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.
Ameer Abdullah, RB DET
As much as we always tell ourselves not to get caught up in the hype or let one performance (or even one play) change our outlook on a player, it normally never works. Case in point is Lions rookie Ameer Abdullah’s highlight run from his first preseason game.
In case you’ve been under a rock, here’s the obligatory Ameer Abdullah from last night. https://t.co/0KM75O0iFQ
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) August 14, 2015
Ameer was already a fringe top 20 dynasty running back before this weekend, but after Twitter exploded everyone has him on their radar. Rich Hribar illustrated this best explaining,
What it’s going to really come down to with Abdullah is how much you want him within the position cause now someone else wants him, too.
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) August 14, 2015
If you were attempting to acquire his services in fantasy, the line in your league just got a little longer. So, what should we expect from Abdullah this season? Joique Bell is still not going anywhere and will be the Lions “starter” pulling more of the first down and goal line work. Bell’s 3.9 yards per carry average over the past two seasons makes it easier to assume Abdullah can overtake, or at minimum share evenly, the early down work as we progress through the season. Ameer is not the fastest straight line runner, but his agility and quick burst are tremendous and have already been on display so getting him on the field will be a priority for Detroit. Last season, Reggie Bush was averaging seven-to-eight carries a game in addition to around four receptions. The Lions passed to their running backs at the highest rate in the league in 2014 and I believe Ameer could definitely push for 60 receptions. Add in work in the ground game and getting 200 touches as a rookie is not out of the question.
Abdullah’s smaller frame have many stating he is incapable of being a true starting running back, but Eric Hardter offered commentary why this may not be a viable knock on him.
In his last 3 seasons Ameer Abdullah averaged 21 touches per game without missing a contest – and we’re wondering if he’s an every-down guy?
— Eric Hardter (@EDH_27) August 9, 2015
If Bell continues to average less than four yards per carry in 2015, the Lions may look to continue to increase Abdullah’s overall work. Theo Riddick will remain in the mix as well and is a player you can probably acquire for even more of a discount today. In the end, Abdullah is a player who could definitely offer low end RB2 value in PPR leagues this season and the aging Bell likely will not hold him off beyond this year. As crazy as the hype has already gotten, Ameer may still be at a discount and I would personally be ranking him above guys like Giovani Bernard, Carlos Hyde or Alfred Morris.
Doug Martin, RB TB
Another running back who received praise after the first week in preseason was Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin.
Nice start for Doug Martin. Looks nimbler, quicker on his feet. Change of direction on second carry was quality.
— Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) August 16, 2015
Doug Martin looked really good for the Bucs last night. Has some burst back and runs HARD.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) August 17, 2015
It is not like either statement provides a ringing endorsement for Martin in fantasy this season, but the majority of notes from the off-season have been positive. Personally, I still tend to side with Evan Silva when looking at Martin.
Priced reasonably but not really buying Doug Martin bounce-back hype. Hasn’t played well in a long time. Bad OL. Will lose work to C. Sims.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 11, 2015
Over the past two seasons, Martin has missed games due to a shoulder injury as well as knee and ankle issues. He also has averaged just 3.6 yards per carry partially thanks to poor offensive line play. At times last season it was even wondered if he would remain with the team as both Charles Sims and Bobby Rainey appeared to be better options. The worst thing is that over the last two seasons no running back other than Mike James (who still remains an afterthought on the depth chart) has averaged more than four yards per carry. The Buccaneers did spend two second round picks in the draft on offensive linemen, but neither is projected to greatly upgrade the situation. I do not expect the addition of Jameis Winston to immediately increase the scoring output of this unit either limiting the scoring opportunities for a group of runners that managed only a combined four scores in 2014. Overall, I am not ready to reach and hope for a breakout inside of this offense.
Josh Robinson, RB IND
The first week of the preseason normally allows for veterans to rest and get extended looks at rookies. One rookie who has been making an impression for the Colts this off-season is Josh Robinson. Robinson came out of Mississippi State after his junior season holding a career average of 6.2 yards per carry. In his final season, he scored twelve touchdowns and also showed ability in the passing game with 28 receptions. He is only 5’8 but weighs in at 217 and a common strength was his ability to shed arm tackles and kept is feet moving to gain the extra yards. He also scored second in PFF’s elusive rating behind only Todd Gurley, noting excellent lateral agility. As the Colts offense mostly struggled in week one of the preseason, Josh was one of the lone highlights as seen from mentions here,
Really good run there by #Colts rookie Josh Robinson. Nice vision & patience + broken tackles.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) August 16, 2015
If Frank Gore ever goes down, Josh Robinson is a name that we will be talking about.
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) August 16, 2015
The starting running back job clearly belongs to Frank Gore and his primary backup (Dan Herron) also proved to be a reliable asset in both the running and receiving game last season. Other names Robinson is likely jumping ahead of are Zurlon Tipton, who did nothing to impress week one, and Vick Ballard. I even posted an article last week from the Indy Star noting Robinson’s efforts near the goal line and the possibility of him earning carries in scoring opportunities.
Interesting read from @zkeefer on #Colts rookie RB Robinson & his potential to steal goal line carries from Gore TY http://t.co/SOghalydF7
— FFGator (@FFGator) August 14, 2015
Mainly, Josh Robinson offers a very low cost currently sitting around the 70th overall running back in dynasty value. While the 32-year old Gore has yet to miss a game over the last four seasons, his owners would be wise to see what acquiring the likes of Robinson may take. In the Colts offense too, if you are a running back you are going to excel, unless your name is Trent Richardson, so opportunity may be all he needs.
Tyler Eifert, TE CIN
To be honest, I want to get excited about Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert. Dave Richard tweeted recent comments from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson making it is easy to understand why.
Excitement for Tyler Eifert here is obvious. Said to Hue Jackson that he never coached a big-time TE. He interrupted: “But I have one now!”
— Dave Richard (@daverichard) August 11, 2015
Hue on Eifert: “I think he’s going to be a huge part of what we do … I’m looking for him to have not a good season, but a great season.”
— Dave Richard (@daverichard) August 11, 2015
Eifert is young and essentially playing in his second season as his sophomore campaign was ended with a dislocated elbow in week one of 2014. Outside of the optimism from the Bengals remains the fact he also has no real competition on the depth chart. Jermaine Gresham led the team last season, but he has since departed for Arizona. Gresham’s 65 catches and five touchdowns from 2014 appear as baseline numbers for Eifert more than anything. The only problem comes from the fact A.J. Green and the talented duo of running backs will also limit Tyler’s upside. Jermey Hill and Giovani Bernard combined for 460 touches and 16 touchdowns the previous year and you can’t expect Cincinnati wanting to stray too far from their successful ground game. Marvin Jones is also available after missing last season giving Andy Dalton more options in the passing game. So, while I like hearing Tyler Eiftert has been “uncoverable” this off-season, I still remain grounded in regards to his fantasy ceiling. One common comparison in terms of fantasy tight ends is Zach Ertz. While I definitely like the Eagles offense and value it can create for a player like Ertz, not having to contend with anyone like Brent Celek for playing time sways the argument to Eifert for me.
Fantasy Team Name of the Week
Millions of people play fantasy football and all approach this game we enjoy with different levels of intensity. Above all though you should be playing to have fun and that is why the perfect team name is so important. Share your favorite team names in the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter. Also, feel free to use the image provided here as well.
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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.
Luke practically owns the Twitter machine at @FFGator
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