Last year I was down on new Ram (then Eagle) Nick Foles after his mind-numbing 27-2 TD-INT 2013 season. Naturally, he fell back to earth with a 13-10 split before getting hurt. So what do we make of him and his #27 QB ADP this year? First, he’s not that bad. 27th off the board? He’s no longer playing in Philly’s higher flying offense, but Brian Quick (if he’s healthy by Week 1) and Kenny Britt form a decent tandem whose numbers should improve with the QB upgrade. I like Foles as a middling QB2 with Joe Flacco-like numbers.
I was high on Brian Quick last preseason, as I am with most teams’ #1 receivers. On balance, I like guys who are a team’s most heavily targeted all year; most #1 receivers tally at least 900 yards and five TDs. A healthy Quick (#63 WR ADP) is primed for such production, and then some. In 6½ healthy games last year, his projected stats would have equaled 923 yards and seven scores. And that was primarily with QB Austin Davis throwing to him. I love Quick as a top 40 WR—a steal in almost every draft.
Meanwhile, Britt (#72 WR ADP) is coming off his most productive season since 2010. Few question his talent. Off-the-field issues have marred his career. But I believe he can build on his 2014 line of 748-3, pulling in top 50 WR fantasy numbers.
Stedman Bailey? Tavon Austin? The Rams’ passing attack won’t be dynamic enough to make these guys fantasy worthy—unless Quick or Britt are sidelined.
How about Jared Cook? Last year’s 15th best fantasy TE (with a current TE ADP of 17th) has had only five games with double-digit fantasy points in the past three years. And that’s the 28-year-old Cook in a nutshell: He’s an incredible athlete who’s shown flashes of dominance (including a 141-yard, 2-TD Week 1 performance in 2013 that, two days later, helped me package him and a couple of half-decent flex guys for Dez Bryant), but no consistency. He belong at his ADP in the TE2 camp.
And how should we evaluable rookie Todd Gurley (#20 RB ADP)? One of the most talented rookie backs the NFL has seen in years. But injuries cost him several games his junior/senior years at Georgia, and he’s recovering from ACL surgery. When healthy, can he be a top 20 fantasy RB? With little doubt. Will he be healthy enough to play all season? I think the odds are considerably less than 50-50. So my suggestion is, if you have a deep bench (five or more spots), then it’s worth the risk grabbing Gurley as a top 15-20 RB, with an eye toward having a reliable RB2 with upside for a big chunk of the season.
As for Tre Mason (#36 RB ADP), talk about a bum deal: You’re coming off a rookie season where you’re the 22nd highest fantasy scoring RB . . . playing in only 12 games. Again, it comes down to deep benches: If you can draft Mason in the later rounds and stash him, he’ll be a steal if Gurley misses time. I was admittedly late to the Mason party last season, wrongly pushing readers on Zac Stacy during the preseason and into September. Mason is too good to ignore if you have the luxury of bench space.
I was high on Brian Quick last preseason, as I am with most teams’ #1 receivers. On balance, I like guys who are a team’s most heavily targeted all year; most #1 receivers tally at least 900 yards and five TDs. A healthy Quick (#63 WR ADP) is primed for such production, and then some. In 6½ healthy games last year, his projected stats would have equaled 923 yards and seven scores. And that was primarily with QB Austin Davis throwing to him. I love Quick as a top 40 WR—a steal in almost every draft.
Meanwhile, Britt (#72 WR ADP) is coming off his most productive season since 2010. Few question his talent. Off-the-field issues have marred his career. But I believe he can build on his 2014 line of 748-3, pulling in top 50 WR fantasy numbers.
Stedman Bailey? Tavon Austin? The Rams’ passing attack won’t be dynamic enough to make these guys fantasy worthy—unless Quick or Britt are sidelined.
How about Jared Cook? Last year’s 15th best fantasy TE (with a current TE ADP of 17th) has had only five games with double-digit fantasy points in the past three years. And that’s the 28-year-old Cook in a nutshell: He’s an incredible athlete who’s shown flashes of dominance (including a 141-yard, 2-TD Week 1 performance in 2013 that, two days later, helped me package him and a couple of half-decent flex guys for Dez Bryant), but no consistency. He belong at his ADP in the TE2 camp.
And how should we evaluable rookie Todd Gurley (#20 RB ADP)? One of the most talented rookie backs the NFL has seen in years. But injuries cost him several games his junior/senior years at Georgia, and he’s recovering from ACL surgery. When healthy, can he be a top 20 fantasy RB? With little doubt. Will he be healthy enough to play all season? I think the odds are considerably less than 50-50. So my suggestion is, if you have a deep bench (five or more spots), then it’s worth the risk grabbing Gurley as a top 15-20 RB, with an eye toward having a reliable RB2 with upside for a big chunk of the season.
As for Tre Mason (#36 RB ADP), talk about a bum deal: You’re coming off a rookie season where you’re the 22nd highest fantasy scoring RB . . . playing in only 12 games. Again, it comes down to deep benches: If you can draft Mason in the later rounds and stash him, he’ll be a steal if Gurley misses time. I was admittedly late to the Mason party last season, wrongly pushing readers on Zac Stacy during the preseason and into September. Mason is too good to ignore if you have the luxury of bench space.