Dynasty Twitter Observations: Brian Robinson Takes Over, the Tom Brady Bunch and more

Michael Moore

Not only is the trade deadline looming in fantasy leagues but now we have the added fun of navigating bye weeks too. Depth will be key as you play a man or two down the next two months so be diligent in your trade research. Below are a few tweets from this weekend that can help.

Stranger than Gibson

To be clear, the Washington offense is not something you’d prefer your dynasty team to be tied to. But a starter is a starter and Brian Robinson appears to have won that job over Antonio Gibson. It probably would have happened sooner if not for the tragic shooting Robinson fell victim to earlier this season. But he battled back to make his debut and looks to have a long leash to prove himself as a viable starter. He didn’t exactly set the world on fire in week six, rushing for just 60 yards. But that was on 17 carries, which were well ahead of any other Commanders running back.

Of course, this is at the expense of Gibson – long a darling of the fantasy community but seemingly always in the dog house of coach Ron Rivera. Rivera has been searching for a replacement for Gibson for a long time and appears to have found it.

Dynasty Impact: The changing of the guard in Washington won’t have a huge impact in fantasy leagues. Every year, there is turnover when it comes to starting jobs and this situation is no different. If anything, it’s the culmination of a trend that started when Robinson was drafted earlier this year.

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For Gibson dynasty managers, there’s nothing to do but hold and hope he gets another shot in any other city besides Washington. There might be those managers looking to get Gibson at a reduced price now that he’s not the starter but only do that if you’re needing help in other parts of your team.

For Robinson, his dynasty managers are thrilled. At a minimum, their second or even third-round rookie pick this season will likely be starting the rest of the way and providing massive ROI in the process. I would hope Robinson has a few good games and flip him closer to your league trade deadline for a more long-term piece.

Spin Rodgers

Whether it’s his advanced (for an NFL player) age or the loss of Davante Adams, something is off with Aaron Rodgers this season. The 234 passing yards he averages are the lowest in five years. His nine touchdowns would put him on pace for just under 27 for the season which would be the lowest in three seasons. And he has yet to record a 300-yard passing game in 2022. So while Rodgers’ numbers aren’t a complete disaster, they are relative to his typical performances and have him as a low-end QB2 in fantasy scoring.

If you ask Rodgers, as the tweet indicates above, he would blame the offensive game plan. Yet, it’s presumably the same one that led to back-to-back MVPs for Rodgers the last two seasons where coach Matt LaFleur has been the coach since 2019. Whatever the cause of Rodgers’ start, he’s running out of time to correct it.

Dynasty Impact: The case for Rodgers’ dynasty value is a complicated one. Despite the slow start, he looks healthy and doesn’t appear to be breaking down physically. The Packers just infused the offense with young talent by way of second-round pick Christian Watson and fourth-round pick (and training camp standout) Romeo Doubs to go with one of the better backfields in the league. According to our DLF rankings, Rodgers checks in at 16th among quarterbacks.

Compared to other quarterbacks ranked above him, that seems low. For example, both Trey Lance and Justin Fields – 2021 first-round picks – are ranked ahead of him but Fields has yet to show that he can rise above Chicago’s lack of depth around him while Lance has hardly played at all to know what we have. Looking ahead, there are a few quarterbacks who should go in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft but no obvious studs. This means Rodgers, assuming his body holds up, maintains the status quo when it comes to his rankings. I’m buying at his current spot if you’re in the market for a reliable piece for your superflex team.

Goodbye, Mr. Anderson

The first Panther domino to fall in the post-Matt Rhule world is wide receiver, Robbie Anderson. One of the Panthers already rumored to be on the trade block, Anderson clinched that designation after being sent to the locker room by his coaching staff for, essentially, insubordination. He now heads to Phoenix to fill in for a suddenly depleted receiving corps thanks to a potentially season-ending injury to Marquise Brown. Of course, you’d be forgiven if you thought Anderson was already missing in action. Save for his week one performance with five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, he’s had eight receptions since then including zero before heading to the showers.

Dynasty Impact: Anderson dynasty owners, if there still are any, should see a slight bump in his move to Arizona. But enough to be able to cash in? Unlikely. He looked washed last year when he totaled just 519 yards on a frustratingly high number of targets, 110. That’s a far cry from his initial season as a Panther – literally just the season before – when he totaled career-highs in targets (136), receptions (95), and yards (1,096). Further complicating his move is the return of Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals lineup after serving his suspension. If he were still out, Anderson could have had some value. But not anymore. He’s a hold and plug-and-play during upcoming bye weeks.

Brady Funk

If you’ve been on Twitter for the last 48 hours, you know this statement from Tom Brady is in response to a very audible clip of him chewing out his offense on Sunday. There are plenty of theories flying around as to why Brady and the Bucs are not operating at a high level but whatever the reason, it’s been causing consternation for any dynasty manager with a Bucs player. For Brady managers, 2022 is not like 2021 at all. Yes, he has two 300-yard passing games but just one game throwing more than one touchdown. He’ll need to pick it up if he plans on throwing 40 for the season like he has the last two seasons in Tampa. And while Brady dynasty managers know the end is nigh for his career, what does the Bucs’ decline mean for the other pieces on offense?

Dynasty Impact: Needless to say, this could be the end of the line for more than just Brady. The last few months have not been kind to anyone’s dynasty ADP and it’s not like they’re getting younger.

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In short, if your dynasty team is relying on any of the players above, it may be time to move on. Trade them to a dynasty team that could plug them in while you recoup some value before it’s too late.

michael moore
Dynasty Twitter Observations: Brian Robinson Takes Over, the Tom Brady Bunch and more