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Can the Giants and Tommy DeVito pull off an upset or at least give week winning performances against Tampa Bay? Can Drake Maye help Patriots players score well in fantasy football? Can the Cowboys do some damage against the Commanders? John breaks down these three bad teams.
It's well-known at this point that good offenses can help their players light up the scoreboards in fantasy football leagues. The mantra "trust in good players on good offenses" rings true, and some of the best seasons in fantasy football history have been aided by things like good playcalling and a good supporting cast.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a perfect example of this -- quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receivers Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring), running backs Bucky Irving (toe) and Rachaad White, and tight end Cade Otton have all been great contributors to fantasy teams this season.
But what about the bad teams? We've seen players have great seasons despite the groups around them. Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson had 78 catches for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns on a winless team. Let's break down three offenses that could produce for fantasy managers despite bad situations.
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Tommy Devito, Malik Nabers, and the New York Giants
The Giants just benched their starting quarterback through 11 games, Daniel Jones, in favor of Tommy DeVito, who is in his second season and has just nine total games of NFL playing experience. He was thrust into the starting position last year due to an injury to Jones before being benched for QB Tyrod Taylor.
5 min cut up the best of Tommy DeVito in 2023.
Daboll has praised his quick release + post-snap processing.@nickfalato noted his success passing outside the numbers (major improvement over DJ; check Nick's page)
DeVito had 8 pass TD in 6 starts. DJ had 10 in his last 16 starts. pic.twitter.com/y0xEtJ3OAp— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) November 20, 2024
Interestingly, Tommy Cutlets did better at getting the ball into the end zone than Jones did. You'd think a third-string guy would struggle to score, but what he lacks in raw talent he's made up for in processing defenses after the snap, outside throws, and getting the ball out quickly.
It has the chance to get ugly, but it should be noted that the Giants will face a string of bad pass defenses. The biggest questions fantasy managers have are whether DeVito can be a competent quarterback and whether he'll feed his star wide receiver, Malik Nabers. It only makes sense to do so -- Nabers is a special talent that can lift the offense if you just get the ball to him.
Malik Nabers WIDE open... $40 million QB sails it 10 feet over his head with a clean pocket. pic.twitter.com/aAEARcPoeg
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) November 10, 2024
The thing about Leek is that he regularly gets WIDE open. The thing about Jones is that he missed him constantly or sometimes just didn't throw it his way. If DeVito wants to keep his job for long, he will need to feed the absolute hell out of him.
Malik Nabers B-gap Insert to run a Sail route pic.twitter.com/gu361tLzzM
— Firstdown_XOs (@FirstdownX__Os) November 18, 2024
And hopefully not throw every route a second or more late so Nabers doesn't get blasted every time he catches the ball.
Regarding running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., the blocking should be the same, the scheme should be the same, and the QB play should be similar or slightly better if we're lucky. Mr. Cutlets didn't check the ball down a ton when he played, so relying on dump-offs for PPR scam production seems misguided.
Drake Maye, His Receivers, Hunter Henry, and the Patriots Offense
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has proven to be even better than advertised, but his offensive line is so bad that it's massively holding him back. "Bad" in this context means "absolutely horrendous" -- they're consistently ranked as the worst offensive line in the league.
Drake Maye 👀 pic.twitter.com/Zw1kpuof2t
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) November 19, 2024
New England's pass blocking has been utterly atrocious this season, and Maye is often running for his life and taking big hits to make plays. Still, he's been a serviceable signal-caller in fantasy and should be rostered in most leagues. His rushing ability is underrated, even though he's made huge plays with his legs.
Drake Maye is hot on the left with the safety blitz. He slowly slides right without panic. Spots the DT on the simulated pressure. Throws it on the money. 3rd-down conversion. pic.twitter.com/KCsX3beM7k
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) November 19, 2024
He doesn't just panic and scramble for extra yards, he keeps his eyes downfield and delivers rockets across his body when he needs to. He's carrying that offense right now -- without him, they might only have one win. The most consistent beneficiary of his play has been tight end Hunter Henry.
I hope everyone appreciates Hunter Henry.
A lot of inconsistency on this team, but Henry consistently shows up for Drake Maye in the passing game.
pic.twitter.com/Z6RrdrX14P— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) November 19, 2024
He's been a steady, reliable target for Maye, who showed excellent mobility and arm strength in this play. The ball has been spread around fairly evenly between the wide receivers, so DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne haven't been great fantasy options.
Maye's presence has helped running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the passing game, but the terrible OL play has made it difficult for him to find much running room. It's definitely holding back his fantasy production, but he's still in RB2 range due to his touchdown and pass-catching upside.
Cooper Rush, CeeDee Lamb, Rico Dowdle, and the Cowboys' Offense
The Dallas Cowboys lost their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott (hamstring) to a partial hamstring avulsion that prematurely ended his 2024 campaign. In his place, QB Cooper Rush has filled in for him, and it hasn't been especially pretty. Dallas produced under 150 yards of offense in Week 11 and got blown out in both of their past two games.
CeeDee Lamb is pretty upset with Cooper Rush accuracy of throws. You can see him looking to the Cowboys sideline and shaking his head. pic.twitter.com/CuwjXizgqC
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) November 19, 2024
The Cowboys are absolutely garbage time merchants, though. Lamb should be fine, but have a lower ceiling, and is especially vulnerable to bust games against great defenses (like the Philadelphia Eagles, for example). Lamb (back/foot) was targeted 12 times in Week 11, catching eight passes for 93 yards, and rushed once for 13 yards.
As for Dowdle, the rest of the receivers, and tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion), things might not be so pretty. It remains to be seen if Rush even remains the starter for more than a few games, but it's hard to trust anyone other than Lamb moving forward. Dowdle rushed 10 times for 28 yards and caught two of his five targets for six yards.
A look ahead at the better schedules in the Fantasy Playoffs (Week 15-17) for each position, starting w/ RB
Top 8 most favorable playoff schedules for RBs
1) Hubbard/Brooks
2) Mattison
3) Dobbins
4) Breece Hall
5) James Conner
6) Gibbs/Monty
7) Kyren Williams
8) Rico Dowdle pic.twitter.com/NcTMcM3pqX— Scott Rinear (@MunderDifflinFF) November 16, 2024
He should still be rostered, as he has a favorable schedule upcoming, but it may not amount to a ton with how bad things are going. It's hard to trust anyone else on this offense moving forward, unfortunately, and fantasy managers may want to wait until 2025 to see them become startable again.
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