Sunday Six Pack: Week Two

Eric Hardter

Every week brings us great storylines in dynasty leagues. There isn’t a Sunday that passes without a significant injury, an unexpected performance, or something else that puts the dynasty community on its ear. As always, we bring you the Sunday Six Pack, an article that previews six of the biggest storylines of the day.

We’re onto week two, which in 2020 we certainly couldn’t have taken for granted! Much like everything else with this year so far, week one was expectedly chaotic, with everything from upsets and injuries to fake crowd noise. The lack of a proper preseason undoubtedly exposed a bit more rust across the league than we fans are used to, and many players are assuredly still rounding into game shape. With that in mind, it’s onwards and upwards to week two!

1. Revolution is My Name

Seemingly still in absence of a new trademark, perhaps the Washington Football Team (WFT) felt most comfortable borrowing this song title from Pantera. Indeed, after a lackluster first quarter and change in which they found themselves down 17-0, the WFT exploded for 27 unanswered points to come away with a ten-point victory over the perennial divisional powerhouse Eagles. Much of this change was spurred by several of the team’s young and/or newly acquired players.

Despite heavy coverage from Darius Slay, Terry McLaurin unsurprisingly led the team in receptions and receiving yards, while fellow sophomore Steven Sims Jr. chipped in 50 yards of his own. Rookie Antonio Gibson led the team in rushing while also corralling a pair of receptions. Tight end Logan Thomas looked explosive in leading the team in targets and securing its only receiving score. And number-two overall draft pick Chase Young helped lead a surprising defensive effort that included eight sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovered.

I contend that one youngster who didn’t look the part was quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Many of his passes, including some of his completions, were simply off-target, while others were downright uncatchable. This offense is only going to go as far as Haskins can take them, even despite the intriguing skill position players mentioned in this space.

Arizona won’t be confused for a stout defense, so Haskins simply needs to play better this week to unlock the team’s true offensive potential. The defense, at least for one week, looked like it will keep the WFT in most games, though Kyler Murray has the potential to put points on the board. If Haskins’ accuracy and decision-making don’t improve, it will be hard to feel confident starting the other players on offense.

2, Tangled Up in Blue

Despite a pair of boneheaded interceptions, and unlike Haskins above, Indy signal-caller Philip Rivers created opportunities for his talented stable of pass-catching options. This included a whopping 17 completions to his running backs, accounting for 142 yards and a score. While it wasn’t surprising to see Rivers dealing to his ball carriers, it was surprising to see rookie Jonathan Taylor as (arguably) the prime beneficiary.

While bottled up on the ground, Taylor busted out for six receptions and 67 receiving yards, which already puts him 14% of the way to his 42 total receptions across 41 collegiate games. Nyheim Hines remains as the preferred pass-catching running back, but Marlon Mack’s season-ending injury puts Taylor in the driver’s seat for continued production, both on the ground and through the air. If Taylor can continue to thrive as a receiving option, which seems possible against a forgiving defense like Minnesota, he may find himself as a top-five dynasty running back as soon as this season.

3. It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City

You know 2020 is a strange year when fantasy football’s most reliable metronome, New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas, could only produce 4.7 PPR points, particularly against a team he eviscerated for nearly 300 yards in two games last season. Adding injury to insult, Thomas now remains questionable to play in week two. Even if he does, it will be at far less than 100%.

However, this opens up a massive opportunity for the Saints’ ancillary pass catchers, who have been largely non-existent in the Age of Thomas. To that point, the New Orleans WR2 hasn’t even surpassed 500 yards since 2017 (Ted Ginn). Tight end Jared Cook and running back Alvin Kamara have produced, but finding a reliable second receiver has proven problematic.

I want to see if free-agent prize Emmanuel Sanders, who could only turn five targets into 15 yards (albeit with a score), can use his veteran wiles to pick up the slack. I’d also like to see if former third-round pick Tre’Quan Smith can make good on his draft status and athletic profile, and live up to the off-season praise heaped on him by none other than quarterback Drew Brees. The Raiders represent a forgiving defense, and it’s entirely possible Sanders and Smith won’t be needed for this one – but a breakout here could portend well for the rest of the season.

4. They Might be Giants

While not quite full-strength (receiver Golden Tate has yet to return), the New York Football Giants provided a glimpse of what they might be able to do should all their weapons stay healthy. Despite playing against what is arguably the best defense in the league, and even with a couple of key miscues, Daniel Dimes Jones was absolutely dealing. While usual suspects Sterling Shepard, Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram accounted for over half of Jones’ targets, it was impressive sophomore Darius Slayton whose star shined brightest.

With a line of 6-102-2 on nine targets, Slayton easily led the team (or tied for the lead) in all relevant statistical categories. This comes a year after he led the team in receiving yards and YPR as a rookie. According to my AIR metric, he was the second-most efficient rookie receiver (among those who finished as top 50 PPR receivers), behind only Washington’s McLaurin.

Upon that analysis, I posited that Slayton was the Giants’ most valuable dynasty pass catcher, and so far I’ve seen nothing in 2020 to dissuade me of that notion. Shepard is a solid player who film junkies seem to love, but also one who has never really put together a full season of good play. Engram is generally good when healthy, but spends too much time on the sidelines and hasn’t yet been able to secure a second contract from the team. Tate is a veteran presence whose dynasty value is on the decline.

I often preach about the concept that “buying high” beats “buying higher.” You should apply this logic before Slayton continues to ball out, possibly as soon as this week.

5. Charge Me Up

The new-look Chargers offense fluttered out of the gate, putting up a mere 16 points against a hapless Bengals defense that was just eviscerated by the Cleveland Browns. While they eked out a win thanks to a last-second missed field goal, it was far from a promising start, leaving owners with more questions than answers.

Is Austin Ekeler still an RB1 moving forward? He got the volume (20 total touches), but largely feasted on empty-calorie rushes between the ’20s. He ceded nearly all the goal-line work to impressive-looking rookie Joshua Kelley, and could only manage one reception for three measly yards. After turning a whopping 108 targets into nearly 1,000 receiving yards last season, this was the polar opposite of what his owners were expecting.

I wouldn’t be selling on Ekeler just yet. 20 touches is workhorse volume, and the Chargers will undoubtedly be in catch-up mode versus the reigning champion Chiefs. Another week like this, and it’s fair to wonder if he’s better suited for RB2/FLEX consideration. Regardless, I would be looking to buy Kelley, as he may be working his way into a Melvin Gordon-lite role.

The other burning question regards Keenan Allen’s value. Despite just recently getting paid, he was nearly doubled up in yardage by both Mike Williams and Hunter Henry. While it wasn’t the output we expected, much like with Ekeler I’m not throwing in the towel. Tyrod Taylor isn’t going to pepper the underneath routes like Rivers did, but eight targets is solid volume. Better days are likely ahead.

6. Carolina in My Mind

Another team, another convoluted skill position hierarchy! I’ll get to the wide receivers in just a moment, but first we need to discuss the upheaval at the running back position. Christian McCaffrey ceded two (two!) carries to a FULLBACK? Unacceptable!

In all seriousness, the elephant in the room is indeed the “Spiderman pointing at himself” usage between DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Robbie “What’s that bear doing?” Anderson. Surprisingly, it was the latter who was able to turn in the best performance, largely on the back of his 75-yard touchdown jaunt where he juked cornerback Damon Arnette out of his socks.

Though the totality of his other receptions (5-39-0) were marginal, Anderson’s speed and separation ability has always been his trump card. Even if Teddy Bridgewater isn’t routinely hitting him on 50-yard bombs, he at least gives Anderson a chance due to his accuracy. Essentially a lesser version of Allen Robinson in terms of prior signal-caller ineptitude, Anderson’s arrow is pointing up now that he’s finally paired with a competent quarterback.

I’m neither down nor out on Moore, but my biggest question mark with him was his heavy reliance on volume and run-after-catch ability. When he doesn’t show that, and when he shares the field with other talented receivers, we see results like 4-54-0 on nine targets. Again, Moore is worthy of his lofty dynasty standing, but it’s okay to ask the question about his 2020 ceiling.

Samuel may be the odd man out. Though he matched Anderson’s eight targets (just one shy of Moore), he did by far the least with them. As a fourth-year receiver, he simply need to play better or he’ll be at risk for demotion in two-receiver sets. He’s fine to own at cost, but is beginning to approach the dreaded status of dynasty roster clogger.

Though seemingly improved, Tampa is an attackable matchup. Week two could go a long way in helping clear up this receiving mess.

Follow me on Twitter @EDH_27 (even though I don’t post anymore).

eric hardter