- Arizona rookie running back Andre Ellington continues to show potential with 56 yards on just seven carries. He also added 36 yards on five catches. He’s strung together a couple good games in a row and the 49ers defense is tough.
- The 49ers finally went back to tight end Vernon Davis in the passing game and resulted in 180 yards on eight catches and two touchdowns. This game just showed what Davis is capable of when the 49ers make him a part of the offense. And with fewer tight ends with as high a ceiling as Davis, he should be held in high regard in dynasty circles.
- Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby continues to impress with 11 tackles. a half sack, and three more passes defended. Dansby is 31 but is still filling the state sheet like before. He might be a good value if you can pick him up.
Tag Archives: vernon davis
Dynasty Recap – Week 4 – 49ers bounce back against Rams, 35-11
- San Francisco finally went back to Frank Gore and, lo and behold, it worked! He went off for 153 yards. It’s hard to see Gore not being around to see his contract through 2014. Marcus Lattimore dynasty owners might have to wait.
- Vernon Davis didn’t have a spectacular night but still caught a touchdown. It continues to boggle the mind that the 49ers don’t utilize him more in the passing game. It also doesn’t bode well for the chances of young tight ends Vance McDonald and Chris Harper to be productive under the current regime.
- Rams quarterback Sam Bradford is going to pass the ball. A lot. He had 41 attempts last night with four receivers getting eight targets or more. Now, if they could just catch them…
- On the flip side, the Rams will NOT be running the ball this year. See our report in the daily dynasty update.
- 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite stepped in for Patrick Willis last night and had seven tackles. With the 49ers ability to pick up linebackers and develop them into IDP studs, keep an eye on Wilhoite.
Daily Dynasty Football Update – August 1st
- Vernon Davis has taken snaps in the slot. This bodes well for everyone involved and firmly puts in Davis among the top five tight ends in dynasty rankings.
- Pittsburgh is instituting a zone-blocking scheme in the run game which should pump up Le’Veon Bell’s numbers. Alfred Morris racked up 1,600 yards in the same scheme last year. Bell’s current 23rd dynasty ranking seems low and should shoot up soon. Grab him if you can.
- Jamaal Charles is getting more looks in the passing game. As the story notes, under Andy Reid, his best running back, Brian Westbrook, had 50 catches for five straight years. Hopefully, Charles can hold off Father Time for a few years as he’s already at 27.
- Julio Jones is getting better? Yikes.
- E.J. Manual is looking good in camp as well. He should be the first rookie quarterback taken off your dynasty board due to the weapons, the opportunity, and the skill.
- DeAndre Hopkins is projected to get 52-60 catches his rookie season. That’s a great floor to have as a dynasty prospect in his rookie year. Hopkins should be the second rookie receiver on your dynasty board.
- The hope is St. Louis is Jared Cook finally becomes the receiving tight end stud he was supposed to be in Tennessee. In a tight end starved situation as dynasty fantasy football, Cook is a top-10 pick.
- Colin McCarthy is practicing with the first unit again. McCarthy was supposed to be a dynasty linebacker stud last year but injuries cut that short. He currently sits at #24, due to those injuries, in our dynasty rankings with room for potential.
- Patrick Willis will have an x-ray on his hand today. Willis has had similar injuries without missing any meaningful time but it gets amplified due to his age (28). Willis is currently at 5 in our dynasty rankings.
- Michael Vick has taken the lead in Eagles camp with Nick Foles looking average. This will put a dent in Foles dynasty value and maybe increase Barkley’s.
- Cordarrelle Patterson has yet to practice with the first team in Minnesota. With one year of big-time college football under his belt, that’s to be expected. Patterson still has a lot of upside but don’t expect a lot, if anything, in year one.
That seems like a lot of ground covered. We’ll see what today has in store.
Who’s the third best tight end in dynasty fantasy football?
Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski are the two best tight ends in football. Fantasy football, real football, dynasty football, Madden football.
After those two, however, is a considerable debate. If you average together rankings from Pro Football Focus and Dynasty Warehouse you see a group of four players that are clearly ranked ahead of the pack: Kyle Rudolph, Jason Witten, Vernon Davis and Dennis Pitta (click here to see the whole list!). Let’s look at a couple different angles:
- Age – Since you’re in a dynasty league there is a premium on age. Rudolph (24) would win that battle as he has four years on the next tight end in the group, Dennis Pitta (28), followed by VD (29) and Witten (31). However, youth also means inexperience and there is no guarantee that Rudolph will fulfill the lofty expectations he has. Personally, I need to see results before I’m convinced. Rudolph’s line of 53/493/9 is comparable to Rob Gronkowski (55/790/11). The only difference is Gronk did it in five fewer games. The lack of production may or may not be a result of Christian Ponder’s poor play but the bottom line is Ponder is back for another year which means Rudolph’s potential is limited.
- Targets – Dennis Pitta broke out last year (as evidenced by me taking him in round 20 or later) to the tune of 61/669/11. Offseason reports indicate it’ll only get better. With the departure of Anquan Boldin and his 112 (!) targets, Joe Flacco is going to have to spread the ball around. Even, if you were to divvy up the targets evenly among the 11 players that caught a pass from Flacco in 2012, Pitta’s in line for 10 more targets and 6-7 more catches this year. However, that’s assuming defenses don’t pay more attention to Pitta which they most certainly will. Additionally, without another receiver to take the heat off the middle of the field like Boldin did so well, linebackers are going to zero in on Pitta. I go back to my thoughts about Rudolph and want to see more before I’m convinced.
- QB Upgrade – While Kyle Rudolph is still a year or two away from an upgrade, Vernon Davis finally got one last year in Colin Kaepernick. Now, you could argue that VD performed well despite the lack of arm strength from Alex Smith. In fact, he was awesome: 2009-78/965/13; 2010-56/914/7; 2011-67/792/6. However, you also see a downward trend that coincides with Michael Crabtree’s rise: 2009-48/625/2; 2010-55/741/6; 2011-72/874/4. This all led to a 2012 that saw VD with 41 catches on 61 targets compared to Crabtree’s 85 catches on 126 targets. Things looked dire (fantasy-wise) for VD with the trade of Anquan Boldin but with Crabtree’s injury, we’re still back where we were last year. As a 49er fan, I hope the trend doesn’t continue but unless they make a concerted effort to get Davis the ball, I just don’t see him getting back to 2009-2010 level.
- Verdict – If I had to pick one out of this group to go with it’d be Jason Witten. Since his breakout, age-25-30 seasons started in 2007, he’s averaged 92/1018/5. Looking ahead, I think a fair comparison is Tony Gonzales (76/945/6 in his 25-30 years old seasons) , who’s still chugging along at age 37. Since turning 31, Gonzales has averaged ONLY 84/877/7. Hypothetically, this gives Witten five years of 84/877/7. And the fact that Tony Romo and his gun-slinging ways aren’t going anywhere, I think you the stability needed to continue a great career.
Dynasty Fantasy Football Central 