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It’s always fun to revisit NFL Draft profiles after a relatively unknown player goes off during any given week, season or throughout an entire career (see: Brady, Tom). The most recent example in fantasy football was Allen Hurns’ Week 1 outburst against the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished with 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Here’s what Hurns’ Draft profile had to say about the undrafted receiver out of Miami (FL):
Bottom Line
An underneath, zone receiver, Hurns emerged as the Hurricanes' top go-to receiver as a senior. Runs a lot of simple, stationary, short-to-intermediate routes and could have a more difficult time shaking NFL cornerbacks. - Nolan Nawrocki (Source: NFL.com)
By underneath, you should probably know Hurns caught four balls during the preseason for more than 20 yards (tie-second-most in NFL) and his first score of the year was on a 34-yard post route before his second trip to the zone came on a post slant where it was Hurns’ second effort to fight to the end zone, which earned the Jaguars six points.
Fantasy Football Nerd and I poked fun at Hurns’ fast start to the fantasy season Sunday afternoon,
@ffnerd nobody should do that #deepcuts
— Ryan Fowler (@FOXSportsFowler) September 7, 2014
After further analysis I believe my snark was premature (premature snark on Twitter?! NEVER!). I believe Hurns could emerge as a go-to target for Chad Henne. Why? The young receiving corps around him consisting of Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson along with Cecil Shorts habit of watching games from the sidelines opens the door for the undrafted rookie to shock the fantasy world and rewrite those critical Draft profiles. Also, tied to all of this fantasy impact is the fact Toby Gerhart sprained his ankle in week one. Hurns is a solid add heading into Week 2.
Josh Gordon
I’ll repeat what I’ve been saying since Florio’s report surfaced last Thursday night. If you had all the information and details surrounding the likelihood and lottery-ticket chance of Gordon's potential return heading into your draft, you would pocket that ticket. Gordon is a must-add.
Brandin Cooks
If you remember back to NFL Draft night, the energy surrounding the Saints’ selection of Cooks was palpable. Speed? Saints? No more Lance Moore? No more Darren Sproles? Payton’s offense? Within seconds, fantasy owners started concocting elaborate strategies to invent a round where competing owners didn’t realize the potential and missed on this game-changer. Over-dramatic? Probably, but Cooks lived up to most of the hype following him into Week 1.
His seven receptions (eight targets) for 77 yards with a score was celebrated by those who bought and started the rookie receiver out of Oregon State. The good news is as of Tuesday afternoon, Cooks was available in more than 50 percent of leagues on FS.com. While I’m not overly eager to add Cooks in standard scoring leagues, his PPR-league value is worthy of burning a waiver wire claim.
Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell
Let’s assume Ben Tate misses a handful of games this season due to this most recent knee injury. The two-headed rookie running back committee of West and Crowell are fantasy roster worthy. West’s fantasy draft stock took a severe hit the final week of August as Browns’ coaches voiced their disappointment in the development of the rookie back out of Towson during training camp. All the disappointment must have lit a fire under his arse as he carved up Dick Lebeau’s rush defense for 100 yards on 16 carries (6.3 YPR).
Crowell’s value will be limited when it comes to total touches, but opportunities inside the red zone should warrant a roster spot for those owners who won in Week 1 and are looking to upgrade one of their bench running back slots if needed. Two of his five carries wound up in the end zone. Crowell’s two Week 1 rushing scores would have tied Willis McGahee and Edwin Baker for the team-high the entire 2013 season.
For those who may not know or forgotten, Crowell was a five-star recruit who began his college career at Georgia, but an off-the-field arrest got him kicked off the team and he was forced to finish his career at a smaller school.
Justin Forsett
While I don’t believe Bernard Pierce has completely lost his turn in line, Forsett is worthy of a roster add. Pierce was benched after fumbling on his sixth carry of the season. So, not since Week 17 of the 2012 season has Pierce finished with more than 70 rushing yards in a game. He hasn’t shown fans and fantasy owners much since that late surge two seasons ago. Forsett is an interesting case study because he was stuck behind Julius Jones his rookie season and still finished with 969 total yards with five touchdowns for the Seahawks. The following year, the Seahawks traded for D.J. Skittles, Marshawn Lynch, and Forsett’s dreams of starting were shot in Seattle.
I’m of the belief that because of Justin’s low miles (358 carries) and ability to catch out of the backfield, Gary Kubiak is going to give him a shot to start and carry the load. He’s not the long-term solution in Baltimore, but neither is Pierce.
Larry Donnell
Need tight end help? Donnell saw action during 52 of 60 Giants’ snaps and a team high eight targets with one resulting in a touchdown on Monday night. Think how bad Eli Manning’s offensive line is and then think how often he’ll have enough time to look down field versus check down to the big tight end Donnell. If you are desperate or dealing with a Jordan Reed / Jordan Cameron injury, Donnell is a band-aid add.
Antonio Gates
Gates is an easy target when it comes to Chuckle Hut one-line zingers. Have you heard that one where he’s always hurt? But targets are actually his best defense of fantasy football value. Gates finished with a team-high 10 targets, 80 yards and six receptions in Week 1 against the Cardinals. He may not fall into the end zone as often as he did during his early days, but Gates did finish the 2013 season with 113 targets – that ranked fourth among fellow tight ends. It’s not Ladarius Green’s turn … yet.
