Twitter Observations: Week Three

Michael Moore

As the NFL was thrown a curveball this week thanks to positive COVID tests, the dynasty world keeps spinning as we enter week four. But before we do, we have three weeks’ worth of games to determine if we have a contender or pretender and to plan accordingly. Below are a few tweets that will help determine which you are.

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.

Two Wentz Worth

It hasn’t been a great start to the 2020 season for Carson Wentz and the next few games won’t be any easier. Not only has Wentz turned the ball over at least twice in each of the Eagles three games this season but his 5.6 yards-per-attempt average is a full yard below last year’s YPA of 6.7. He’s also thrown just three touchdowns (he has run for two more) but is just barely a top-30 fantasy quarterback this season.

Granted, the Eagles offense has been wrecked by injuries to Dallas Goedert and seemingly every receiver on the roster. But even at full strength, the next few games would make it tough for Wentz to rebuild his dynasty value and improve upon his current ranking of ninth according to our DLF rankers.

Dynasty Impact: Wentz dynasty owners are caught between a rock and a hard place. His short-term prospects don’t seem to indicate any chance of improvement on his current dynasty ranking. Besides the bad play lately, every quarterback ranked ahead of him is playing better and it isn’t particularly close.

So now the question is what are his long-term prospects and is there any reason for a dynasty team to invest in him? Age isn’t an issue and his injury history isn’t nearly as checkered as one would think – he has missed only eight regular games out of a possible 67. But if you look at the situation around him, it’s a cause for concern. The Eagles drafted quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round – 53rd overall – of the 2020 draft for reasons unknown. Additionally, coach Doug Pederson may not last to see the 2021 season thanks to the Eagles being winless and entering that brutal stretch above.

Wentz’s value in one-quarterback leagues is minimal but he still has plenty in superflex leagues, specifically an early first-round pick in 2021 rookie drafts. I might look to sell before it’s too late.

Russ is Cooking

On the other end of the dynasty quarterback spectrum, we have the best fantasy signal-caller in all of football this year. It may feel like Seattle is choosing to let Russell Wilson throw more but in reality, he’s just gotten much more efficient. The Seahawks rank just 21st in pass attempts this season but Wilson is completely nearly 77% of his passes – ten points higher than any previous career-high.

He’s also averaging an obscene nine yards per attempt which is over a half-yard better than another previous career-high. For fantasy purposes, he’s averaging over 300 yards per game, and has thrown 14 touchdowns and just one interception on his way to scoring literally the most fantasy points of any player this year.

Dynasty Impact: While it’s never a good idea to buy high on a player, the output we’re seeing from Wilson is too good to ignore. He’s just 31 and playing on a team with a solid infrastructure in the front office and on the field. There’s no reason for the team to scale back their game plan if Russ is cooking, and they have two stud receivers – DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett – to carry the load. He’s currently ranked sixth according to our DLF rankers, but no one would blame you if you viewed him as the third-best dynasty option.

Zeke of the Devil

No, this isn’t throwing shade at the Jets. Sure, it’s an indictment of just how bad their run game has been this season but that was partially expected. No, the bigger surprise is the other team on this list – namely the team that employs Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys running back is seeing his usual workload – nearly 20 rush attempts per game – but is averaging less than four yards per carry. It’s early in the season but it would be his lowest average in nearly three years.

Sure, it could be chalked up to the myriad of injuries on the offensive line but it’s also a function of the Cowboys’ offense going complete Air-Raid in their offensive game plan. Dak Prescott is averaging a whopping 48 pass attempts per game. He also happens to be averaging a career-best 8.3 yards per attempt and 396 yards per game. So, while Zeke isn’t going anywhere, he could be pushed more and more down the priority list when it comes to the offense.

Dynasty Impact: By no means do the early season struggles of Elliott portend doom for his dynasty owners. He should bounce back once the Cowboys offense normalizes and Prescott isn’t averaging a pass attempt every minute and 15 seconds. It will also help to get key cogs in the offensive line back as the Cowboys expect this week. But make no mistake that Zeke’s time as dynasty’s second-ranked running back may be winding down.

He’s 25 and averaged 300-plus carries – not touches – over his four-season career. If you’re a team that finds itself on the outside of the playoffs as we inch closer to the trade deadline this season, Zeke may be one to shop around.

Allen Wrench

Well, that’s a shame. Just when we all thought the Packers had found a second pass-catcher for Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard suffers an injury that will knock him out for weeks and maybe even months. The injury was suffered in a game where Lazard was doing his best Davante Adams impersonation as the Packers top receiving threat, turning six receptions into 143 yards and a touchdown. Now he’ll have to wait until mid-season to try and build on it.

Dynasty Impact: Currently, Lazard ranks 68th according to our DLF rankers which, before the injury, seemed like a bargain. Now? There’s a good chance he’ll be forgotten while he sits on injured reserve. But it’s a good time to poach him. Using our DLF Trade Analyzer, Lazard is currently worth a second-round rookie pick but could be traded for even less while sitting on IR. I would investigate a few weeks from now so you can have Lazard on stand-by.

michael moore