Twitter Observations: Week Nine

Michael Moore Posted On November 5, 2019

It was a weird week, even by 2019 standards. The Dolphins won! The Patriots lost! My redraft fantasy team won with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Preston Williams and Duke Johnson! It’s also more than halfway to the end of the fantasy season so you better make a move, whether you’re a contender or pretender. Below are a few nuggets from the Twitter machine that might help in those decisions.

A reminder: This space will be dedicated to an assortment of things we find on Twitter and what it means for our dynasty teams. Most fantasy tweets undoubtedly have a redraft slant to them but we’re here to talk about the dynasty implications.

An Odell to Arms

I miss Odell Beckham, Jr.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 3, 2019

Fantasy-wise, the Browns offense has been good-to-fair but has not performed anywhere near what the expectations were before the season, especially in the passing game. Baker Mayfield is barely a QB2 in fantasy scoring while the top Browns receiver, Odell Beckham, is barely a WR2. Sure, he’s on pace for almost 80 receptions and 1,000 yards but has scored just one time this year and has one game with more than six receptions this season.

Dynasty Impact: A lot of the blame for the subpar passing game in Cleveland this year falls on Freddie Kitchens and his failure to capitalize on last year’s hot finish. That’s had a trickle-down effect to Baker Mayfield who just looks lost at times. It’s a shame, too, since everyone thought the move to Cleveland would mean an upgrade at quarterback for Beckham. Beckham is currently our fifth-ranked dynasty receiver but I’d be willing to bet most don’t view him that way. It would be as good a time as any to target Beckham if you’re going for a dynasty championship.

The X-Miles

https://twitter.com/RekedFantasy/status/1191336963405754369?s=20

After a slow start to his career, Miles Sanders has scored double-digit fantasy points (PPR scoring) in six of his last seven games and has proven to be just as efficient as expected. On the season, he’s averaged 4.4 yards-per-carry and almost 14 yards-per-reception. He struggles to get touches but that was to be expected in the Eagles offense as they traditionally never have a true work-horse back. But if a runner is efficient, they can be very productive just as Sanders has been where he’s currently a low-end RB2.

Dynasty Impact: Believe it or not, Sanders is currently our 17th-ranked running back so you have to be careful how to value him. Our dynasty trading tool values him as a first-round rookie pick and, while it might seem crazy, it’s not. He’s just 22 and has at least three-to-four more years in a good situation in Philadelphia. The current incumbent, Jordan Howard, is the lead dog this season but is a free agent and Philadelphia doesn’t exactly have a track record of keeping backs long-term (see: Jay Ajayi). It’s Sanders’s job next year so if your dynasty team is contending, Sanders would be an interesting target for both the short and long-term.

The One That Got DK

D.K. Metcalf being a good receiver makes literally zero sense to me. Sure he’s tall, fast, physical, has a 40 inch vertical, good hands, and a high football IQ, but he can’t turn around three cones in 7.5 seconds.

— Noah Pires (@NoahPires_) November 4, 2019

It’s rare to have two receivers on the same team be fantasy relevant, certainly in dynasty formats, but here we are. Tyler Lockett is a top-five fantasy receiver this year while DK Metcalf is a low-end WR2 so far. It’s probably the best-case scenario when it came to Metcalf for his rookie season. He’s seen 54 targets and caught 29 of them for 525 yards and five touchdowns and is on pace for nearly 1,000 yards and nearly double-digit touchdowns. Seattle did throw everyone a curveball this weekend by claiming Josh Gordon. Not so much that they placed a claim on Gordon but that they won – they were in the late 20s as far as waiver order goes.

Dynasty Impact: The Gordon news is nothing I’d be worried about when it comes to Metcalf’s dynasty value. For all we know, the Seahawks did it just to get the compensatory pick when Gordon becomes a free agent after this season. The receivers in Seattle are in a great situation as long as quarterback Russell Wilson is around who, himself, is making a case for top fantasy player at his position.

Back to Metcalf: he’s still just 21, has high draft capital despite ‘slipping’ in the draft and is producing out of the gate. He’s currently ranked as a WR2/3 in our dynasty rankings and would probably cost a first-round rookie pick. But much like Sanders above, he’d be a great target for this year and beyond.

No JJ, No Problem

Last 5 games:

DeSean Jackson: 1 rec, 5 yards.

Mack Hollins & JJ Arcega Whiteside combined: 0 rec, 0 yards.

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) November 4, 2019

Unlike Metcalf who’s having a fantastic rookie season, JJ Arcega-Whiteside is not. He has seven targets on the season with just two catches and has been non-existent in the Eagles offense. It’s odd because the Eagles could certainly use a boost as they are just 14th in scoring and 21st in passing yards – yet Arcega-Whiteside is just chilling out on the bench.

Dynasty Impact: Unlike Metcalf who can help this year and next, Arcega-Whiteside would be a target for just next year but a good one. It’s not as if his skill-set is different, he just hasn’t been utilized. But he was still a second-round pick, taken even before DK Metcalf, and was given a lot of run in the preseason. Next year he should have many more opportunities. Nelson Agholor is a free agent while DeSean Jackson is 32 and will be coming off a major injury.

Brady Boomer

Mohamed Sanu (@Mo_12_Sanu) is the 74th player to catch a touchdown pass from @TomBrady.

Brady, who already held the NFL record for most unique TD receivers, extends his lead on #SundayNightFootball.@Patriots | #NEvsBAL

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 4, 2019

I don’t have to tell you how great Tom Brady is this year or any other year. He’s extremely consistent no matter who his receivers or running backs are, including this season where he’s had a rotation of receivers to throw to yet is still a mid-QB1. He’s had multi-touchdown games or 300-yards passing, or both, half the time this season. He’s also getting some help for the last half of the season in the form of Mohamed Sanu and N’Keal Harry who’s coming back from injury.

Dynasty Impact: Do you expect Brady to slow down despite being 42 years old? I don’t. Whatever his nutrition plan or exercise regiment is, it’s working. And if you’re a contending dynasty team, why not spend a second or third-round rookie pick to shore up that position? The cost is minimal and you’d be upgrading over most other options save for a handful of quarterbacks.

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Michael Moore

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Michael has played fantasy football for over 20 years when his mom funded his first team in the fourth grade. He’s contributed to various fantasy football publications and most recently spent five years writing for the Fantasy side of things at Pro Football Focus.