I recently completed a 28-Round Draft on Scout, and I posted my roster and thoughts behind my quarterback and running back selections here.
Let’s jump right into it for the wide receiver and tight end position.
Wide Receiver Roster
Wide Receiver 1- Alshon Jeffery
5. Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal present defenses with two really different skill sets. They will be difficult to cover.
— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) June 19, 2015
It can look a little scary when you don’t draft a receiver until Round 3, but I was more than pleased to land Jeffery at this spot as my first receiver. Some look at the addition of Kevin White as a deterrent to Jeffery’s success, but I think Jeffery sees a bump in production because running back Matt Forte’s reception totals will come back to earth in 2015. I would place a big bet on the under that Forte does not record 102 or more receptions in 2015, and I don’t think he will even be close to 808 reaching yards. Will he still be involved in the passing attack? Sure, but I think he will finish with 400-500 receiving yards. Also, White won’t have as much of an impact as people think. There is a better case to worry about Eddie Royal. You can find it here.
Jeffery finished 2014 with 1,133 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, which is impressive when you consider Forte’s involvement in the passing attack, Jay Cutler‘s efficiency, and Martellus Bennett soaking up looks when Brandon Marshall was on the sidelines. Jeffery was the 16th receiver off the board, and he’s a receiver who can flirt with top-tier numbers.
Wide Receiver 2-DeSean Jackson Jackson was able to haul in 1,169 receiving yards in 2014 with only 56 receptions. Jackson finished with 29 fewer receptions than Jeffery but was able to finish with 33 more receiving yards. He also was able to record those numbers with a rotating cast of quarterbacks. His reception totals are inconsistent for ideal PPR performances, but he has the ability to turn one catch into solid Fantasy production.
Jackson is currently tickling the fancy of many Fantasy writers, so I’m not sure if he will be available in Round 5 by the time the season starts. I will have to deal with the occasional down week from time to time, but I also get to capitalize when he records a monster performance.
Wide Receiver 3-Steve Smith Sr.
Despite the additions of Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams, Smith Sr. has the benefit of experience working in his favor. We all became spoiled with rookie receivers like Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr., but it can take time for a rookie to develop rapport and find a role in an offense.
Perriman is not an instant replacement for Torrey Smith, and Williams won’t offer an immediate replacement for Dennis Pitta. Some of Smith’s production will be tied into if Pitta is back in the lineup, but he is the cagey veteran Joe Flacco will look towards to help keep the chains moving.
Wide Receiver 4-Cody Latimer
Latimer has great physical tools to make an impact in his second season. Of course, it is worrisome that he reportedly checked out mentally last season. Mike Clay of ProFootballFocus.com has a great piece on what some of the coaching changes mean for different teams, and you can review a few key stats behind Kubiak’s work.
Kubiak wasn’t a big fan of getting usage out of the No. 3 wide receiver, and that is a trend that could continue into the 2015 season. Still, in a best-ball format, I’m looking to capitalize on a few particular good weeks.
Wide Receiver 5-Greg Jennings
Most people are completely dismissing Jennings because of all the new additions on offense, so I wanted to review if it was worth owning the 31-year old receiver since most people are avoiding him. There will be moments when Jennings finds himself with a random, relevant game, but his value has increased with DeVante Parker‘s Week 1 status unclear (foot surgery). Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor wants to improve the efficiency of the offense in the red zone, and Parker will be a nice target for Ryan Tannehill when he gets on the field.
With the foot surgery, however, Parker is going to miss time building a rapport with his quarterback. Jennings, on the other hand, is a veteran receiver who has the benefit of working with Tannehill throughout the offseason. Sometimes certain players will help push your team through different parts of the season, and I expect Jennings to be a relevant factor until Parker finds his groove.
Wide Receiver 6-Tavon Austin
I’m not sure the St. Louis Rams know how to get the most out of Austin, but I was willing to find out with a pick in Round 17. I’m just placing a bet that Austin will have a more relevant role than his 2014 season of 466 total yards and two touchdowns. Is he a candidate for 1,000 total yards? Probably not, but he did record 418 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in his first season.
He will work out just fine if he’s able to double those numbers.
Wide Receiver 7-Eddie Royal
The addition of Royal will help to partially protect my investment of Jeffery. I highlighted why I liked Royal earlier, and if Jeffery has a poor performance, hopefully Royal could help to save the day.
Wide Receiver 8-Aaron Dobson
Dobson has been a sleeper candidate for two years now, but injuries and focus issues have plagued his first two seasons in the league. The New England Patriots did not make any big moves to add new pieces to the offense, so the same cast of characters mostly remains intact.
Shane Vereen is missing, but Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola stuck around. I really wanted Stephen Hill at this spot, but he went right before it was my turn to pick in Round 26. I’m hoping for the best and prepared for a roster dud with Dobson.
Wide Receiver 9-Taylor Gabriel
It felt weird drafting a receiver on the Browns, but I don’t mind giving Gabriel a roster spot as a 27th-round pick. Gabriel finished 2014 with the second-most targets and third-most receptions. Granted, that isn’t saying much, but despite only being 5-foot-8 and 167 pounds, he recorded four games of 80 or more receiving yards. It’s also appealing the Gabriel averaged 17 yards per reception.
Wide Receiver 10-Brian Hartline
I’m just as shocked as you that I ended up with two receivers on the Browns. Round 28 was slim pickings. Applying the notion that someone had to catch the ball in Cleveland, Hartline could have a few random performances where he’s worth starting.
I don’t have to do that guesswork, so I threw Hardline into the mix for depth. This league starts three receivers, so I wanted to make sure I had enough depth of at least serviceable receivers in the event anything went wrong with my first three pass catchers. I like the roster for my running backs better, but I think I can manage to put up some points with my wideouts.
Tight End Roster
Ryan Tannehill with another TD pass to Jordan Cameron. He’s thrown 3 TD passes in 7-on-7s today. This is what I expect to see from a starter — Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) June 17, 2015
Tight End 1-Jordan Cameron
I mentioned earlier that the offensive coordinator wants to improve the efficiency of the Dolphins’ passing attack in the red zone.
Cameron burned hopeful owners last season, but please don’t hold that against him in 2015. He’s a 6-foot-5 target in a much better situation than last season, and there is an emphasis on turning drives near the end zone into touchdowns. With Parker potentially sidelined, he is Tannehill’s go-to-guy to finish off drives.
Tight End 2-Austin Seferian-Jenkins
With three targets listed at 6-foot-5, rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has plenty of options to look for in the end zone.
He only appeared in nine games last season, but he offers decent support as my second tight end. ESPN staff writer Pat Yasinskas responded to a Twitter question that asked whether we should expect to see more out of the slot receiver position or tight end spot in Tampa Bay. Yasinskas stated, “I think you’re going to see a lot more of the tight ends in the passing game than you did last year. New offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has a history of using tight ends heavily. This is good news for second-year pro Austin Seferian-Jenkins. His production was limited as a rookie by injuries. But I think Seferian-Jenkins will be a big part of the offense this year.”
I’ll find myself in trouble if Cameron doesn’t live up to expectations, but hopefully Seferian-Jenkins can at least be a serviceable option.
Tight End 3- Maxx Williams
Never draft rookie tight ends. This sentiment generally rings true because there is so much that goes into the tight end position, and I learned my lesson last seasoning from relying too heavily on Eric Ebron as a core member of my tight end collections in some of my MFL10s.
With the best-ball format, however, I only get the upside of Williams. He may not buck the trend of avoiding rookie tight ends, but I at least have a player who could offer a few solid performances.
Defenses
I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about defenses. I went with the Lions in Round 21 because I thought that was the best defense on the board, and I selected the San Francisco 49ers because the pool for defenses was basically empty.
My kickers are Patrick Murray from Tampa Bay and Cairo Santos from Kansas City.
You can find the original article here which details my quarterback and running back selections. I’m worried about my depth for receiver if something happened to Jeffery or Jackson, and I’m extremely worried about the tight end position if something happens to Cameron.
Overall though, I think this is a strong team. I may hop in another $99 Draft-n-Go closer to the season, but this draft was definitely a fun and challenging experience.
Categories: 2015 Fantasy Football
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