Say hello to fantasy’s WR56! In two games against bad secondaries,
a guy likely drafted as a WR1 has compiled an 8-107-0 line. After
some twitter beef with the team last week, cooler heads prevailed
and Robinson quieted down. His 18 targets is tied for 10th in
the NFL, but when most of those targets are of the uncatchable
variety, it’s quite hard to produce. Luckily a confluence
of good fortune comes this week against Atlanta. The Falcons simply
don’t play pass defense, and it’s a good bet we will
see the squeaky wheel get some grease this week. Production will
come for Robinson, especially if Trubisky throws a few on target
by accident. Robinson hits a big play, goes over 100 yards and
joins his teammates in a “show me the money” touchdown
celebration.
A quick look at the numbers for Green to start the season does
not paint a pretty picture. His 8 receptions for 80 scoreless
yards is a far cry from his previously elite seasons. But a closer
look at the stats doesn’t reveal an aging receiver out of
gas, it shows a rookie quarterback who hasn’t yet found
a groove with his top receiver. Shockingly Green is 5th in the
NFL with 22 targets. Yes, that means he’s only caught 36%
of his chances! To say he’s due for some positive regression
is an understatement. Besides the 22 targets, he also leads in
the NFL in air yards. Joe Burrow looked better last week, and
I’m banking on this duo finally clicking this week. Boy,
between Green and Robinson I’m going real deep on “faith!”
They don’t call this column the Shot Caller’s Report for nothing!
You have to scroll pretty far to find Williams on the WR rankings,
but I’m seeking out guys that are getting chances, but just haven’t
put it together yet, and Williams is one of those guys. He’s only
caught 3 of his 12 targets, but remember he’s working back into
game shape after a torn ACL last year and the pass defense of Buffalo
and New England are some of the league’s best. With DeVante Parker
still hobbled, and a beatable Jags secondary on tap, Williams makes
for an upside WR3 play. With a bevy of receivers out, Williams could
be a diamond in the rough that keeps you afloat this week.
I’m really surprised by Gallup’s drop in the passing
game hierarchy this season. His 10 targets are 5th on the team
behind a running back AND a back-up tight end! With 50+ yards
in each game he’s still contributing, but he was drafted
as an upside WR3 and hasn’t come close to returning that
value. With another expected shootout with Seattle this week maybe
he goes off, but it’s tough to feel really good about hitting
that “submit lineup” button with Gallup in there.
The potential downside of the development of Minshew is the fact
that Chark isn’t being force fed the ball like he was at times
last year. He’s been super-efficient (caught all his 7 targets
thus far for 109 yards and a score) and yes, I know his talent
makes him a must start, but owners might need to come to the realization
that he will not be as featured in this new offense as many thought
he would be. I also don’t love the fact a “chest” ailment has
him on the injury report this week either. Keep firing him up,
but temper expectations.
Update: Chark has
been ruled out for the Thursday night game against the Dolphins.
Julio Jones must be the most maddening dominant receiver of all
time. Sure, he consistently puts up monster catch and yardage
totals, but he always seems to be banged up (hammy this time),
he can display wildly horrible hands (biffing on a 40+ yard touchdown
from Russel Gage last week) and seems to be comically bad at scoring
touchdowns (only 1 season of double digit scores). For a guy with
his athletic profile he should be truly unstoppable, but it just
never seems to fully come together on a consistent basis. You’ll
look silly sitting him obviously, but the balky hammy seems to
be slow to heal, and the emergence of Ridley and Gage give this
passing offense more places to go. I knew that the torch passing
to Ridley would come sometime this year, but maybe it’s
already happened?
