With the preseason winding down, this will be my last announcement about the FF4W Preseason Top 300 Rankings (PPR and Standard). If you want to receive them via e-mail twice a week until Week 1, sign up on this page or e-mail me at fantasyfootballforwinners@gmail.com.
227 of you are receiving these updates--including as recently as late last night. Each set of rankings include various features, including notations for players whose rankings have moved up or down in the previous week.
I go by these rankings when drafting every season. Last month I used it to focus my thinking on grabbing late-round bargains like Zay Jones (15th round), Marqise Lee (17th), Kenny Golladay (19th), and Wendell Smallwood (25th).
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Basing fantasy projections solely on 2016 stats, there's little to get excited about Austin Hooper. The rookie was ninth on the Falcons with 19 receptions and mostly played behind veteran Jacob Tamme.
But when given the opportunity, Hooper flashed his potential; his three games with 3+ receptions led to 84 yards, 41 yards, and 46 yards and a score. If given the starting job, a 40-50 reception season--along with 500+ yards and 5+ scores--would be likely in an offense like Atlanta's. With Tamme gone, Hooper will ascend to Matt Ryan's third or fourth target among WRs/TEs, supplying him with five to seven targets a game.
The experts compiled by Fantasy Pros see things slightly differently, with 96%/95% ranking him outside the top 12 in Standard/PPR, respectively. He's also going largely undrafted in 10-12 teams leagues. There's probably some concern that Atlanta doesn't scheme much for TEs (who collectively earned only 77 targets last season), while there's no guarantee Hooper is free and clear from competition.
The first concern is bunk. If the talent is there, the plays will come. Five years ago Tony Gonzalez earned 124 targets while playing alongside Roddy White and Julio Jones (both 1,000+ yard receivers) and RB Michael Turner. While I'm not comparing Hooper to Gonzalez, the point is that Jacob Tamme and rookie Hooper not earning a ton of looks isn't a sound predictor of Hooper's future involvement. An improved / more experienced Hooper will get enough attention to be a near-weekly fantasy starter.
The second concern is also bunk. Levine Toilolo was drafted four years ago as Gonzalez's replacement. He hasn't been and won't be. Hooper could have a long, successful career in Atlanta. In the near term, he's rosterable in nearly every fantasy league.
227 of you are receiving these updates--including as recently as late last night. Each set of rankings include various features, including notations for players whose rankings have moved up or down in the previous week.
I go by these rankings when drafting every season. Last month I used it to focus my thinking on grabbing late-round bargains like Zay Jones (15th round), Marqise Lee (17th), Kenny Golladay (19th), and Wendell Smallwood (25th).
---
Basing fantasy projections solely on 2016 stats, there's little to get excited about Austin Hooper. The rookie was ninth on the Falcons with 19 receptions and mostly played behind veteran Jacob Tamme.
But when given the opportunity, Hooper flashed his potential; his three games with 3+ receptions led to 84 yards, 41 yards, and 46 yards and a score. If given the starting job, a 40-50 reception season--along with 500+ yards and 5+ scores--would be likely in an offense like Atlanta's. With Tamme gone, Hooper will ascend to Matt Ryan's third or fourth target among WRs/TEs, supplying him with five to seven targets a game.
The experts compiled by Fantasy Pros see things slightly differently, with 96%/95% ranking him outside the top 12 in Standard/PPR, respectively. He's also going largely undrafted in 10-12 teams leagues. There's probably some concern that Atlanta doesn't scheme much for TEs (who collectively earned only 77 targets last season), while there's no guarantee Hooper is free and clear from competition.
The first concern is bunk. If the talent is there, the plays will come. Five years ago Tony Gonzalez earned 124 targets while playing alongside Roddy White and Julio Jones (both 1,000+ yard receivers) and RB Michael Turner. While I'm not comparing Hooper to Gonzalez, the point is that Jacob Tamme and rookie Hooper not earning a ton of looks isn't a sound predictor of Hooper's future involvement. An improved / more experienced Hooper will get enough attention to be a near-weekly fantasy starter.
The second concern is also bunk. Levine Toilolo was drafted four years ago as Gonzalez's replacement. He hasn't been and won't be. Hooper could have a long, successful career in Atlanta. In the near term, he's rosterable in nearly every fantasy league.