Receivers about to catch fire
FOR A fantasy owner, the only thing more frustrating than watching one of your early-round picks struggle to produce is that moment when you give up on him, park him on your bench, and watch him finally put up the points you originally were expecting. It doesn’t matter if you made the right choice or not. Those points on your bench do you no good. So goes the life of the Amari Cooper owner.
After watching Cooper catch 11 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns Thursday, you can imagine that empty feeling left inside of every owner who either traded him, dropped him or simply left him on the bench. This an example of how pure talent almost always wins out, and it offers hope for your other struggling receivers.
After three straight seasons of 1,400plus yards and an average of seven touchdowns, Julio Jones is averaging just 73.4 yards per game and has yet to find the end zone. Some fantasy owners are shopping him — some even offering a discount.
If yo u’ re o ne of those pe o pl e, stop. Take a long, hard look at Sunday’s rematch of Super Bowl LI and understand just how bad the Patriots defense is this year. They’ve allowed the most passing yards in the NFL to date and have coughed up a leaguehigh 14 receiving touchdowns. He is primed to claw his way back, and this week’s game will be his springboard.
But Jones isn’t alone in his quest to be the best again. Struggling receivers like Michael Thomas, Doug Baldwin and Eric Decker all have fantasy trajectories heading north this week.
Mediocre Packers cornerbacks will have their hands full with Thomas. Baldwin can shake Dominique RodgersCromartie coming out of the slot, and Decker’s match-up is so soft, the opposing players should have “marshmallow” written across their jerseys.
It’s difficult to be patient when you feel your fantasy season slipping away, but talented wide receivers don’t just forget how to ball. Your patience is vital. If not, maybe petition your league for a Most Bench Points Each Week award.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m.