Twitter Reactions: Week Nine
Each week I will be walking 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.
Percy Harvin, WR NYJ
From the exile of Seattle to the welcoming arms of the New York Jets, Percy Harvin has had an interesting season. Three weeks ago you likely could not sell Harvin for pennies on the dollar, but today the potential buyers are lining up. After running 61% of the snaps in week eight, Harvin’s usage jumped to 84% this Sunday. As Rotoworld’s Evan Silva tweeted, it has been a productive two weeks as well,
Percy Harvin now has 22 targets & five rushing attempts through 2 games with #Jets. 187 total yards.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 3, 2014
Harvin has been used by the Jets play callers like many would have expected from the Seahawks with varying passes and rushing attempts. He and teammate Eric Decker have seen the same number of targets over Percy’s first two weeks with the team and each other’s presence is making it easier for both to put up numbers. Chase Stuart also commented on the efficiency of Harvin’s targets stating,
Percy Harvin caught 11 passes today. That’s the most by a Jet since Laveranues Coles in ’06. No other WR since Keyshawn Johnson.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) November 3, 2014
For the remainder of 2014, the Jets don’t have any great matchups left for their passing game, but the Kansas City Chiefs have been a top unit and that did not slow Harvin down. If the Jets continue to utilize Harvin as we have seen moving forward, he will retain a lot of fantasy value and would likely be ranked as a weekly WR2 option. Looking into the future, Percy is still only 26 and the Jets are carrying his contract for another four years. The quarterback position is still a huge question mark, but Harvin is performing well with an aging Michael Vick. With such a small sample size in New York and rocky stints with his former teams there is definitely risk involved, but currently I would see Harvin sitting in the top 15-20 wide receivers in dynasty.
DeSean Jackson, WR WAS
“Boom or Bust” is a phrase commonly associated with the Redskins DeSean Jackson. On his way to posting over 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns in 2013 he had five games under 40 yards receiving. In his first season in Washington he is averaging just six targets per week and two of the first nine weeks have been abysmal. DLF’s Russell Clay highlights the “boom” potential from Jackson remarking,
DeSean Jackson now has five 115+ yard games this year. He’s had a touchdown in four of those games. Now on pace for 64 catches 1394 yards 7 TDs.
— Russell Clay (@FFRussellClay) November 2, 2014
Those projections would have placed him in right at the number ten overall receiver in fantasy last season, who just happened to be DeSean Jackson. That would be a pretty impressive feat with two different teams. The other point from Russell’s tweet is in regards to his touchdowns. While he may not be catching the number of balls you would expect from a WR1, he has still shown the explosiveness to take one to the house with ease. The Redskins quarterback play has been questionable at best this season, but in Robert Griffin’s first game back, Cian Fahey commented,
If you have this Robert Griffin with DeSean Jackson all season his numbers are going to be massive.
— Cian O’Fathaigh (@Cianaf) November 2, 2014
Besides the week ten bye, the rest of the season sets up pretty nicely for DeSean, particularly in a week 16 matchup against the Eagles who he already burned for 117 yards and a touchdown earlier in the year. Long term and at the age of 27, DeSean’s signature speed will decline and I would be looking to sell high now. You could easily make the case that he is a top tier player who can perform no matter whom is throwing him the ball and has shown to be more boom than bust of late.
Mychal Rivera, TE OAK
Yet another surprise at the tight end position this season as Mychal Rivera did some serious fantasy damage against one of the NFL’s weakest units against the tight end position. 4for4’s Josh Moore tweeted,
#Raiders TE Mychel Rivera having a ridiculous day. 8-38-2 on a team high 11 targets. Was 20-184-0 on the season coming in.
— Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) November 3, 2014
[inlinead]Those 11 targets represented a quarter of the total for Rivera on the season and he had yet to enter the end zone possessing the football before week 9. Now most owners are likely left wondering if Rivera’s fantasy outburst is just an extreme outlier or foretelling of future greatness. First off, Mychal is a Raider and that normally means bad things for fantasy and real life football. On the flip side though, last week he recorded eight targets for six catches and 77 receiving yards. The fantasy community jumped all over Martavis Bryant after two great weeks and he continued his explosion adding yet another two touchdowns to his resume, so why not Rivera? If you are combing the waiver wire there are likely just as many cases of hit and miss players hanging around so chasing production, particularly coming from a young quarterback still learning the ropes, may not be the worst option.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR HOU
The Texans second year receiver continues to improve and has become a consistent fantasy option for owners. Cian Fahey mentioned DeAndre Hopkins stating,
DeAndre Hopkins continues to solidify his status as the best WR from the 2013 class so far.
— Cian O’Fathaigh (@Cianaf) November 2, 2014
That is saying something with last year breakout start Keenan Allen and other more hyped players like Tavon Austin, Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson. Despite suspect quarterback play, Hopkins continues to put up bigger weekly totals in part due to increased targets as Graham Barfield tweeted,
DeAndre Hopkins has 30 targets over the last three weeks. Exactly where he needs to be after only getting ~ 6 targets/game first five weeks.
— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) November 3, 2014
Raymond Summerlin also mentioned DeAndre and his role compared to his elder counterpart,
Talked about Hopkins and Evans in last week’s stock watch. Both on teams with aging No. 1s. In a position to dominate with higher TGT%.
— Raymond Summerlin (@RMSummerlin) November 2, 2014
Currently, I would place him as the number 12 overall receiver in dynasty and with the pace he is on he is unlikely to move down that list.
Jarvis Landry, WR MIA
The Dolphins rookie wide receiver has been overshadowed for the most part due to his class brethren tearing up the fantasy world. Landry has been the third receiver for Miami and fourth option also behind Charles Clay in the offense to date. He has been steady but seeing anywhere between half to two thirds the snaps as Brian Hartline through eight weeks. Week nine marked the first time all season that Landry out-snapped Hartline and drew praise from Chris Wesseling who tweeted,
Every time I watch the Dolphins I think Jarvis Landry needs to be a bigger part of the offense.
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) November 2, 2014
While both receivers caught five balls in the massacre of the Chargers, Landry grabbed one of the three touchdowns Ryan Tannehill tossed. Landry’s 77% catch rate is by far the best on the team and he should continue to push for Tannehill’s attention. Hartline is signed for the next three seasons, but owed over seven million in 2015 with only about $4 million left in his guarantee. Jarvis’ sure hands and youth could see him emerge next season as a more consistent fantasy option.
LeSean McCoy, RB PHI
LeSean McCoy was the consensus top running back in drafts entering the 2014 season. He was a young, proven, three down running back in a high tempo offense. Nine weeks into the season and he is hanging on to be even be a viable RB2. Injuries to the offensive line have played a role in his regression as he is averaging nearly one yard less per carry from his career average and over three yards less per reception. The one thing that has remained are his touches as he has had no less than 24 per game over the last four contests. The Eagles next three games are all plus matchups and depending on how you view the Dallas Cowboys defense, McCoy has a very favorable schedule the rest of the season. I would expect even more focus on McCoy now that Nick Foles has been lost for six to eight weeks. The main point many fantasy analysts are still preaching is buy low while you can as both Evan Silva and Christopher Harris shared,
Although Shady McCoy produced for 3rd straight game, no TDs. He is still in the buy-low zone. Go get him in fantasy. The clock is ticking.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 3, 2014
PHI/HOU: McCoy isn’t the buy-low he was a month ago, but still buying low. Looks great. Polk TD after 2 long Shady runs. Oline better. Buy.
— Christopher Harris (@CHarrisESPN) November 3, 2014
Mark Ingram, RB NO
I wrote about Mark Ingram in last week’s article and I still am more of a believer of Ingram as a viable fantasy asset this season and beyond. Of all the players being talked about in fantasy, I have not found such black and white opinions. Below are a few comments after Thursday night’s massive performance and I mention again if only to make one point. If you own Ingram, there is likely an owner who you can sell high too believing he will return top 10 weekly value at the running back position. On the flip side, there are owners out there who may be willing to part for marginal returns believing they are ridding themselves of a yearly disappointment.
Mark Ingram is making a very strong case to be considered as a RB1 in dynasty.
— Karl Safchick (@KarlSafchick) October 31, 2014
Ingram has now played 4 of the 7 worst run D’s in the league. Against the only good team (DET) he was at 1.6 YPC. Slow your roll here…
— Eric Hardter (@EDH_27) October 31, 2014
Buying Mark Ingram in dynasty. Just 24 years old – and now reaching potential ceiling. Also may land in a better situation this summer.
— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) October 27, 2014
Mark Ingram handled 80% and 83% of the Saints carries the past two games. If you’re counting on that going forward, well, don’t.
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) October 31, 2014
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