, as a blocker or leaker.
During his tenure in Houston, Casey was underutilized and underappreciated – largely in part to Owen Daniels being the starter. In fact, 2012 was a career year for Casey en route to a less than ordinary stat line of 34 receptions, 330 yards and three touchdowns. He was targeted just 41 times, but dropped only one pass. His drop rate of 2.86 would have ranked #2 among TEs, trailing only Denver great Jacob Tamme (1.89). He’s a natural pass catcher – he caught over 100 balls during his final season at Rice. This is nothing new.
In terms of points per opportunity (PPO), Casey was tied with teammate Daniels and former Raider, Brandon Myers, as the #9 TE in fantasy with 0.38 PPO.
Most leagues have Casey listed as a running back. I asked the Twitter representative from MFL (@MyFantasyLeague) and he replied that Casey would indeed be switched from RB to TE this off-season. They haven’t made the switch just yet, so there is an opportunity to buy extra low if you’re in an MFL league. In leagues where he’ll remain a running back, he has no real value there. I expect most credible fantasy football sites to make the switch soon enough.
So what can we expect from Casey as a Philadelphia Eagle?
A recent excerpt from Philly.com read, “It’s almost like you kind of got a new toy, when there’s a lot of different spots you can put him in, because he’s got a background in it, and he’s extremely smart, extremely intelligent,” Kelly said. “His versatility is really one of the keys to us acquiring him. He was a guy we targeted right away when free agency started, a guy that can really come into our program and have a big effect on what we’re going to do.”
Clearly, Kelly loves his versatility and later likened Casey to New England Patriot, Aaron Hernandez. High praise (and expectations) considering Casey has never been a starter (or considered a high-priority offensive threat) like Hernandez.
In that same article, Casey also states, “I think I’m hopefully going to get some opportunities in the offense these coming years, and it’s just I think the best place for me to be able to showcase what I can do.”
The ability has always been there – the opportunity, has not. He’ll get his long-awaited opportunity next year as Kelly has told the media Casey and Brent Celek will be on the field at the same time more often than not. Kelly loves to run the ball, and quickly. He set up the pass by running it, then running it some more. Oregon feasted on corners and linebackers when safeties were brought up to defend the run. Kelly’s a chess player – he’s going to beat you, eventually. With teams focused on stopping Lesean McCoy, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, Casey should have zero troubles getting open…often.
He’s going to a team without a redzone threat. Maclin and Celek led the team in redzone targets last season, but neither were effective. Casey, albeit a small sample size, led the Texans in redzone touchdown conversion rate at 60%. With no clear favorite inside the 20 yard line, Casey should find his niche there with his combination of size, strength and catching ability. At 6’3”, 240 pounds, he’s a load to bring down. Kelly will be creative in getting the ball in Casey’s hands to improve on the Eagles 44% touchdown conversion rate in the redzone. They ranked #28 overall in that category – only the Browns, Raiders, Cardinals and Chiefs were more inept.
Because Casey can line up in multiple formations and block/catch well, he’s going to have every opportunity to improve significantly on his career bests. The fact Kelly has been so emphatic about Casey’s versatility should indicate to us fantasy players a big year is forthcoming.
Realizing there are plenty of mouths to feed in Philadelphia, Casey isn’t even being drafted in Ryan McDowell’s ADP Mock Drafts. In fact, he’s most likely sitting on your league’s waiver wire, waiting for an opportunity to contribute for your fantasy squad as well.
In a draft where only sure fire bets like Gronkowski, Graham and Gonzalez can be counted on with certainty, why not take a late flier on a guy like Casey?
After all, versatility is the key to success…or, so they say.
