Fantasy Football Today - fantasy football rankings, cheatsheets, and information
A Fantasy Football Community!




Create An Account  |  Advertise  |  Contact      






Joseph Hutchins | Archive | Email |
Staff Writer


The Shot Caller's Report - WRs
Your Weekly Guide To Fantasy Lineups: Week 3
9/19/13
Positions: QBs | RBs | WRs


Bye Weeks:
N/A

Grab a Helmet

Eddie Royal @ TEN: Nature abhors a vacuum, yes, but I don’t generally subscribe to the “SOMEbody has to catch passes for [insert team name here]” theory. Royal’s quickly making a believer out of me. In two contests, he’s managed to outscore every single wide receiver in the league not named DeSean Jackson or Victor Cruz and he’s done so by maximizing his targets to an almost absurd degree: 14 targets, 10 receptions, FIVE touchdowns. That, my friends, is efficiency and I think it’s safe to say Royal, who I recently claimed “was last relevant in 2008,” is now officially relevant again. He’s filled the void created by Danario Alexander’s and now Malcom Floyd’s injuries and should continue to remain relevant so long as Philip Rivers keeps looking his way. I don’t know how Rivers couldn’t since there aren’t a whole lot of other legitimate options in San Diego.

Jordy Nelson

Nelson and Cobb are 5th and 6th among fantasy WRs after 2 weeks.

Jordy Nelson @ CIN: Speaking of maximizing targets…. Very few stud receivers offered better value during drafts than Nelson, who spent a large portion of 2012 on the sidelines after a breakout 2011 and then missed this latest preseason after knee surgery to correct a nerve issue. Missed games, nerve injuries, no preseason preview. It all added up to an ADP just south of Pierre Garcon and Torrey Smith (5.06). Fast-forward several weeks and there’s Nelson right near the top of the WR rankings (5th overall) despite garnering just 14 targets through two games (tied for 43rd overall). Nobody maximize targets like Nelson does (see that 2011 breakout season for proof) and he seems to be at it again. In fact, the only other receiver who comes close in my mind is…Nelson’s teammate, James Jones. This just in: Aaron Rodgers is really, really good and you absolutely want anyone who runs patterns in his offense.

DeAndre Hopkins @ BAL: Here’s what one preseason prognosticator had to say about Hopkins: “(He) isn’t as big as Johnson or as fast, but he’s no shrimp (6’1”, 214 lbs.) and he’s certainly advanced in other ways. He’s got great body control, for instance, and runs very crisp routes. He also creates a lot of separation and has great hands. Considering he’s unlikely to face anything but single coverage in his rookie year, the Texans may have finally filled that enormous void at the #2 receiver position.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. I mean, I LITERALLY couldn’t have said it better myself (wink).

Grab Some Wood

Cecil Shorts @ JAX: For such a self-proclaimed smarty pants, I made a very curious transaction this week, dropping the injured Vick Ballard and picking up Ace Sanders for a song in my deep 2-QB league. I guess you could say I was compelled by the number of targets the former Gamecock is commanding in his rookie year (two more than Jordy Nelson or James Jones, for the record). Never mind the fact such a belief presumes a target is actually worth something in the anemic Jacksonville offense. It might be at some point this year, but that point isn’t now, especially with the big, bad Seahawks dead ahead on the slate. Shorts is, of course, the most valuable of the Jaguars receivers, but he’ll be hard-pressed to get anything done against perhaps the NFL’s most dominant (and jerkiest) corner, Richard Sherman. Jacksonville’s scored 11 points this year and Seattle’s given up 10. Uh-oh.

Sidney Rice v. JAX: Strangely, Seattle’s wide receivers haven’t been a whole lot more productive than the Jaguars’ underwhelming bunch so far this season. Only one of them (Doug Baldwin) has caught more than four passes in a game and the lone TD reception for the group belongs to the virtually unknown Jermaine Kearse (Week 1 v. Carolina). Can Seattle really be this unproductive in the passing game and contend for a Super Bowl title? Actually, yes, but I don’t think they will be (unproductive, that is) for much longer. Russell Wilson is too good and somebody will eventually step up to be his main hook-up as we move into the heart of the campaign. Plus, the competition will get fiercer and Seattle will need more than a strong running game and a suffocating defense to keep its record unblemished. Not this week, though. Don’t rely on Rice just yet.

Denarius Moore # Rod Streater @ DEN: I’m pretty much digging Terrell Pryor these days, as loyal readers know, but it isn’t because of what he’s been doing with his talented right arm. Not yet, at least. Part of the reason it’ll be baby steps for him as a passer is because he doesn’t have a whole lot to work with at the receiver position. Only the aforementioned Jaguars and the Browns have been less productive at the position through two weeks and now the Raiders head to the Mile High City for a showdown with the hated Broncos. I kinda like Pryor’s chances of posting useful stats on Monday night, but trying to guess who might join him from this sub-par receiving corps is anyone’s guess. Stick with Pryor and Darren McFadden and wait for one of these other guys to show you some production first.

Good luck, folks!

Quarterbacks