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Dissenting Opinions: Disagreeing on Denard

Yahoo Sports Staff

Group-think can be an especially scary thing when it comes to fantasy football rankings. After all, the unpredictable nature of the NFL game is part of what makes fantasy football so popular, and why some people like to say that the NFL acronym stands for "No F****** Logic." But when one of our Yahoo fantasy football analysts veers particularly far away from the rankings consensus, our curious nature begs for an explanation. So, with that in mind, I've identified two players from our Week 8 rankings that our Yahoo analysts love/hate significantly more than the rest of us, and have asked them to explain their reasoning. I'll kick things off with a couple of my outliers:

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Love him: Darren McFadden, Oak, RB - Funston RB rank No. 16 (Yahoo rank No. 23)

Since Week 2, Run-DMC has been delivering RB2 fantasy numbers, averaging a healthy 17 touches in that span along with 69.2 YFS and a combined two touchdowns. Those numbers won't make your eyes bug out like Roger Rabbit, but don't be surprised if his Week 8 performance does. McFadden faces a Cleveland defense that just allowed 127 rushing yards a TD to Denard Robinson. Prior to that game, no Jaguars RB had tallied more than 42 yards on the ground in any contest. The Browns' 125.3 rushing yards per game allowed to the RB position is third-worst in the league behind Atlanta and Oakland (gotta like Ben Tate this week, too). I think Run-DMC tops 100 total yards this week for the first time since Week 2 of last season.


Hate him: Denard Robinson, Jac, RB/WR - Funston WR rank No. 38 (Yahoo No. 25)

Robinson is the rare RB/WR-eligible fantasy commodity, so he shows up in both rankings. And even though I like him much less than my colleagues in both the RB and WR ranks, I listed his WR ranks (mine and my colleagues') as it represents the worse of the two rankings. If you read my McFadden blurb above, you can probably surmise that I'm giving most of the credit for Robinson's big rushing performance (127 yards) in Week 7 to the Browns defense. After all, in the six games prior to Week 7, Robinson had combined for 94 rushing yards on 28 carries (3.4 YPC). And this week, facing Miami, he's going to find the a much tougher row to hoe. The Dolphins allow just 3.7 YPC, and they rank No. 1 in the NFL with a mark of 4.7 yards per play allowed. I expect Robinson to fade mostly back into irrelevance this week.

DALTON DEL DON

Love him: Denard Robinson, Jac, RB/WR - Del Don WR rank No. 14 (Yahoo No. 25)

He had 22 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown after taking over as Jacksonville's lead back last week. This week's opponent (Miami) is tougher against the run, but they still rank middle of the pack. There's no guarantee Robinson remains the team's bell cow, but for now he appears to be, and more than half the league is seemingly using a full-blown committee these days.

Hate him: Larry Fitzgerald, Ari, WR - Del Don WR rank No. 41 (Yahoo No. 29)

He's averaged 3.8 catches for 47.2 yards per game this season while scoring just once. Admittedly, Fitzgerald gets a plus matchup against the Eagles this week, but he managed just 21 yards last week in Oakland with a healthy Carson Palmer throwing to him. Fitz has one touchdown over his past nine games.

BRAD EVANS

Love him: Cordarrelle Patterson, Min, WR - Evans WR rank No. 29  (Yahoo No. 46)

The Viking has figuratively impaled owners over the last three weeks, failing to reach 20 receiving yards in a single game. But if there was ever a week for him to turn that frown upside down, this is it. The Bucs are beyond atrocious in every facet defensively, particularly against the pass. By a wide margin, they’ve surrendered the most fantasy points to the position. If – and that’s a super-sized IF – Norv Turner exhibits some creativity and gets Patterson the ball in space, the WR should run free and easy to the end zone. I’m banking on 65-75 combined yards and a score.

Hate him: LeSean McCoy, Phi, RB - Evans RB rank No. 19 (Yahoo No. 9)

Water, adequate shade and fantasy points scored by running backs are tough to find in the desert. Stretching back to last season, visiting RBs have tallied a mere 3.09 yards per carry at the UPS. In fact, Marshawn Lynch is the only RB to surpass 60 rushing yards in a game in ‘Zona during that stretch. McCoy and the Philly o-line should feel rejuvenated off the bye, but I’m not confident the rusher will even reach 90 yards this week.

Will Harvin take flight in his Jets debut? (Getty)
Will Harvin take flight in his Jets debut? (Getty)

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

Love him: Percy Harvin, NYJ, WR - Pianowski WR rank No. 39  (Yahoo No. 51)

A team change midseason, that sounds bad. A Geno Smith-directed team, that sounds bad. The Jets, that sounds bad.

Nonetheless, I could see Harvin being a deeper WR3 or Flex play this week. Marty Mornhinweg will treat Harvin like Top Gun treated Maverick at the end of the film - maximum efforts to engage. It's not that hard to get Harvin the ball - you can hand it to him as a running back if you want to. And you can make downfield connections against this Bills secondary (12 TD passes allowed, QB rating over 90).

Hate him: Alfred Morris, Was, RB - Pianowski RB rank No. 27 (Yahoo No. 21)

Game flow is often Morris's enemy, as the Redskins don't use him in passing situations and when they're playing catch-up. And with Dallas on the Week 8 schedule, I'm concerned that Washington will be in catch-up mode quickly on Monday night. Morris isn't helping the cause with his recent level of play; over the last three games he's managed an ordinary 124 yards rushing (2.8 YPC) along with two crummy catches for 12 yards.

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ANDY BEHRENS

Love him: Brandin Cooks, NO, WR – Behrens WR rank No. 22 (Yahoo No. 37)

So I'm supposed to severely downgrade Cooks off one quiet week? Do we all need to re-learn how the Saints operate? In Cooks' previous game, he saw 12 targets and handled two rush attempts. He'll see the ball plenty in the Week 8 shootout with Green Bay. Remember, New Orleans is working without Pierre Thomas this week, and Jimmy Graham is clearly less than 100 percent.
 
Hate him: Chris Ivory, NYJ, RB – Behrens RB rank No. 26 (Yahoo No. 21)

No thanks, I'm not interested in starting a job-share running back against one of the league's top run defenses. The Bills haven't yet allowed a rushing touchdown, and they're giving up only 3.2 yards per carry. For me, Ivory is on the must-sit list in Week 8.