Fantasy Wednesday Appreciates Jahvid Best
By Matt Snyder
Fantasy Wednesday is here to provide a recap of how our Lions performed on the fantasy gridiron as well as a small look forward to what we can expect out of them in the coming week. There’s myriad of ways to score a fantasy league, so we picked Yahoo!’s scoring template as our standard.
Possible Starters
These are the guys on your fantasy roster that you either started or considered starting.
- RB – Jahvid Best – Best was the number one fantasy running back in Week 3. His amazing week saw 78 yards on the ground, 154 yards through the air, and 3 total touchdowns. Sum all that up, and you get 41.2 fantasy points. In fact, after the first two weeks, Best is the number one fantasy scorer in the NFL. The fact that he has only grossed 98 yards rushing is still a bit concerning, but the Lions have found ways to get him the ball, and he’s shown a knack for finding the end zone. The Vikings are currently tenth in rushing defense, so they’re no slouch, but so far Jahvid has shown that he’s more than deserving of a starting spot on your fantasy team. Week 3 outlook: start him.
- WR – Calvin Johnson – Calvin entered the fourth quarter against the Eagles with only seven yards receiving, but still finished the day with 50 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion. He hasn’t produced elite fantasy stats yet this year, but he’s still a freak, and the Lions will still try to look for him frequently. Week 3 outlook: start him.
- K – Jason Hanson – The venerable kicker nailed his only field goal attempt, a 49 yarder, and was 3-3 on extra points. Week 3 outlook: fair.
Reaches
These were lineup spots that probably should have been filled by someone else.
- QB – Shaun Hill – Hill’s fantasy numbers ended up being very good. The 335 yards passing, two TD’s, and a two-point conversion were solid, but he did throw two interceptions and didn’t always make sound decisions with the ball. The Lions offense is pretty good, so Hill could run into some good weeks, but he will likely have to rely on his receivers making plays. We saw this from Jahvid Best in Week 2. If he can avoid mistakes he’ll be good, but I’m not confident that he will. Week 2 outlook: fair.
- WR – Nate Burleson – Nate ‘s day ended early after only four yards receiving and an injury. According to return man Stefan Logan, he’ll be out two or three weeks. Week 3 outlook: out.
- TE – Brandon Pettigrew – Quarterback Shaun Hill threw eight balls Pettigrew’s way on Sunday, and Brandon was able to haul in seven of them for 108 yards. He didn’t get into the end zone, but the yards alone were good for 10.8 points, which was good for the fifth best total among TE’s. He showed himself to be a reliable target. Week 3 outlook: fair.
- TE – Tony Scheffler – Tony was targeted four times, but only came up with one catch for five yards. Shaun Hill seems more than willing to throw to his tight ends (12 targets combined), but the problem is knowing which one will get the looks on any given week. Week 3 outlook: fair.
- DEF – Detroit – Allowing 35 points is not a good recipe for fantasy success. They managed two points, which was the worst in the league, but they needed six sacks to even rack up that pitiful total. I know they were good in week one, but never consider picking them up. Not even to be cute. Week 3 outlook: poor.
AthleteXchange (Updated)
You can check the scoring rules on the AX website. Here’s the Lions that are listed along with their fantasy stock market earnings to date:
| Player | Pos. | Price | Earnings | E/P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jahvid Best | RB | $233.70 | $75.40 | 32.26% |
| Brandon Pettigrew | TE | $74.86 | $18.30 | 24.45% |
| Calvin Johnson | WR | $179.81 | $21.45 | 11.93% |
| Tony Scheffler | TE | $76.40 | $8.25 | 10.80% |
| Jason Hanson | K | $81.73 | $8.00 | 9.79% |
| Nate Burleson | WR | $119.72 | $3.75 | 3.13% |
| Matthew Stafford | QB | $223.49 | $3.80 | 1.70% |
| Kevin Smith | RB | $67.42 | $0.00 | 0.00% |
We’re 12.5% of the way through the NFL season, so based on pace alone it looks like Brandon Pettigrew could end up being a nice buy. Jahvid Best and Jason Hanson are pretty much on pace to meet their price, but Johnson, Burleson, Stafford, and Smith are lagging well behind.
It looks like my number were wrong at first post, so here’s an update. Jahvid best is currently one of the top buys on the fantasy stock market; he’s already earned over 32% of his price. Brandon Pettigrew is also shaping up to be a nice buy. I wouldn’t really touch any of the other guys. Matthew Stafford could end up being a nice short, depending on how long his shoulder keeps him out, but I wouldn’t hold a short position on him quite yet.