Sunday Six Pack: Week 16
The fantasy football community lost a great person recently when Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros passed away from COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated against the disease. His shocking and sudden passing has left a huge void behind the scenes in the industry and he leaves behind a beautiful family, including Tabbie (Mike’s wife) and their children, Alyssa (18) and Jonathan (4). Many have rallied to support the Tagliere family and there’s a GoFundMe account set up to do just that. If any of you feel the calling to give, there are few people better to support than “Tags.” He will be missed!
This Sunday Six Pack is a traditional article at DLF and a part of our content strategy for over six years. As always, we will cover six dynasty-relevant storylines to watch on the Sunday slate of NFL games. I’m honored to be here every week, putting my spin on this series. Most excitingly, it’s become a two-part article this year! Every Monday, my Hangover article will drop, reviewing my Six Pack based on what happened on Sunday. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into my first storyline!
Is Kenny Golladay Done?
At this point, Golladay has to be one of the worst free-agent signings this off-season among all positions, not just fantasy-relevant ones.
Chart courtesy of DLF Player Scoring History App.
Considering the Giants gave Golladay a four-year, $72 million contract with $40 million guaranteed, this production output is utterly unacceptable. He hasn’t scored over 18 PPR points in any game. Worse than that, outside of one 17.6-point performance in week four, his next best output is 10.4 PPR points in weeks one and three.
Golladay has 31 catches on 62 targets for 477 yards and no touchdowns in 11 games for the season. He has 2.8 receptions and 43.4 yards per game, producing no value for the Giants or fantasy managers, even though Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney have struggled with injuries. Golladay turned 28 years old in November, so it’s not like he’s an ascending asset either.
The Giants face the Eagles this week, likely with Jake Fromm at quarterback. Shepard tore his Achilles last week, which probably ended his Giants’ career. If Golladay can’t step up now, he’s just a high-priced dynasty roster-clogger.
Dallas Goedert’s Rise to Stardom
Three weeks ago, I started to worry about Goedert in my week 13 Six Pack article. However, he silenced any criticism after that. In week 13, he caught all six of his targets from Gardner Minshew for 105 yards and two touchdowns. However, in the Monday Hangover article, I dismissed his performance as a one-off, as it came from a different starting quarterback.
But after the Eagles’ week 14 bye, Goedert had another monster game in week 15. He had seven receptions for 135 yards on nine targets, his second straight 100-yard game. The best part is that he had that performance with Jalen Hurts back at quarterback instead of Minshew. The Eagles recently signed Goedert to a four-year, $57 million extension, and it’s nice to see them using him accordingly.
Right now, Goedert’s DLF December ADP seems silly at TE8 and 85.75 overall. He’s behind Pat Freiermuth, who hasn’t shown anywhere near the same fantasy production or consistency yet in his career. I also see little difference between Goedert and Darren Waller, who sits at TE4 and 43.75 overall. Since Waller is 2.5 years older than Goedert and hasn’t done much this season, I’d likely prefer Goedert at this point in dynasty formats. I hope Goedert continues to excel this week against the Giants. He will cement himself as a high-end dynasty tight end if he does.
Is Ja’Marr Chase in a Slump?
Chase completed his meteoric rise to the top overall asset in DLF’s ADP data in November. He went first overall in three of four mock drafts and second behind Jonathan Taylor in the fourth. But since then, Chase suddenly hasn’t been the same type of fantasy or real-life wide receiver.
Chart courtesy of DLF Player Scoring History App.
Chase scored 13.4 or more PPR points in each of the first seven weeks, providing both a floor and a ceiling for his fantasy managers. He also eliminated the pre-season concerns surrounding his drops. He had 35 catches, 754 yards, and six touchdowns through those seven games, averaging 107.7 receiving yards per game. Given that start to his career, his November ADP makes perfect sense.
But since then, Chase hasn’t reached 13.4 points in six of his seven games. He had a strong performance in week 14, but he hasn’t been a difference-maker outside of that. Then, unfortunately, he put up his only horrible game of the year in the first playoff week in week 15 with only one catch for three yards, killing his fantasy managers.
Even though a playoff disappointment will stick in dynasty managers’ minds, Chase is such a high-end asset that he can wipe that away with a strong game or two the next three weeks. The Bengals face the Ravens in a critical matchup for the playoffs this week, and I expect they will try to involve Chase and Tee Higgins more than last week. Either way, Chase remains one of my favorite young receivers, so I’m always watching to see if he puts up a monster performance.
Devin Singletary’s Return
I’ve essentially dismissed the Bills’ backfield multiple times over the past two seasons. Josh Allen vultures so much goal-line work that a Bills’ running back would need a complete workhorse role to find any relevance. And until recently, I had zero faith in Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, or Matt Breida to be anything like that.
However, the Bills suddenly turned to Singletary as their workhorse these past two weeks as they made Moss a healthy scratch in both games. He saw only four rushing attempts in week 14 versus the Buccaneers, but he played 82% of offensive snaps and had six receptions for 37 yards. But in week 15, he finally emerged, taking 22 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown plus a reception for ten yards.
I’m not saying that Singletary will remain a workhorse into 2022. But he could continue to see work this season and earn a significant role next year. The Bills trust him as a workhorse back in a pinch, so you can play Singletary in fantasy football when it’s clear he’ll get the lion’s share of touches. Either way, it’s hard to argue with Singletary at RB53 and 164.50 overall in DLF’s ADP. The Patriots are a tough matchup this week, but if he gets 80-90% of snaps again, he’ll be a fantasy RB2.
Ben Skowronek
This one is more of a deep pull, but I always like to call attention to deeper dynasty stashes every once in a while. The Rams have a high-powered offense, and anyone relevant on this roster has dynasty relevance. Skowronek is only a seventh-round pick, but he’s already found playing time in the Rams’ offense this year. Of course, they also selected receiver Tutu Atwell in the second round and receiving tight end Jacob Harris in the fourth round, although neither made any impact as rookies. They also lost Robert Woods to a torn ACL, replacing him with Odell Beckham Jr.
While Beckham Jr and 2020 second-rounder Van Jefferson have been decent in Woods’ place, neither impressed last week against the Seahawks. Jefferson had two catches for 23 yards, while Beckham Jr had one for seven yards. In contrast, Skowronek had more targets than either, finishing second on the team with five. He caught four of those for 42 yards, giving him the second-most receptions and yards for the game behind Cooper Kupp.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Skowronek will ever have even a shred of dynasty value. But Woods may never return to form after his ACL tear, Beckham Jr is a free agent after 2021, and Jefferson isn’t a consistent option. It might take another injury for him to emerge fully, but I want to add him off waiver wires before this week against the Vikings. The Vikings don’t exactly have a great passing defense, and it would likely only take one more decent game for dynasty managers to take notice. So add him now, just in case.
The Ronald Jones Fantasy Playoff Game
It’s no secret that I have no love for Jones whatsoever. I often discuss Jones’ poor play and inconsistency on the DLF YouTube channel, and I had little hope for him as a dynasty asset until right now. The Buccaneers stuck with Leonard Fournette as their clear starter throughout this year after he emerged during last year’s Super Bowl run. Fournette is currently the RB3 for 2021, behind only Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler.
On the other hand, Jones hasn’t done a thing this year for dynasty managers.
Chart courtesy of DLF Player Scoring History App.
Somehow, despite playing for the Buccaneers’ offense, he doesn’t have a single double-digit PPR game this season. Considering he’s scored three rushing touchdowns, that’s an abysmal fantasy record. The Buccaneers also used Giovani Bernard ahead of him as Leonard Fournette’s backup and complement at times, although he’s currently on injured reserve with a hip injury. Even without Bernard, though, Jones continued to make zero impact.
However, last week, Fournette suffered a hamstring injury, which will rule him out for the rest of the regular season. Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians stated that Jones would be his new starter while Fournette is out, allowing him to make a last-minute difference for dynasty managers. Without Bernard, the Buccaneers’ only other running backs are 2020 third-round bust Ke’Shawn Vaughn and newly signed Le’Veon Bell.
Therefore, I expect many dynasty managers to play Jones in their playoff lineups this week against the Panthers. But more importantly, he’s a free agent at the end of this season. I think this is his absolute last chance to make an impression on the NFL and score another relevant job for 2022. If he flops these next three weeks, his career is likely over, at least as anything more than a random backup.
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