Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Many, many fantasy football owners drafted Roddy White during the first three or four rounds of the draft this summer and consequently have been burned by White’s lack of productivity this season. He was injured during preseason, rushed back to keep his now defunct ironman streak alive, aggravated the foot injury and then went and messed up his hamstring in the process. Suddenly one of the league’s most consistent wide receivers six season streak of over 1,000 yards was over and fantasy owners of not just White, but Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez were left looking up in the standings.
As White’s injury problems persisted, many owners had to cut bait. Owners who had the luxury of scooping him up and letting him ride the pine are going to be rewarded this week as the Atlanta Falcons host the Washington Redskins.
White is now the healthiest he has been in 2013, and is starting to remind owners that he can be a dangerous wide receiver. Over the last two games he has 24 targets, 18 catches and 214 yards. Now he gets a matchup against one of the most generous pass defenses in fantasy football. The Redskins are allowing the seventh most fantasy points against to wide receivers (standard scoring), with opposing wide receivers averaging 32.05 fantasy points per game combined. They have allowed seven different individual receivers to clear at least 100 yards, and have allowed 14 receiving touchdowns on the year. Pro Football Focus actually ranks the Washington pass defense as the worst in football.
While Harry Douglas has been a pleasant surprise, and Darius Johnson has shown flashes, Ryan (also on my sleeper list for this week, you can read that here) simply has more trust in White than any other active Falcon. Ryan should continue to look White’s way and pepper him with targets. There is no reason to think that White won’t put in a very solid fantasy performance against one of the worst defenses in football.
Simply put, with your fantasy season on the line, White could go from regular season zero to playoff hero.
As always, I welcome your comments. If you think I’m wrong, I’m willing to listen. Just back it up with some facts and solid evidence. Thanks for reading and good luck this season.
Dustin Manko is an author at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustinManko, ”Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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