RADIO
Dynasty owners don’t play week to week, they play long term. However, dynasty owners still need to analyze different aspects of weekly matchups to determine the best time to sell or buy a player.
Make sure you don’t buy that hot rookie too soon and don’t sell the aging veteran too late. Each week, I will analyze different matchups across fantasy football with a dynasty frame of mind.
Let's take some time to see what matchups might pique the interest of dynasty league owners for Week 8 of the 2017 season. Here are some Week 9 matchup previews for dynasty league owners to monitor.
Editor's Note: RotoBaller’s Dynasty content delivers year-round dynasty fantasy football rankings, trade advice, rookie analysis, and player outlooks. Build a title-winning roster with sleepers, stash targets, and our full dynasty fantasy football guide.
Vikings at Redskins
Xavier Rhodes vs Josh Norman
IDP (Individual Defensive Player) league are becoming more and more popular. If you don’t play in an IDP league though, you should still take a second to read this portion of the article. Even if you don’t play in a league that requires you to start IDPs or even team defenses, it’s become vitally important for you to know your matchups each week. Fantasy football has become more than plug and play certain individuals. You are always playing the numbers. This game will include two of the premiere cornerbacks in the game. Both guys have the ability to shut down entire passing games a limit top receivers and quarterbacks alike.
Xavier Rhodes will probably be shadowing Josh Doctson for a majority of this game, which isn’t a tough matchup for Rhodes. If you have Doctson in your lineup this week, get him on the bench. Rhodes hasn’t had a chance to gain some of the recognition that Josh Norman, Richard Sherman, Aquib Talib of others have. He has been very solid though and has established himself as a guy you need to be watching out for on the schedule. According to Pro Football Focus, Rhodes currently has an 83.1 grade which puts him at #18 among CBs. Rhodes just isn’t your typical cover back though; he is a complete defensive player. In 2016, Rhodes has the highest grade for cornerbacks against the run at 88.1. If you play in an IDP league, Rhodes should be a top CB option with his ability to defend bases and defend the run. All that says to me is more opportunities for tackles.
I wrote about Norman playing against Dez Bryant a couple weeks ago. I had several people respond with Bryant’s numbers in their last meeting and I told them it didn’t mean much to me. I was looking for Norman to bounce back and it happened. Bryant was limited to 39 yards on four catches. Norman just happens to sit at #19 according to Pro Football Focus with a grade of 82.8. Norman is more of a shutdown corner that is going to defend the pass very well. He can play all over the field and stay with any receiver in the league. Let’s see if Norman can bounce back in this matchup as well. When the Vikings and Reskins played last year, Diggs had 13 catches on 15 targets for 164 yards. That was with Sam Bradford under center and not Case Keenum, but Norman will still look to get even after watching that massive performance in 2016.
What to watch for: Norman will shut down Diggs and Rhodes will shut down Doctson. It will be a pair of undervalued slot receivers making an impact in this game. Adam Thielen will continue to play well but buy low on Jamison Crowder. Second half of the season could be better and it could start here. This could also be an opportunity to buy low on Diggs when owners start to become frustrated.
Chargers at Jaguars
Melvin Gordon vs Leonard Fournette
How do you not get excited about a matchup with two young superstars? That is exactly what we will have in Jacksonville this week with Melvin Gordon and Leonard Fournette matching up against each other. Two game changing backs that can carry their team. Both may actually need to this weekend as the corners for both teams are exceptional and we could see a light day through the air. Which running back leads their team to victory though?
I think we can say Gordon has been a little underwhelming this year. After a breakout campaign in 2016, Gordon has not been able to capture that same lightning yet in 2017, or has he? The name of the game last year for Gordon was volume. Gordon carried the ball 254 times in 13 games last year, good for an average of 19.53 rushes per game. This year Gordon has 131 rushes in eight games, for only 16.38 carries per game. However, Gordon this year has averaged 4.0 yards per carry compared to only 3.9 last year and is actually averaging more catches per game as well. Those numbers may not look as good if it weren’t for an 87-yard TD against the Patriots last week. Gordon finished the game with 132 yards rushing but that means he only averaged 3.46 yards per carry on his other 13 runs. As long as he is healthy for this weekend, he should see an excellent workload.
I loved Gordon heading into this season. I hated Fournette heading into this season. I’m not wrong about Gordon yet. I am most definitely wrong about Fournette. Fournette has been everything the Jaguars and fantasy owners drafted him to be this season. That was until he wound up as a healthy scratch less than an hour before kickoff last week. I had a good feeling the talent was there for Fournette. I had some concerns with poor performances against Alabama while he was at LSU, but I was far more concerned with how he would be between his ears instead of between the lines. When you are suspended for missing a picture and other team activities, it shows you don’t have much respect for your team or teammates and I applaud Doug Marrone for doing this right away. Don’t let your star rookie get away with things like that and you won’t have a more difficult player to handle down the road. Never the less, Fournette will see a decent workload as the Jaguars will control the game with their defense and running game like they have all year.
What to watch for: In the battle of young backs, I want to see how Fournette rebounds. Last week’s events were embarrassing and he should be ready to make people forget with a brilliant performance. Dynasty owners should never forget something like this though. You want to make sure the guys you invest in are always on the field. Do you sell Fournette high?
