Daily Dynasty Update – July 11th

Daily Dynasty Update – May 1st

Your dynasty questions answered, Part VIII

We roll on with your questions. Be sure to get yours in at dynastyfantasyfootballcentral(at)gmail(dot)com. Peter writes:

I’m in a PPR keeper league. I can only keep 7 on offense. I’m wondering if I could get some input on who would be best to keep. My team is:

QB: Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, Jay Cutler
RB: LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray, Trent Richardson, Stevan Ridley
WR: Demaryius Thomas, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kendall Wright, Danny Amendola, Jacoby Jones, Emmanuel Sanders
TE: Julius Thomas
DEF: Ravens

I have made some picks, I would just like to have your thoughts on my players. Thank you.

I would say that’s a solid team so far. You also have some depth but not enough to make these decisions difficult. Let’s dive in.

Quarterback – Assuming it’s not a two quarterback league, Matt Ryan would be the choice. Wilson is good, and young, but is not in an offense that requires him to throw the ball a lot. He averaged only 210 yards per game while throwing for 26 touchdowns. Now, he did add over 500 yards per game on the ground but no quarterback in NFL history has kept that rushing pace throughout their career. Meanwhile, Ryan had his worst year since 2010 but was still fantasy’s 11th ranked quarterback, throwing for 282 yards per game and the same 26 touchdowns as Russell Wilson. He didn’t have Julio Jones or Roddy White for good chunks of the year. He’s getting them back plus the Falcons figure to add some talent on the offensive line. Until Matty Ice puts together two years of the kind of performance he did in 2013, you have to assume it was an anomaly.

Running Back – LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray are the only choices here. Trent Richardson will have every chance to win the starting job in Indianapolis this year but has not looked good in the NFL. He’s averaged a paltry 3.3 YPC over two seasons and was badly outplayed by Donald Brown towards the end of the season. There’s just nothing there to indicate he’ll be a valuable commodity in dynasty leagues. With Stevan Ridley, I just don’t trust any running back in New England and probably never will as long as Bill Belichick is coach. Ridley’s already been in the dog house with Belichick and it remains to be seen if he’ll return to a big role in 2014. It’s just too unreliable for me.

Wide Receiver – The two easy choices are Demaryius Thomas and Cordarrelle Patterson. Thomas is a top five dynasty receiver as long as Peyton Manning’s around while Patterson will have the benefit of Norv Turner as offensive coordinator.  The same Turner who got 1,600 yards out of Josh  Gordon with three different quarterbacks. Patterson, arguably, has the same raw talent and athleticism as Gordon but needs to convert that into being a productive receiver. With Turner in town and, presumably, a new quarterback, the expectations are high. The third receiver I’d take would be Kendall Wright. Wright managed to make almost 100 catches in an offense ranked only 21st in the league. He’s only 24 and is also looking to have an upgrade at quarterback in the near future. He could be the next great slot weapon in dynasty leagues. The only receiver I’d even consider keeping would be Amendola, especially in a PPR league. The most games he started was eight in one season and has shown no ability to be able to hold up over a whole season. He might not even be the top slot option in New England’s offense if Julian Edelman is re-signed. It’s just too much risk. As for Jones and Sanders, both are easily  replaceable options at receiver, especially with the upcoming rookie draft.

Tight End – This one’s easy. Julius Thomas will be a top five dynasty option for at least a few years.

There you have it. On offense I’d go Ryan, McCoy, Murray, D. Thomas, Patterson, Wright, J. Thomas. A well-rounded team of young guys that could produce for your fantasy team for a while.

Be sure to leave your suggestions in the comments below and always remember to send your questions in to dynastyfantasyfootballcentral(at)gmail(dot)com today!

Daily Dynasty Update – February 17th

Updated Dynasty Running Back Rankings – January 2014

Click here for updated dynasty running back rankings.

  • The top two remain the same as the Eagles LeSean McCoy takes the top spot with Jamaal Charles of the chiefs not far behind.
  • After that, rookies are making the most noise with the Packers Eddie Lacy shooting up to 4th from 10th. He proved he could carry the load in Aaron Rodgers absence. The Rams Zac Stacy enters the top ten after bursting on the scene halfway through the season. He’ll be the lead back in St. Louis in 2014. The Steelers Le’Veon Bell also moved up to 13th from 17th. He might be the focal point of Pittsburgh’s offense next season.
  • The big drops include the Ravens Ray Rice dropping from 8th to 14th largely due to his steep production drop this season. The hope is this season is an anomaly for Rice and not the norm. Colts running back Trent Richardson continues his fall from 12th to 17th. Don’t expect that to be the end for Richardson as I predict he’ll drop even further as the off-season goes on. Lions running back Reggie Bush also had a drop thanks to late season injuries and backup Joique Bell‘s emergence as a solid contributor.

Updated Dynasty Running Back Rankings – December

Be sure to check out our updated running back rankings here

  • The top four remain the same with LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson and Doug Martin. Shouldn’t be much change in the 2014 dynasty running back rankings either.
  • The biggest riser this month were rookies Giovani Bernard (5) of Cincinnati and Zac Stacy (20) of the Rams along with New England pass specialist Shane Vereen (16). Both rookies were solid contributors all year and should have even more success in 2014 with more opportunities and earlier playing time. Vereen, with a whole year under his belt, should be a PPR monster.
  • The drop continues to include Trent Richardson (12) who should be even lower heading in to 2014. Easily the year’s biggest disappointment.

Dynasty Recap – Week 16 – Colts beat up on Chiefs, 23-7

  • Colts quarterback Andrew Luck looked a little like his old self, going 26 of 37 for 241 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully Luck can continue the positive play before heading in to 2014.
  • Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles continues his fantasy MVP season with 106 rushing yards on only 13 carries added 38 yards receiving on five catches. He also added a touchdown. Charles is a top five player in any fantasy league.
  • Colts running back Trent Richardson – 16 carries. 43 yards. 2.7 YPC. He’s just not good at running the ball. His lone redeeming quality lately is his pass catching ability. Today he caught three for 15 yards but that won’t be enough to warrant a dynasty roster spot.

Dynasty Recap – Week 15 – Colts destroy Texans, 25-3

  • Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had another uneven day, going 19 of 32 for only 180 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. While Luck has cut down on the turnovers, he’s not exactly lighting the world on fire. If anything, it might be time to buy-low.
  • Texans running back Ben Tate had a decent day gaining 72 yards on 16 carries for a 4.5 YPC. He added three catches for 20 yards. Houston fell behind early which eliminated the running game. Tate should sign somewhere else next year where he’ll finally have the opportunity to carry the load.
  • With Colts incumbent running back Donald Brown got injured, Trent Richardson was forced back in. He had 64 carries on 19 carries for a very Trent Richardson-esque 3.4 YPC. He did add 38 yards on four catches but Richardson is what he is.
  • Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton busted out (a little) with eight catches for 78 yards on 12 targets. The talk before the game was of Da’Rick Rogers but all Rogers did was open up the secondary for Hilton. Hilton is the long-term solution.

Daily Dynasty Update – December 5th

  • Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is likely to miss another game and may miss the rest of the season. It’s less than ideal for Rodgers owners in fantasy playoffs but it’s better to have Rodgers for many more year. 
  • Colts running back Trent Richardson felt forced into the Colts starting lineup after his mid-season trade. He wasn’t able to learn the offense quickly enough and his play suffered. With the rest of the season and a whole off-season to learn it, Richardson could be a decent buy-low candidate.
  • Don’t expect Bears quarterback Jay Cutler to be franchise tagged this year. Now, that doesn’t mean the free agent won’t be back in Chicago but, if he is, it’ll be the result of a new contract. It sets up an interesting story of a top-15 quarterback (when healthy) being on the open market. Quarterback-starved teams like Minnesota or Houston, who were in the playoffs just a year ago, might consider signing Cutler. Stay tuned.
  • Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson has been demoted and, turns out, was never the first choice to play middle linebacker. It was only out of necessity, according to Coach Leslie Frazier. Audie Cole will play the middle the rest of the season.

Dynasty Recap – Week 13 – Colts beat Titans, 22-14

  • Colts quarterback Andrew Luck looked bad,  going 17 of 32 for 200 yards and a pick. There’s no doubt Luck’s numbers have regressed in yardage and touchdowns but you have to wonder if it’s due to the new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Now may be a good time to buy-low heading in to 2014.
  • The running game for Indianapolis didn’t look much better. New starter Donald Brown ran for 54 yards on 14 carries for about a 4.0 YPC. Benched starter ran for 19 yards on five carries.
  • Titans receiver Kendall Wright dominated the Titans passing game with 11 targets, six catches and 77 yards. Wright’s performed admirably without a steady hand at quarterback. Just imagine what he could do with somebody competent.
  • Titans linebacker Zach Brown had another solid outing with eight tackles and a sack. The 23-year old started off slow but has come on strong lately. He’ll be a strong LB2/3 candidate next year.