Twitter Observations: Week One
Week one (and part of week two) is in the books! A day that many didn’t know would come has materialized and we finally have football again. If you don’t watch the news, you wouldn’t know anything about week one in the NFL was different save for a few (thousand) fewer people in the stands. Luckily, a crowd does not make a fantasy game as we had a full slate to dissect. And with those games came several (thousand) tweets that will shape our dynasty teams. Let’s look at a few of the more popular ones.
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.
Joe-Brainer
Joe Burrow is the first rookie since 1950 with 60+ pass attempts and zero interceptions in a game
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) September 18, 2020
While Joe Burrow’s debut in week one was uninspiring, save for a last-minute drive that almost forced the game into overtime, week two was a coming-out party. Burrow topped 300 yards while throwing for three touchdowns and, maybe more impressively, no turnovers. As the tweet above enumerated, Burrow was the first rookie in 70 years to throw that much without turning it over. It’s even more amazing when you consider Burrow didn’t have the normal off-season that every rookie before him had or pre-season games. To say the future is bright might be an understatement.
Dynasty Impact: It’s rare to have a rookie quarterback start his career so high in our dynasty rankings. Burrow currently ranks ninth with our DLF rankers but also has room to go higher. Consider the two quarterbacks immediately in front him. Despite Josh Allen throwing 40-plus times in week one, no one expects him to magically be more accurate than he’s been. Plus, passing the ball just isn’t what Buffalo is built to do. Immediately in front of him is Carson Wentz who spent week one running for his life in what, hopefully, isn’t a sign of things to come for the Eagles offensive line. In either case, Burrow is years younger and just starting his career. He’s a strong hold.
One Snell Swoop
Benny Snell was the only running back with two runs of 20+ yards in Week 1 pic.twitter.com/tIr9faBivO
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 15, 2020
Dynasty owners of James Conner know that injuries are just part of the territory. Conner missed at least two games in each of his three seasons in the NFL and week one was no different as he left early with an ankle injury. That opened the door for Benny Snell who made a case to be the starter going forward. On 19 carries, Snell gained 113 yards, averaging nearly six yards per carry and looked much more effective than Conner who gained just nine yards rushing on six carries. Word is it was enough for the Steelers to seriously consider making a switch. If anything, Conner could slide into a pass-catching role (after seeing four targets in a little over one quarter in week one) while Snell handles the rushing duties. Either way, Conner’s dynasty value is on thin ice.
Dynasty Impact: As a dynasty running back, Conner was always a dicey proposition. He parlayed a breakout year in 2018 into an RB2 startup ADP.
But Conner couldn’t replicate that 2018 season, seeing just ten games last season and averaged a pedestrian four yards per carry. It also couldn’t come at a worse time for him as he’s in the last year of his rookie contract. For all intents and purposes, Conner’s dynasty value is in free fall. Meanwhile, Snell is entering just his second year and if he can build off his explosive first week, he could see his dynasty value inch closer and closer to Conner’s.
Sky Robby
Are we ready to annoint Robby Anderson as another post-Gase success story? Because I am
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 14, 2020
The fact that Robby Anderson led the Panthers in receiving may be a fluke but not his target share. His eight targets were tied for second on the team with Curtis Samuel and just one behind DJ Moore in what should be an even timeshare on a pass-heavy team. In hindsight, it’s rather amusing that Anderson’s dynasty value started going down once he left Adam Gase and the Jets. He never had a 1,000-yard season or scored more than seven touchdowns in a season. Yet dynasty players had less confidence in Anderson when he left the unfriendly confines of New York for the wide-open spaces of Carolina.
Dynasty Impact: Yes, Anderson is the lowest-ranked dynasty receiver amongst the big three in Carolina but that just means he represents the best value. In addition to playing with a (potentially) better quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater, the Panther coaching staff is now made-up of high-octane offense minds like Matt Rhule and Joe Brady, the latter coming off calling the plays for the, literal, best passing season in college football history. Anderson will never be the top target in Carolina but there could be enough targets that even as a third or fourth option, it’s worth his current ADP. I’m buying.
Swift Resistance
Yes, D'Andre Swift dropped a TD pass that cost the Lions the game.
The positive?
He is their third down and hurry up back. Also got most looks inside five.
13% of rushing plays; 59% of passing plays. (per PFF)
Already trusted in toughest area for rookie RB.
**Buy low**
— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) September 13, 2020
The stat line wasn’t all that impressive for D’Andre Swift. He ran the ball three times for eight yards while catching three of his five targets for 15 yards. He did punch one rush in for a score while one of those missed targets was the game-winning touchdown. But despite the up-and-down debut, it’s Swift’s usage that was the most promising. Despite having former second-rounder Kerryon Johnson on the roster and adding veteran Adrian Peterson just days before the opener, Swift still carved out a role significant enough to monitor.
Dynasty Impact: There probably aren’t a lot of Swift owners who are panicking to the point of putting him on the trade block but, if there are, get after it. Swift is the long-term solution in Detroit with Johnson’s rookie contract running out after 2021 (he could even be cut before then for nothing) while Peterson and his 35-year old legs won’t last forever.
Even if Swift isn’t a bell cow in the beginning of his career, the fact that Detroit defers to him on passing downs and scoring situations should bode well for his rookie season. After all, if he catches that pass in the end zone, his fantasy day would look totally different. He’s a strong hold if you drafted him this off-season and would be one to target if he gets put on the block.
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