Twitter Observations: Rookie Receivers Rolling, Kenyan Drake Disappoints

Michael Moore Posted On October 11, 2020

Another week and another round of questions as teams try to stay healthy and keep on schedule. You can imagine the chaos that creates for redraft leagues as opposed to dynasty where weekly fluctuations aren’t nearly as significant. In reality, this dynasty season has looked like any other even down to some tweets that caught our attention this week as you figure out if you need to start planning a playoff run or need to start a fire sale.

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.

Aiyuk-kidding me?

Put this in the Louvre

(📸: @49ers) pic.twitter.com/wclUTduDnR

— PFF (@PFF) October 5, 2020

All puns aside, that was a cool play. In Brandon Aiyuk’s third professional game, he’s having his own version of an Odell Beckham moment. And for dynasty leaguers, the fantasy stats aren’t bad either. Despite only seeing 16 targets in his first three games, the 49ers are manufacturing touches for him in the run game too which is how he scored the touchdown above along with another rushing score the week before. In all, Aiyuk is a top-30 receiver in fantasy scoring over the last three weeks (he missed the opener with a hamstring injury).

He’ll have some competition for those touches going forward as fellow receiver Deebo Samuel hadn’t played a game until week four. How coach and play-caller Kyle Shanahan divvy up the touches will be something to monitor as we only have one game of record where both Aiyuk and Samuel were at Shanahan’s disposal.

Dynasty Impact: While Samuel had an impressive rookie season in 2019, it didn’t stop the 49ers from trading up and drafting Aiyuk in the first round. If they intended to keep Samuel as integral to the offense as he was last year, you would assume receiver wouldn’t be a priority yet, here we are.

For Aiyuk owners, they couldn’t be happier that their mid-second round pick (according to our DLF Rookie Draft App) has performed as a WR3 right out of the gate.

The odds of someone trading for Aiyuk as if he’s a WR1 are slim and, if that happens, you should take it. But short of that, he’s a good one to have on your roster and certainly when you consider the cost.

Dak the Ripper

Dak's last 16 games:

5449 passing yards
30 passing touchdowns
5 rushing touchdowns
6-10 record

If you blame Dak for this team's problems, you just have blind hatred for the man.

— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) October 4, 2020

The Dallas Cowboys are undeniably off to a bad start this year but Dak Prescott isn’t – at least when it comes to his fantasy stats. As the tweet above outlines, Prescott’s numbers have been off the charts even dating back to last season. And while no one expects him to average 400 passing yards all season, he is on track for more than the 306 he averaged last year. He’s also on pace for 36 touchdowns or 20% more than last year’s career-high. Currently, he’s fantasy’s top quarterback, outscoring current MVP-contenders Russell Wilson and Josh Allen.

Dynasty Impact: No matter what kind of league you’re in, there’s no possible way you will or should trade for him. However, it would be for entirely different reasons. In a one-quarterback league, Prescott’s value has never been higher and would cost you a fortune.

Literally, according to our DLF Trade Analyzer, it would cost you a mid-first round rookie pick. And that’s in one-quarterback leagues! Readers of this series know I abhor paying for a quarterback in those kinds of leagues even if it’s one putting up record numbers. There are several other options – besides the two mentioned above – such as the consensus first and second-ranked quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. Quite simply, there are options out there that won’t cost you a fortune to acquire.

On the flip side, if you’re in a superflex league, Prescott is too valuable to be moved that it would be a mistake if anyone did it. It would truly take an offer you couldn’t refuse to move off an elite, young quarterback. If you have him in superflex, you’re good. If you don’t, I wouldn’t count on him becoming available anytime soon.

Master’s CeeDee

CeeDee Lamb: leads the NFL in REC YDS while lined up in the slot (271) pic.twitter.com/0dKUNtidFD

— PFF (@PFF) October 6, 2020

One reason Prescott is lightning it up has been the addition of first-round pick CeeDee Lamb. Lamb wasn’t supposed to be a Cowboy but fell to 17th in the 2020 NFL Draft before Dallas (rightly) snatched him up. He then (rightly) became the top receiver taken in rookie drafts this off-season. Since then, he’s been proving why he was taken when he was – averaging nearly 15 yards per reception, has scored twice in four games and is currently on pace to total over 1,200 receiving yards. For fantasy’s sake, he’s been a top-ten receiver through the first month of the season.

Dynasty Impact: It’s fair to say that if you weren’t on the Lamb train before the season, it might be too late. Not only is he a top-ten receiver in fantasy scoring but he’s already climbed to a top-ten ranking according to our DLF rankers. And while fellow rookies Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jonathan Taylor are, technically, still worth more if you’re using ADP, neither have set the world on fire like they were expected.

Taylor has moved into a consistent first-and-second down role with the Colts and is an afterthought in the passing game. Meanwhile Edwards-Helaire, ironically, isn’t seeing as much production as those who drafted him had hoped on the ground, topping 65 rushing yards just once this season. All this is to say that with Lamb playing so well at a premium position, you may consider him more valuable than any other rookie going.

Drake-even

This is my official apology for my Kenyan Drake love. All my belief and hope and analysis in Kenyan Drake is gone. I'm very sorry for leading people to such a busted pick. No one is more disappointed than I am.

— Jason Moore (@jasonffl) October 4, 2020

To say Kenyan Drake’s season is a disappointment would be an understatement. Sure, he’s on pace for 1,000 rushing yards but is averaging a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry. More distressing is the five total targets he’s seen all season. Not per-game. Total.

And if you think that’s bad, don’t forget those dynasty teams that gave up considerable assets – including first-round picks – to acquire him this off-season. Seriously! Check out the DLF Trade Finder and prepare to be disappointed.

Dynasty Impact: The half-yard drop in yards per carry was worrisome enough but the complete lack of involvement in the passing game means Drake is just too one-dimensional to be worth anything in dynasty leagues. Currently, he’s our 20th-ranked running back but expect that to drop soon. I would look to pawn him off on a contending team that’s been decimated by injuries at the position and get what you can for him before Chase Edmonds takes over.

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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.