Second and Third Year Player Development: Week Eight

In this weekly column, I dissect a few young players who haven’t made much of a consistent impact to date. Some of these players may be available on your waiver wire, while others 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 longer look at the surprising Washington Redskins running back Roy Helu as well as the upstart Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley. I will focus on their most recent match-ups to draw the majority of my insight.

Roy Helu Jr., RB WASH

This third year running back out of Nebraska was once thought to be fantasy kryptonite as soon as the sturdy, powerful Alfred Morris came to town. Power and leverage were never Helu’s game. He uses his quickness and vision to get loose in the open field while following his blockers. Shanahan decided early this season that he wanted to feature Helu in his special “Turbo Package.” This group of plays was created for the offense to strike quickly (two-minute drill, long passing situations). So far this season Helu has been very productive when he gets at least ten touches in a game. He’s gained at least 80 combined yards, or a touchdown, or both in three straight games before the Broncos game this past Sunday. Don’t count on another multiple touchdown game again like he did against the Bears. Helu could turn into an important cog for your dynasty team during the bye weeks and/or when injury strikes.

His game against the Broncos was not as productive as his last three games, perhaps in part because Helu touched the ball only six times (five carries and one reception). The young back is a very smooth runner who doesn’t give defenders much to hit. He glides through the line of scrimmage, and gets very small in the hole. Helu is more suited for the cut-back game, running counter plays which Shanahan uses quite often. When the third year back gets the ball in space, he makes people miss using his down field vision and great agility. This makes Helu a good change of pace back considering the battering ram running style of his starting counterpart Alfred Morris.

Helu does a great job selling fake handoffs, which helps free up Griffin to either pass down the field or create more space for the young quarterback to run the ball. When he is pass protecting, the third year back steps up to take on blitzers. Helu is a better outlet receiver because he has better hands than Morris. If an injury were to befall Morris, Helu is a good enough short yardage runner with strong leg drive with the ability to get low to replace the bigger back if needed. Helu must get better at picking up his feet when he crosses the line of scrimmage as I saw him pulled down a few times with arm tackles.

Considering how much Shanahan loves to run the ball, it makes sense to roster Helu even in the smallest of dynasty league rosters. I would love to have him as a strong RB4 or RB5 on a contending dynasty squad. You never know when Shanahanagins will strike again.

Cole Beasely, WR DAL

The second year walk on wide receiver from Southern Methodist is starting to become a play maker for the Dallas Cowboys. So much so, Beasley took some targets away from all-pro Jason Witten from the slot position. The young receiver began his 2013 campaign catching over 80% of his targets, which is fantastic considering Beasley plays off the line of scrimmage and rarely gets touched within the first five yards of his pass patterns.

Beasley has quick agility and runs precise pass patterns. His upside may be limited by his size – 5′ 8″ and 180 pounds. There are many productive smaller receivers in the NFL, but I’m not sure that Beasley has the Steve Smith physicality needed to be productive long-term.

While he started the Detroit game in the slot, the second year receiver was not always featured in three and four wide sets, as he gave way a lot to Dwayne Harris, the Cowboys key returner, who is a bit more physical than Beasley. Harris can run through and past people, while Beasley is a more precise route runner with great balance and tenacity. The former Mustang does have better concentration and softer hands than Harris.

The young wide receiver does his best to get in front of defenders when asked to block, but that is not his strength. In the first series of the game against , Beasley was knocked down by the safety covering him, as he had clearly gained a step on him. This seemed to cause Tony Romo and the Dallas coaching staff to lose some confidence in the young wide out as he only received three targets for the remainder of the game. It is a bit concerning as Beasley was targeted 16 times in the previous three games and caught all but two of those throws. If the Cowboys continue to have problems running the ball, the young wide receiver is a good alternative as he catches short and intermediate passes that act similar to the running game, while his fellow wide outs Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams as much more physical, down field threats.

Beasley should be considered a WR5 or WR6 in deeper leagues. He only has one touchdown for the season and I doubt he will be a threat considering the other passing options Romo has at his disposal. He can be a cheap source of PPR points when the Cowboys face weak pass defenses. Four of his final seven passing match ups feature NFL teams ranked 20th or worse against the pass.

For follow-up questions or information, contact me on twitter @AndrewMiley