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Dominic Petrillo analyzes the hot start of the Washington Commanders and gives his thoughts on the fantasy values of Carson Wentz and other offensive players going forward in the 2022 NFL season.
Not only did the Washington Commanders win their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, but their skill players also had good fantasy performances as well.
The Commanders spent much of the off-season being ridiculed for their new moniker and most experts expected them to be a below-average football team. But as much time was spent trying to figure out who, other than Terry McLaurin, was worth the investment in fantasy drafts.
If week 1 was any indication, there are several other Commanders' players who should command our attention in fantasy football. Whether it be Carson Wentz looking healthy and competent or Antonio Gibson having a good showing while holding on to the ball, there were many surprising key contributors to the team's success in week one. But can we really trust them moving forward?
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Can Carson Wentz Keep It Rolling?
Wentz is what he is. Some days he looks like a world beater. Other times...not so much. In week 1, though he looked like the player who was once an MVP candidate during the Eagles' Super Bowl run. With 314 yards, four TD, and two INT, you might be tempted to get Wentz off waivers. But, I would be careful not to go overboard with your budget.
The Washington Commanders are still probably not going to be a good team. This will play out as the season goes along. The QB position is one which, if you do not have a stud, the best thing to do is just stream. Even if you lost Dak Prescott for the next six to eight weeks, Wentz is probably not a viable replacement for the entire time. If you want to use Wentz against Philadelphia next week, hoping for a revenge game, go for it. But also don't forget, the Eagles have Darius Slay and James Bradberry in the secondary.
One week is nice. But overall, Wentz still probably belongs on the waiver wire in most leagues.
Antonio Gibson, From Zero to Hero
This off-season was a whirlwind for Gibson. He went from being the starting RB to competing with a rookie, to losing the battle. But now, after what happened to Brian Robinson, he is the
starter again.
Fumbling issues aside, Gibson has been productive for the Washington Commanders. Despite not scoring a TD, he was productive again in Week 1, too. With 52 yards rushing and 71 yards receiving, he showed the dual threat nature which caused Ron Rivera to draft him out of Memphis.
With Carson Wentz being known to like using the RB in the receiving game, Gibson will keep his value for as long as he is the starter. Which could be all season, or it could be as little as four weeks. If you took Gibson in your drafts, you must be happy with his production so far. He should be another good play in Week 2 going against a Lions team that gave up 216 rush yards and four rushing TDs to the Eagles. Not only do I like him as a top-20 play if he is in there, but I also love him in DFS for Week 2.
It remains to be seen when Robinson will return, but if Gibson continues to play well then you'd have to think he'll continue to earn a role in this offense going forward.
The Wide Receivers: The Rookie and the Rebound
Jahan Dotson, the talented rookie from Penn State showed in Week 1 why the Commanders were not afraid to draft him in Round 1 despite his diminutive size. At under 5’10” and less than 175 pounds, many teams were scared off Dotson. Washington saw something in his kid and gambled on his game-changing speed and sure hands making his size secondary.
With two TD and 48 yards on only four catches, Dotson will not be an every-week auto start. But he will be a big play threat who will have some boom weeks. Much like Wentz had with Deshaun Jackson when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles.
When it comes to bye weeks, Dotson could be a wonderful one-week play. As for a regular week starter? He is not there yet. Not with the limitations that the Commanders' offense will face this season.
That leaves us with Curtis Samuel. After signing a big contract to come to Washington before the 2021 season, Curtis Samuel proceeded to miss most of the season with numerous hamstring issues. This was clearly not the way he wanted to start his tenure. After Week 1, the vibe is completely different in 2022.
Getting the Deebo Samuel treatment, he managed 55 yards and one TD on eight receptions and 17 more yards on four carries. He also led all Commanders receivers with 11 targets. While this will not be the norm every week, it shows why Rivera brought him to Washington and what he wants to do with him. He will remain a threat in the passing game and run game, much like Antonio Gibson. Samuel's career average of 6.3 yards per carry shows that he can be a productive runner when given the opportunity.
That means these two (Samuel and Gibson) may start to cannibalize each other’s production. I tend to lean more toward Gibson becoming more involved in the run game while Samuel takes more of the passing-down work. With that being said, Samuel is still no more than a high-end WR 3 moving forward and probably match-up-dependent play on a weekly basis.
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