RADIO
Two of the best and most talented young wide receivers in the NFL had huge games today in Week 13 of NFL action. Ironically, both the Bears and Brown lost their games to bottom-of-the-barrel NFL teams, but it certainly wasn't because of the extraordinary efforts of these two budding superstars.
Alshon Jeffery & Josh Gordon Explode
Both Alshon Jeffery and Josh Gordon dominated their respective games in Week 13, catching pass after pass in impressive fashion, while leading the offensive attacks of their respective teams and solidifying that they are two of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL right now. In a week where a lot of fantasy teams were in make-or-break mode, both Jeffery and Gordon turned in elite performances for their fantasy owners trying to make a final playoff push. Without having any definite data on this, we would assume that a high-percentage of fantasy teams to make the playoffs across all leagues will have one or both of these wide receivers. They have been consistent fantasy performers all year long, and are simply the type of difference makers that help fantasy teams win their matchups on a week-to-week basis. They have been a pleasure to own in fantasy leagues, and any owners who have them on their rosters know the feeling.
Alshon Jeffery is a scary good NFL wide receiver and now officially a fantasy beast. Playing opposite Brandon Marshall in Chicago, Jeffery has flourished this year in the Bears potent offense. Today he put on a show against the Vikings, dominating the Minnesota secondary time and again. On the receiving end of a solid Josh McCown game, Jeffery racked up a whopping 12 receptions, 249 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, good for 48.80 fantasy points in PPR leagues. This included an impressive 80 yard touchdown catch, and another 46 yard touchdown reception. Both the 12 receptions and 249 receiving yards were season highs for Jeffery, and he now gets to follow-up this elite performance against one of the most burnable defenses in football next week, the Dallas Cowoboys. Although he left the game temporarily after taking a shot to the head, he was able to return healthy and finish his monstrous game out in impressive fashion.
Josh Gordon has been nothing short of spectacular for the Browns and fantasy owners this season, after missing the first two games of the year with a suspension. He's been the most dominant player on the Cleveland offense all year, targeted heavily in the passing attack regardless of the QB under center. His strong season culminated to a dominating performance last week against the Steelers, where Gordon racked up 14 receptions, 237 receiving yards and 1 touchdown, and set the franchise record for most receiving yards in a game. But that was not enough for him. Gordon followed-up last week's performance with another dominating game against the Jaguars in Week 13, consistently beating the Jacksonville secondary for 10 receptions, 261 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, breaking his own single-game franchise record for receiving yards. Gordon scored on an impressive 95 yard reception from Brandon Weeden, and his other score came from 21 yards out. Gordon is also first player in NFL history to put up consecutive weeks with 200-yard receiving yards. The scariest part of all of this is Gordon is only 22 years old, in the 2nd year of his NFL career. If he can stay healthy, Gordon has a chance to be one of the best wide receivers in football for many years to come.
Next week should be a fun week of football, as we get to see the encore performances of two of the best young wide receivers in the NFL. It should be interesting to see how teams react to these dominating performances, and what sort of coverages Jeffery and Gordon will see moving forward. One thing is for sure, all fantasy owners will have these two studs in their lineups and dialed-in for the playoff run.
