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 fromtrends, stats or analysis.
Arian Foster, RB HOU
Recent news has surfaced that the Houston Texans are considering releasing running back Arian Foster. Aaron Wilson covered the current situation this week tweeting,
What’s next for Texans running back Arian Foster? https://t.co/UpNef93MGK
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2016
It is easy to understand why the Texans would not want to pay top dollar for a 30 year old runner coming off a torn Achilles. Foster also had groin surgery before the season and performed well below standard in the four games he did take a carry in 2015. Currently the DLF running back rankings had him at 43rd overall at the position but other sites still have him in the low 20’s amongst the position. His value nonetheless is dropping quickly and if you are a current owner I would assume the market to sell is not lively. Looking through a recent article it was claimed that around a third of athletes never return to sports after an Achilles injury. Those that do return also take about a year to play competitively again. So Foster may not even be ready for the start of next season, which again would make it difficult to have a team sign him if he is released. You could try selling the fact that just two seasons ago him put up over 1,500 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, but unfortunately it appears as though his fantasy value may have been all but washed down the drain. Sammy Watkins, WR BUF Bills second year receiver Sammy Watkins definitely put on a show at the end of the season. Buffalo beat writer Tyler Dunner highlighted this when he shared,
In his nine full games after speaking up on wanting the ball, Sammy Watkins averaged 8.9 targets, 5.4 catches, 100 yards and a TD a game. — Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) January 4, 2016
Mike Braude also weighed in on Watkins’ year tweeting,
Sammy Watkins is very good at football. Only question is volume, which shouldn’t be a question with how good he is pic.twitter.com/yNOXVW08pg
— Mike Braude (@BraudeM) January 5, 2016
Watson’s talents were definitely on display and he likely helped win a few fantasy championships as well. When looking at his numbers even more it amazed me to find that he accounted for 51% of the Bills’ total receiving yards over the last six games. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor and offensive coordinator Greg Roman finally locked onto Watkins as a viable answer to how to move the ball and he clearly delivered. Injuries definitely played a part to his slow start this past season but thankfully the talent the Bills paid so much for emerged. Looking ahead to next season things could get even better as Jacob Rickrode quipped,
Best news for Sammy Watkins is Rob Ryan joining Buffalo. Tyrod’s going to have to throw 7 TDs per game to keep them competitive. — Jacob Rickrode (@ClutchFantasy) January 13, 2016
A full off-season with Taylor and hopefully remaining healthy could see Watkins push towards that top tier in fantasy wide receivers. The only downside will remain targets as Buffalo attempted more passes than only Minnesota in 2015. Watkins also did rely on the deep ball more, which is not always as sustainable. Overall though I would assume the offense will continue to focus on getting their best playmaker the ball on a consistent basis and for Sammy top fantasy asset for the foreseeable future.
Cam Newton, QB CAR
With the season that Cam Newton put together in 2015, the argument for the top overall quarterback in fantasy football may have gotten a little easier (or more difficult depending on whom you are arguing for). Coming off of a down 2014 that also saw Newton miss two games and looking at his general supporting cast it was impossible to predict he would finish at the top yet again this year. But of course he blew the competition away and as Adam Harstad shared the Panthers quarterback has been at the top of fantasy game since entering the league.
Cam Newton ranks 1st in history in fantasy points at age 22, 4th in points at age 23, 1st at age 24, 20th at age 25, and 1st at age 26.
— Adam Harstad (@AdamHarstad) January 6, 2016
One of the most attractive points about his game is his rushing ability that allows him to contribute an average of around 7.5 fantasy points per game. This component raises his fantasy floor considerably and the team showed no signs of holding back Newton even after signing him to a large extension. This year he clearly elevated the production of the team around him despite all of the dropped balls (looking at you Tedd Ginn). Newton was able to stay within the pocket, despite it crashing down upon him, and give his lackluster group of receivers (not looking at you Greg Olsen) time to get open. Obviously his ability to run the ball also keeps defenses on their heels and this aspect of his game will continue to help him produce unlike other quarterbacks. The Panthers will get Kelvin Benjamin back next season and I would expect the team to look to add other options to make this offense even more potent than what we saw in 2015. Cleveland Browns RBs
Hue Jackson’s offenses have finished top 7 in rushing attempts and TDs each of his last four years as HC or OC. Top 7 in yards 3 of 4. — Raymond Summerlin (@RMSummerlin) January 13, 2016
Every season it is important to follow all of the coaching changes that could impact that fantasy results of players and teams year to year. As Summerlin displayed new Browns coach Hue Jackson has excelled at getting production from his running game. This is obviously good news for Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell owners. Johnson showed good ability in the passing game catching 61 balls as a rookie though he took about a third of the carries as Crowell. Unfortunately neither player was able to average more than four yards per carry for the season. Part of this could easily be put on the quarterback position and the fact that the Browns offense probably did not keep defenses up at night worrying how to contain them. This too may change in 2016 as Josh Gordon is set to return and hopefully Jackson can find a stable replacement as his signal caller. One of the main ingredients for success in fantasy is purely opportunity and we can assume there will be plenty in the coming seasons. There still is a wait-and-see approach with what the organization may do in free agency or the draft, but at the current time the value of both runners are pointing up due to the recent hire.
[ad5]
Luke practically owns the Twitter machine at @FFGator
- Weekly Twitter Observations - April 2, 2016
- Weekly Twitter Observations - March 26, 2016
- Weekly Twitter Observations - March 11, 2016
