Dynasty Film Review: Bucky Irving, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Bo Nix
We are rolling into week 13 and we can almost taste the fantasy playoffs. We have a few young players who are doing some awesome things on the field. We are doing a film review on a few players every week and from what we’ve learned dynasty will not have a shortage of young talent going forward.
Bucky Irving, RB TB
Irving has been one of the most productive rookies this season. He has four games with over 15 PPR fantasy points, and he has scored inside the top 24 at running back seven times this season. Compared to incumbent starter Rachaad White, he is more efficient between the tackles Irving executes better vision and patience during his approach to the running lane.
Bucky Irving 87 Rushing Yards against the Giants In All-22
⚡️50% Opportunity Share
⚡️9 Missed Tackles
⚡️7.4 Yards After Contact
🔥20% Target Share
🔥27.1 PPR Fantasy Points pic.twitter.com/huqVnsGWAh— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) November 28, 2024
The play shown above is a testament to Irving’s feel for the defenders’ momentum around him. He is tough to tackle due to his ability to keep a low center of gravity to maintain balance.
We see him take the run to the outside of the play and he is met by a defender. Here he works through the tackler to escape. Then immediately he reads the momentum of the block in front of him and then cuts his run inside. Irving breaks downfield before getting met by another defender who fails at tackling him. Right before he’s tackled, he slips past one more Giant by sliding past them.
Courtesy of RotoViz.
He would need to fall off a cliff for him to lose favor in this offense. Irving is a safe dynasty asset going into 2025. Considering this, it’s fine to pay market value or even a little higher to get a dependable young running back for the future.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR SEA
Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn't Justin Jefferson like you all tried to Manifest on him, but he's doing things.
All-22 from last week.
⚡️25% Target Share
⚡️86.5% Route Rate
⚡️81.8% slot rate
⚡️19.7 PPR fantasy points WR13 pic.twitter.com/gBZpMy93Rc— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) November 28, 2024
The market sentiment in dynasty for Jaxon Smith-Njigba decreased significantly after his rookie season. Smith-Njigba rebounded in his second year and has become a major factor in the Seattle Seahawks offense. He has three games with over 100 yards receiving and four games with ten or more catches. Smith-Njigba leads the team with a 23.9 percent market share and with a 92.4 percent route participation rate.
The play above is more proof that Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf can coexist and be productive. In this play we see them both lined up on the bottom of the screen. Smith-Njigba is in the slot and Metcalf is on his outside.
Smith-Njigba earns the target off the pre-snap read. All he has to do is not mess up. The linebacker is flashing zone with his leverage which is going toward the inside of the field. He also has inside shade and is looking in the backfield. There’s no way he will be able to jump the flat or cover Smith-Njigba in man coverage.
The corner lined with Metcalf will either chase the flat or play man coverage with Metcalf. After the snap, we see the linebacker drop into zone and the safety crashes down to try to take on Smith-Njigba. Metcalf is dealing with man coverage with the cornerback. Smith-Njigba is automatically open, creating massive separation.
Metcalf and Smith-Njigba make for a good yin and yang in the offense. Defenses have to account for the deep play from Metcalf while not getting burnt underneath by Smith-Njigba. If a team decides to hyper-focus on Metcalf, then Smith-Njigba is in store for a big day.
Courtesy of RotoViz.
He is averaging 15.3 PPR points per game with three WR1 weeks and one WR2 game. There are four games where he was a WR3 and scored more than ten fantasy points. His downside isn’t horrible week to week while presenting elite-level upside. He’s also been hot during his last three games, so fantasy managers are getting a taste of his best.
Smith-Njigba was held during his tough rookie season and now is probably not the time his dynasty manager is looking to sell at a discount. Considering his age and foothold in the offense, it’s easy to say he can be a staple to your dynasty roster.
Bo Nix, QB DEN
There were a lot of indicators during rookie camp, minicamp, and training camp that Nix was going to make a smooth transition to the NFL level. Things came together during the joint practice sessions with the Green Bay Packers. At the end of one of the practices, he got the opportunity to lead the team in the two-minute drill. He was money, leading the team down the field completing most of his throws on a drive that ended in a touchdown.
Another clue was him consistently outplaying the gatekeeper quarterbacks in practice. By the end of training camp, he looked like he was poised to take over as the team’s starting quarterback.
Nix is a very sound quarterback. He protects the ball and makes smart decisions. In this play we see him go through his progressions. After the snap, he looks to his right and sees Josh Reynolds has the defender beat. Instead of tossing the ball, he looks off the middle of the field because he knows during the pre-snap read the safety was hanging out in the middle of the field and two linebackers could have dropped back in zone.
In the next frame, we see Nix watch Reynolds break over the middle of the end zone. The safety is almost out of the picture and from the looks of the safety’s feet he’s about out of the play. The linebackers appear to go in man coverage. The one takes the tight end and the other looks to take on the running back, but the play is out of frame to fully tell.
It doesn’t matter. Nix has his man in the back of the end zone. With good anticipation, he places the ball in the right spot for Reynolds to extend and make the catch. The ball was placed in a safe spot to prevent it from being in jeopardy of getting swatted or intercepted.
- Dynasty Film Review: Michael Penix and Spencer Rattler - January 4, 2025
- Dynasty Film Review: Kimani Vidal, Audric Estime and Kenny McIntosh - December 28, 2024
- Dynasty Film Review: Jalen Coker, Jalen McMillan and Malik Washington - December 21, 2024
