Tag Archives: greg olsen
Aaron Hernandez Injury: Who Can Replace Tight End on Your Fantasy Team
Aaron Hernandez suffered a sprained MCL in Sunday’s win over the San Diego Chargers. Initial reports said he would miss one to two weeks, but now there is some talk that the injury could cost him upwards of four to six weeks.
While the New England Patriots should be fine in his absence as they have Rob Gronkowski, but the same can’t be said about your fantasy team.
Luckily, the tight end position is extremely deep this year. No matter how deep your league is, there should be a serviceable tight end on the waiver wire for you to pick up.
Here are four tight ends for you to replace Hernandez with while he recovers.
Fred Davis
If Fred Davis is still available in your league, stop what your doing and pick him up now.
Davis showed his 100-yard Week 1 performance was no fluke, following it up with 86 yards and a touchdown on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Chris Cooley is still around, but it is clear that he has passed Cooley on the depth chart. He played 20 more snaps than Cooley in Week 1 and Cooley received only two targets to Davis’ seven in Week 2.
Davis is a top-10 fantasy tight end going forward, and he still might be available in your league.
Ed Dickson
Consider picking up Ed Dickson if you are in a deeper league. After showing a lot of promise in Week 1, Dickson didn’t have a great showing in Week 2. Then again, neither did anyone in the Baltimore Ravens passing game.
While his stats weren’t great in Week 2 (two receptions, 25 yards), he remained one of Joe Flacco’s top options. He finished with six targets, second on the team next to Anquan Boldin’s seven.
Dickson should put up decent numbers this season, and he showed in Week 1 he is capable of having a big game every now and then.
Greg Olsen
With Cam Newton setting all types of rookie passing records, the beneficiaries are the fantasy value’s of the rest of the Carolina Panthers, including tight end Greg Olsen. Through two games, Olsen has 112 yards receiving.
The one thing hampering Olsen’s fantasy value though is Jeremy Shockey. The Panthers are using a lot of two-tight end sets with the both of them and seem to use them interchangeably. In fact, Shockey had more targets, catches and yards than Olsen in Week 2.
While Olsen remains a decent fantasy option, his upside is limited for now. However, if Shockey were to get injured, which he has a habit of doing, Olsen could be a fantasy gem.
Scott Chandler
Ryan Fitzpatrick has been a stud in the first two weeks leading the Buffalo Bills to a 2-0 start and torching opposing defenses. One of his favorite targets has been tight end Scott Chandler.
Chandler is a better option in touchdown heavy leagues. He won’t catch a lot of passes or rack up a lot of yards, but he will be a factor in the red zone. Chandler already has three touchdowns in the first two games of the season and looks like Ryan Fitzpatrick’s favorite target near the goal line.
While Chandler probably won’t win you your matchup, he can keep you competitive and is a fine fill in.
Roy Williams Expected to Sign with the Chicago Bears
Jay Cutler could soon be getting some much-needed help in the form of a receiver.
Citing a league source, Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that free agent wideout Roy Williams is “expected” to sign with the Chicago Bears. No time frame was given as to when this potential pact would take place.
Williams was dumped by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.
Assuming this happens — which would be no surprise at all — it’s a smart one by the Bears, and a fit that is almost too logical.
To say Williams has familiarity with Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz would be an understatement. The tandem enjoyed quite a bit of success with the Detroit Lions in 2006, when Williams was catching passes from Jon Kitna and Martz was calling the plays from the Lions sideline.
In that year, the veteran wideout had the best season of career, posting 82 receptions for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns.
Chicago immediately starting pursuing Williams once his release made official, and especially after they traded away tight end Greg Olsen, a receiving threat wasted in Martz’s system. They also lost receiver Devin Aromashodu to the Vikings earlier in the week.
So, at the very least, the Bears filled a position of need. Though, for the sakes of those involved, they better hope that Williams can recapture some of that ’06 mojo, and not bring the dismal play he exhibited in Big D along with him.
Be sure to check out other great articles at Helmet2Helmet.net.
Jay Cutler Training Camp Stats
Brad Biggs is one of the best beat writers in the business. His latest piece is just another reason why. During training camp, he charted every pass that Jay Cutler threw, who it was to, and how far it was.
Overall, Cutler completed 68% of his passes. He completed only 60% of his passes last year, the lowest total of his career. With new offensive coordinator Mike Martz in town, Cutler will look to take the next step to an elite quarterback and prove that last year was a mirage.
Fantasy owners especially should take a look at who Cutler targeted. The results may surprise you.
Greg Olsen was Cutler’s go to receiver, with 86 targets. Who says Mike Martz doesn’t use tight ends? I still wouldn’t rush to draft Olsen though. I’d wait until the real games to start to see if this carries over.
If your looking to find out which Bear receiver to target in your fantasy league than I don’t think this will help you. All three of Cutlers main targets (Hester, Knox, Aromashodu) were within one target of each other. Of the three Hester had the greatest catch rate snagging 59 0f his 76 targets.
I personally think that Knox will have the greatest season of the three. I think his speed fits great in Martz’s vertical offense. However, I think Hester will give you the best bang for your buck and he has ended up on a couple of my teams so far.
You can find the full stats here.
NFC North Breakout Players
We continue out look at the NFC with the North division today. You can see the NFC East here. Without further ado here are the breakout candidates from the NFC North.
Chicago Bears- Greg Olsen
Olsen will be Jay Cutler's favorite target this season.
Olsen has improved in his two years in the league and looks poised to have a breakout year this season. He has shared time with Desmond Clark but is now firmly the starter. Chicago also acquired this guy called Jay Cutler who is a hell of a lot better than Kyle Orton. Olsen will be the primary target in the passing offense which will pass more this season with Cutler at the helm.
Detroit Lions- Cliff Avril
Avril was one of the few bright spots on a win less Lions team. The rookie from Purdue was a constant force in rushing the passer and notched 5 sacks despite starting only four games. Now Avril will be starting from week one giving him a full season to wreck havoc. If the Lions improve this season he will be a big part of the success.
Green Bay Packers- Jermichael Finley
Finley didn’t play much as a rookie as he was considered raw coming out of college. Finley though, has improved his blocking dramatically and it has earned him more playing time. He has drawn rave reviews for his play in training camp and has torn it up in the preseason. Finley will start the season splitting time with veteran Donald Lee but don’t be shocked when Finley takes over early in the season.
