Coaching Changes to Help Kadarius Toney, and Justin Fields?

Michael Moore

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. By now, you’ve stuffed yourself with turkey and the side dishes of your choice. There was also a football appetizer on Thursday with the main course coming on Sunday. There were a few coaching changes (or talk of coaching changes this week) so let us see how that will affect some dynasty assets below plus some other notable tweets.

Giant Relief

It’s a small step but a step nonetheless in the right direction for the Giants offense. Head coach Joe Judge put Jason Garrett out of his misery this week after a pitiful performance in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football. The two seasons Garrett was the offensive coordinator in New York have been a disaster both in real life and for fantasy purposes. The Giants finished – or are currently – near the bottom of the NFL in offensive rankings while his players have fared even worse when it comes to fantasy output.

Dynasty Impact: Garrett may not be the only change for the Giants before the 2022 season but even if he is, it will hopefully turn the tide for every Giants offensive player. Check out their dynasty value over the last 12 months of the Garrett disaster:

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The player with the most potential in the post-Garrett era in New York is also the only player who saw his dynasty value increase despite playing for Garrett. First-round pick Kadarius Toney has been properly utilized only sparingly this season but there were fireworks when he was. Hopefully, the next play-caller focuses on getting Toney the ball more so he can make more of the plays that saw his stock rise. Be sure to check the temperature on his value this off-season or even this season if your trade deadline hasn’t passed.

Give Me Moore

It took longer than a lot of dynasty players thought but the Elijah Moore breakout is in full swing. After seeing 20 targets and catching three touchdowns in weeks eight-ten, Moore exploded in week 11 against the Dolphins. He saw career-highs in targets (11), receptions (8), and yards (141) and scored again. It’s a positive sign that Moore can produce on such a bad team as the Jets have rotated between Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco at various points. God help the league if Moore gets any consistency at the quarterback position.

Dynasty Impact: Moore fans are reaping the rewards. And by the looks of the DLF Rookie Draft App, he is already a better value than at least two players at this early stage of their careers.

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But how high will he go? Moore currently checks in at 33 when it comes to positional ADP or on the WR3/4 line. As the de facto lead receiver for the Jets, that could go higher but we should also take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the quarterback situation. Remember those who waited for Sam Darnold to develop in New York and any receiver who went along for the ride? You can’t! Because no receiver survived the Darnold era. Let’s hope Moore can overcome any potential Wilson turbulence before we start buying.

Justin Time (to be fired)

Whether Matt Nagy gets fired after this week or not, he won’t last past the off-season. He hasn’t had a winning record as coach of the Bears since his first season four years ago and is on his second ‘franchise’ quarterback. And with no signs of getting more out of the second one (Justin Fields) than the first (Mitchell Trubisky), the Bears should be looking for an upgrade when it comes to the coaching and development of Fields.

For Fields, many considered him the second-best quarterback prospect in the draft and he appeared to land in possibly the best situation for any rookie quarterback. He had an elite receiver in Allen Robinson, an ascending running back in David Montgomery, and a coach whom we thought would utilize his talent. Instead, Fields has looked pedestrian and, dare we say, bad.

Dynasty Impact: Whoever the Bears look at next to lead the team, Fields will be at the center of it. For dynasty purposes, he is on the QB1/2 line and has yet to move off of it one way or the other.

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Hopefully, the Bears can get an offensive-minded coach, or at least a quality offensive coordinator, to unleash Fields’ full potential in the passing and run game. Otherwise, he will join a long line of Bears quarterbacks who could never break through.

Teaser Taylor

Jonathan Taylor is good and I’m not here to convince you otherwise. Even if you still needed convincing before week 11, his five-touchdown performance was enough to silence any doubters. As the tweet above noted, he’s the first running back to hit 1,000 rushing yards this season, has 15 total touchdowns (in just 11 games!), and will probably end up with over 500 yards receiving by the end of the year. Now that Derrick Henry went down for most of the season with an injury, Taylor will be the runaway top fantasy running back in 2021.

Dynasty Impact: Taylor is a nearly unanimous top running back in dynasty leagues. He’s the top running back in our DLF rankings and, barring injury, should hold on to that title for a few years.

Or will he? Running back is always a fickle position and the least sticky when it comes to consistency. Between injuries and the style of play, most teams employ now where they not only pass more but have rotations of backs, having a stud running back on your dynasty team can be a gift and a curse. Inevitably, the question will be when to sell high on a player who is at the top of their position.

I take into account the players’ contracts to determine how long they will be in their current situation. Taylor is in the second year of his rookie contract which will expire after 2023. The chances are likely the Colts re-sign him at this rate but we have two years of Taylor as a Colt, at a minimum. So while I understand that some Taylor managers will be itchy to cash in on their asset, I would ride it out at least another year and make him part of your championship aspirations for the foreseeable future.

Michael Moore

Coaching Changes to Help Kadarius Toney, and Justin Fields?