Category: NFL

Under The Radar- Brandon LaFell

Brandon LaFell caught six balls on eight targets for 90 yards Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. This 90 yard receiving day was only the third of his career and hopefully a sign of things to come for fantasy owners.

Analysis: Brandon LaFell has amassed 155 receiving yards and a touchdown thus far in his first two games this year. His thirteen targets through two games in just two shy of Carolina’s number one offensive threat Steve Smith. Carolina did run the ball heavily in week two but make no mistake, this is one balanced football team.

Brandon LaFell may be a post hype sleeper at this point in his three year career but his emergence this season is legit. To what extent we don’t quite know but he has the size and leaping ability to be one of Cam Newton’s favorite targets in and out of the red zone. LaFell is only owned in a quarter of leagues out there and he just may be ready for WR3 type numbers sooner than later. The New York Giants are up next for the Panthers, so expect a shootout and plenty of targets for the twenty-five year old Brandon LaFell.

Selling High- Dennis Pitta

Former BYU star Dennis Pitta put up great numbers in his Monday night opener, but is he a keeper?

Analysis: Dennis Pitta led the Ravens with nine targets, five receptions, 73 yards and a score Monday night. As much as I like Pitta’s game, there will be plenty of contests which will see him end up with two catches for sixteen yards. Ed Dickson, Baltimore’s other tight end is actually the better athlete and should be breaking out this season. We also cannot ignore the addition of Jacoby Jones to an already solid receiving corps which in turn will further spread the ball around.

Pitta was only targeted 56 times last year to Dickson’s 89, so we cannot conclude much from a one week sample size. Ray Rice was even targeted over 100 times last year but was only thrown to four times Monday night. As good of a night that Dennis Pitta had and as talented as he is, I just cannot see him putting up top fifteen tight end numbers at all this year. Keep in mind that Pitta caught two or fewer balls in eight of sixteen games last year. If you’re looking for a tight end to sell coming in to week two- Pitta’s value will not get any higher than it is now.

Buying Low- Tight Ends

It doesn’t take a smart fantasy owner or even a replacement referee to know that wide outs Kevin Ogletree and Stephen Hill will be hyped prior to week two. But tight ends worth roster consideration are rare but there are a few out there for you this week.

Analysis: Owen Daniels is owned in about eighty percent of leagues but that should be changing very soon. Daniels was targeted eight times Sunday, fifth most among all tight ends. Daniels’ 87 receiving yards led all NFL tight ends on Sunday, so all signs point to buying now before his value rises further. It is rather apparent that Houston has absolutely nothing at wide out outside of Andre Johnson, so this could be another big year for the oft-injured tight end.

Coby Fleener is another tight end you may want to be buying at the moment. Fleener was targeted ten times for six receptions and 82 yards Sunday. The Colts will be trailing in tons of games this year and Fleener will benefit greatly from “second half come-from-behind-junk-yards.” Fleener is available in seventy percent of leagues but his stock will be rising in the weeks to come as well.

PPR Help- Dexter McCluster

Dexter McCluster was one of the most heavily targeted players in football Sunday which continues from his success from late last season.

Analysis: Dexter McCluster caught ten balls and was on the end of twenty carries in the final three contests of the 2011 season. To kick off the 2012 campaign, McCluster was targeted ten times leading all players with running back eligibility. That’s more targets than LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, pretty impressive. The ten targets and six receptions led the Chiefs while Dwayne Bowe was only targeted six times, Jamaal Charles was not targeted in the passing game. McCluster lined up in the slot a ton which will eventually earn him wide receiver eligibility, another fantasy plus.

At the moment McCluster is available in well over ninety percent of leagues but the ten targets for a back is the real winner here. As of now he remains a PPR league add only but an injury to Charles or Hillis will see him start to carry the rock again. Remember that it was this time last year that Darren Sproles was one heavily targeted back and his stock has not come down since.

 

Streaming Defenses- Week 1

If you did not pick up an elite defense through the draft you may want to consider some interesting options on defense in week one.

Analysis: As good as the Giants DST, Cowboys DST, Raiders DST, and Broncos DST defenses can be, it may not make sense to start them in week one with other solid options out there. The Detroit Lions DST is available in a few leagues and is worth consideration. The Lions have a week one match up with the Rams who only averaged 12.1 points per game last year. Sam Bradford has a career 74.2 passer rating and just loves holding on to the ball.

The widely available team to watch is the Vikings DST. They face the Jags in week one and we all know that Blaine Gabbert can make Tim Tebow look like Warren Moon. The Jags only averaged 15.2 points per game last year even with a healthy and prepared MJD. The Vikes led the league with 50 sacks in 2011 and expect more of the same from Jared Allen and company. Keep in mind that Minnesota is at home and Gabbert’s quarterback rating on the road last year was just 62.4 with only five touchdowns on 209 passing attempts.