Cole’s Fantasy Corner: We may have undervalued the Rookie WRs
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrates after making a catch against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Welcome to another edition of Cole’s Fantasy Corner. It was a fantastic first week of NFL Football. If you had Kyler Murray or Joe Mixon, you were jubilant and most likely started your fantasy season 1-0. If you had Aaron Rodgers or Derrick Henry, chances are you threw your computer out a window and started 0-1.
Fortunately, one loss won’t derail your season and a new week is upon us. Hope you had Terry McLaurin on Thursday because that’s a good start to what hopefully will be a win for you this week. In this edition, I’m going to talk about the rookie WRs and how we may have been underselling them just a bit.
In Week 1, the top 3 WR prospects all caught touchdowns: Jaylen Waddle, Ja’Marr Chase and DeVonta Smith. It was the first time since 1967 that three rookie receivers drafted in the first round caught a touchdown. The question remains; can we expect this kind of production every week from these guys?
Let's look at the stat lines. Jaylen Waddle had four catches for 61 yards and the TD. He was second on the team in yards and second on the team in targets with six. The Dolphins only had 17 points, and Tua Tagovailoa threw for only 202 yds. Waddle and Tua have the Alabama connection and it looked good last Sunday. Waddle’s production will be based on how many times Tua throws the ball. He’s only thrown for over 300 yards twice in his career, so it’s hard to imagine the Dolphin’s receivers getting big yardage games with these low numbers. If Tua continues to trust Waddle, then we could see high yardage totals for both this season.
I would say there is less uncertainty surrounding Ja’Marr Chase. I’m sure most of you saw the comments after the game on Sunday where people said “I thOuGht Ja’MarR cOulDn’T cATch”. He put those fears to rest (at least temporarily) with five catches for 101 yards and the TD. Chase also led the team in targets with seven, which is all the more impressive considering the Bengals have other solid receivers in Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. Joe Burrow and Chase also have the LSU connection, which is important for a rookie like Chase to get in sync to the NFL game. The more games that are played, the more comfortable Chase will get and leading the team in targets could be a constant.
DeVonta Smith also had a great game. The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner had six catches for 71 yards and the td. He led the team in targets with eight and looked in sync with Jalen Hurts. The offensive line looked fantastic only allowing one sack and even outside the pocket Hurts had time to make throws. I know the Eagles played the Falcons who people aren’t high on, but the offense looked good and if Smith is the number one target, then big numbers could follow.
None of these guys had high average draft positions in fantasy. Most were picked between rounds 6-9, which may have been too low if last week was any indication of how the rest of the year will pan out. We’ll see how they do the rest of the season, but if you managed to pick one of these guys in a keeper league, you should be more than pleased with their potential for this year and beyond.