Twitter Observations: Super Bowl Week
And with that final touchdown run from Damien Williams (see more below!), the 2019 NFL Season concludes. Dynasty leagues finished long ago but nothing can be done until the actual NFL season has ended. Luckily, we’ve made it all in one piece and are ready to start tinkering with our dynasty rosters. Rookie workouts and free agency aren’t far off. In the meantime, there are some veterans below that may be on the trading block in your league.
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, but we’re here to talk about the dynasty implications.
Can the Butler do it?
This time last year, Kelvin Harmon & Hakeem Butler were projected top-5 dynasty rookie picks.
Mecole Hardman was the 72nd rookie drafted in DLF ADP.
— Ryan McDowell (@RyanMc23) February 1, 2020
While several rookie receivers showed they had immediate fantasy relevance this season, several more did not.
The causes ranged from lack of opportunity or skill to injuries, all of which are reasons to consider them bounce back candidates in 2020. A player mentioned above is one of my personal favorites of that group. Hakeem Butler was part of the triumvirate of rookie receivers the Cardinals brought in to go along with quarterback and first overall pick Kyler Murray. Pre-draft, Butler was being selected as one of the top receivers in rookie drafts and his overall ADP was well ahead of eventual second-round pick and teammate Andy Isabella. 
His ADP started dipping when he slid in the NFL draft, all the way to the fourth round, and declined even further when a serious finger injury ended his rookie season before it started. His ADP is now settled in at 153rd overall which, as indicated above, is well below Isabella.
Dynasty Impact: There may never be a better time to get in on a truly freakish athlete. Not only was he one of the biggest and tallest receivers in last year’s class but his wingspan, hand size and broad jump were all in the 88th-percentile or higher. His speed wasn’t an issue either, running a 4.48 40-yard dash. He’ll have a golden opportunity in 2020 after the other Cardinals rookie receivers (Isabella, KeeSean Johnson) failed to impress when they were healthy.
Chief of the Action
Damien Williams played a very good game last night.
But I’m old enough to remember the Darwin Thompson hype and Williams isn’t good takes all offseason.
— Nick Whalen (@_NickWhalen) February 3, 2020
Many thought Williams should have been the MVP of Super Bowl LIV. It’s hard to argue after he ran through the vaulted 49er defense for 100 yards and scored twice while adding 29 yards receiving. When the hangover of a truly MVP-level performance wears off, though, dynasty players need to remember what Williams did across a much larger sample size.
Through the first half of the 2019 season, he failed to top nine carries in all but one game while he battled veteran LeSean McCoy for carries. It was only after McCoy lost his second fumble of the season that Williams was given more opportunities. Even then, a rib injury cost him a few games which allowed Darwin Thompson and Darrel Williams to creep in there and take carries. With the frequency the Chiefs switched out backs, even mid-game, at no point did any fantasy owner of Williams feel safe to play him last year, nor should they feel comfortable heading into the off-season.
Dynasty Impact: The bottom line for Williams’ dynasty owners is the allure of having a running back on the Chiefs much outweighs his actual value. Andy Reid literally brought in a 31-year old running back to compete with him last year and actually gave that player (McCoy) the starting job! Let’s also not forget that Williams is super cheap (making under $2 million this upcoming season) and can be cut at any time with very little repercussions. Oh yeah, he’s also heading into his age-28 season.
Williams is a great story and has earned the recognition, but don’t go crazy trying to acquire him this off-season. He’s still in the RB3/4 range using our ADP tool which, potentially, could even be optimistic.
A Brady Hunch
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) January 30, 2020
Tom Brady may be the only football player that can make any part of Super Bowl week about himself despite not playing in the game. He did just that when he posted this mysterious (is he facing out? Or in???) tweet, presumably about his future plans in the NFL. It was a logical question for his followers as he’s set to become a free agent while both he and the team have implied that changes are coming.
Fantasy-wise, Brady still produced. He was a low-end QB1 (in most leagues) in spite of season-long questions about his age catching up to him. This despite a receiving corps of Julian Edelman and . . . no one else! Seriously, no other receiver or tight end had more than 400 yards for the season (running back James White did have 645).
Dynasty Impact: Whether Brady stays in New England or not, he’s sure to head into the 2020 season with better talent around him. He’ll also have a rather long leash, unlike other quarterbacks ahead of him in our dynasty ADP tool where he currently sits 28th. Sure, his numbers last year were some of the worst of his career. The 24 passing touchdowns were his lowest in a 16-game season since 2006, and his 6.6 yards-per-attempt was his lowest since 2002. But you should be able to acquire him at a dirt-cheap (i.e., free) price.
Cardinal Value
Isaiah Crowell has 3,803 rushing yards in the NFL.
David Johnson has 3,128.— T͓̽o͓̽m͓̽ ͓̽K͓̽i͓̽s͓̽l͓̽i͓̽n͓̽g͓̽b͓̽u͓̽r͓̽y͓̽ (@TomKislingbury) February 1, 2020
No, this isn’t a post about the dynasty value of Isaiah Crowell (although he, too, will be dirt cheap in your league!), but rather the rapid decline of David Johnson. After setting the fantasy world on fire in 2016, where he totaled over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage, Johnson has been a total bust. Partially due to injuries and partially due to ineffectiveness, it all culminated in Johnson being benched for Kenyan Drake towards the end of the 2019 season. He barely averaged 50 total yards-per-game this season and scored only six touchdowns (twice rushing and four times receiving).
Dynasty Impact: Despite the single, record-breaking year, Johnson has been a top-10 dynasty asset for nearly four years – but no longer.
He currently checks in at 31st overall, and even that might be too high. He might not even start on his own team, let alone your dynasty team. Drake is younger, performed much better and is much cheaper (using the salary cap). It would be best for everyone if Johnson were traded but his contract is a major hindrance and could mean he ends up back in Arizona, backing up Drake like he did last year. Trade him off your dynasty team now.
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