Weekly Twitter Observations
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.
Matchup Insights
When you have a number one receiver on a fantasy team, it is normally unlikely you have the luxury of sitting them based on a tough matchup. There has been recent mention of Jets’ Darrelle Revis no longer being the top corner in the league. This may be true, but as Evan Silva pointed out, he is still diminishing the fantasy returns of receivers who he has squared off against.
WRs shadowed by Revis this year: Amari Coop 5-46-0, Edelman 5-54-0, Hilton 4-45-0, Garcon 5-28-1, Jarv Landry 4-40-0 https://t.co/fVCBzz6uwS
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 5, 2015
Allen Robinson will test Revis this weekend, and if I had to bet on the bigger fantasy day from a Jaguars’ wide receiver, I would lean towards the other Allen (Hurns). Three weeks from now DeAndre Hopkins will also get his turn to test Darrelle and after those two games we should have a good idea how to approach the elite corner down the stretch. Looking at the toughest overall defensive unit in the NFL, the Denver Broncos have been downright unfair to play against. As Sal highlights, opposing quarterbacks have been essentially useless against them to date and it is something to consider for fantasy owners who are afforded the ability to look down the road to the fantasy playoffs.
A look at just how stifling Denver’s defense has been to fantasy QBs this year… pic.twitter.com/M9M5hyvX02 — Salvatore Stefanile (@2QBFFB) November 2, 2015
Derek Carr, Ben Roethlisberger, Andy Dalton and Philip Rivers face off against Denver weeks 14 to 17. Since all of these players should be starting on fantasy rosters today, you may want to have a decent backup plan in place if you are still competing when it matters most. Willie Snead, WR NO A player on the rise in fantasy relevance is definitely New Orleans’ Snead. Adam Levitan recently noted how his weekly participation in the Saints’ offense has steadily climbed over the first eight weeks.
Willie Snead’s snap percentage by week, starting with Week 1: 24.3, 50.0, 61.1, 65.8, 71.0, 70.3, 79.8 and 86.7 yesterday. — Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) November 2, 2015
Coming into the season, most believed it was going to be the Brandin Cooks show, with veteran Marques Colston as the number two and rookies Snead and Brandon Coleman fighting for looks. It is clear now that Willie is the number two option and even pushing Cooks for top honors in an offense that is starting to make waves. Over the last four weeks, Willie is averaging almost eight targets a game. He also leads the Saints in total red zone looks and average yards per reception. From a dynasty perspective, Snead has also seen his value climb up around fortieth overall among wide receivers and he could continue to climb higher. As Sigmund Bloom excitedly illustrated as well, the Saints have a great schedule down the stretch; particularly in the fantasy playoffs.
Brees and co. remaining schedule: TEN-@WAS-BYE-@HOU-CAR -**FF Playoffs** – @TB(!)-DET(!!)-JAX(!!!)
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) November 2, 2015
Snead could easily be a championship winning piece this season, especially if the Saints stay in the playoff race in the NFC. Demaryius Thomas, WR DEN A receiver seemingly moving in the opposite direction is Denver’s Thomas. He had been one of the top fantasy receivers over the previous three seasons, putting up over 1,400 yards and double digits touchdowns each year. 2015 has been a different picture all together though as the Broncos offense and Peyton Manning have struggled mightily, leaving Demaryius outside of the WR1 territory to date. The reason behind this is not a lack of targets, as Nick Mensio tweeted.
Targets Per Game Leaders thru Week 8: DeAndre Hopkins 14 Julio Jones 12.8 Demaryius Thomas / Alshon Jeffery 12.3 Brandon Marshall 11.1 — Nick Mensio (@NickMensio) November 4, 2015
Josh Moore also shared how Thomas is getting the highest percentage of total catches in the league and that a positive regression on scores is likely to follow.
Demaryius Thomas still a buy low because of his allergy to the end zone. Seeing a league high 33.5% of Broncos catches. TDs coming.
— Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh) November 3, 2015
Though seven weeks, he has ten more looks this season compared to last year over the same timeframe, mostly due to the departure of Julius Thomas and Wes Welker. The problem has been that the offense has not been afforded as many scoring opportunities. Demaryius has only recorded five red zone looks, an average of 0.7 per game, versus the 2.5 per he saw last year. In 2014, Thomas also saw a third of the total red zone targets on the team and has seen that percentage drop to 21% this year as Peyton has continued to spread the love around more. This drop is probably the most surprising as the loss of touchdown machine Julius Thomas would have suggested an even higher share for Demaryius. Even so, I do tend to agree with Josh on the buy low recommendation. The next three opponents will offer little resistance to what is left of Manning’s offensive potential and Thomas should start recording more scores. He should be a clear top ten receiver through the end of the year, but expecting multiple touchdown performances may be a little too much to ask.
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Dontrelle Inman, WR SD
The recent injury to Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen has opened door for others to step up on one of the NFL’s most pass heavy offenses. The expected candidates are of course tight end Antonio Gates and receivers Stevie Johnson and Malcom Floyd. Evan Silva shared why you should also keep an eye on second year pro Inman.
#Chargers WR Dontrelle Inman in Keenan Allen’s 2 missed games last year: 7-79 on 9 targets, 65% of snaps. 5-79 on 8 targets, 85% of snaps.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) November 3, 2015
Inman spent two years in the CFL before landing in San Diego in 2014. It wasn’t until Allen missed the final two games of the season that Dontrelle saw any action and he definitely made the most of opportunity. To date, Allen had amassed 89 targets and 67 receptions, compared to 95 and 54 for the other three receivers combined. That is a lot of looks to be shared, and Inman should get the playing time and opportunities to contribute immediately. If he is floating around, he is definitely worth an add to your team. Looking into the future, Johnson did sign a three year deal, but Floyd is a free agent after the year and Inman represents a younger option compared to Gates and Stevie. Mark Ingram, RB NO JJ Zachariason shared a statement about Saints running back Mark Ingram that should really be appreciated.
No running back in fantasy is having a more underrated year than Mark Ingram. Has finished below 16th in weekly PPR RB scoring just once. — JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) November 2, 2015
In a season that has seen so much turmoil and uncertainty at the running back position, Ingram has been a cornerstone on many successful fantasy teams. He currently ranks fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 804, and has been averaging nearly 19 touches per game through eight weeks. The best part is that Ingram’s fantasy value is only getting a bump with the season-ending injury Khiry Robinson sustained last week. CJ Spiller will likely become more involved in the wake of Robinson’s departure, but Ingram is the clear “workhorse” moving forward. As Nick pointed out as well, Mark will likely be a leader on the remainder of the year in scoring opportunities.
If you combine Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson into one person, Ingrobinson has the most carries inside the 5-yard line over the last 4 weeks — ProjectRoto (@ProjectRoto) November 5, 2015
During Robinson’s absence in 2014, Ingram was averaging 25 touches a game and again was carrying fantasy squads to weekly victories. Todd Gurley and Devonta Freeman have proven to be the two best fantasy running backs of late, but Mark Ingram is the clear number three in my opinion. The Saints have already committed to Ingram long term, and in dynasty I am currently placing him as the seventh-best running back.
Thank you to 4for4.com, Football Outsiders, Football Guys and NFL Savant for some of the stats used within this article. All are great, highly recommended resources available for the average fantasy fan.
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Luke practically owns the Twitter machine at @FFGator
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