Fantasy Slot Receivers: Under-the-radar specialists to consider
By Neil Dutton, Player Profiler
Special to Yahoo Sports
In its infancy, the slot receiver seemed to be something approaching a gimmick. It was something tinkerers like Tom Landry used, but it was not a position through which a passing game could run. This is still true, for the most part. In 2017, only four wide receivers who played more than half of their offensive snaps in the slot saw at least 20 percent of their teams’ targets. One of them, Jarvis Landry, has enjoyed target shares of 29, 28, and 27-percent in the last three seasons. But the slot guy remained a complimentary piece in the NFL…until now.
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In 2018, the number of bonafide slot target hogs has risen from four to eight. Slot receivers offer their quarterbacks an easier target, and as a rule put themselves in positions where they don’t have to fight through traffic for contested catches. With the NFL embracing more college passing principles, these quick hitting options can be a godsend for quarterbacks. As a result — and this is important for fantasy owners — a slot receiver can often skirt the volatility inherent in perimeter pass catchers. This gives them a safer weekly floor, making their presence in your lineups almost a necessity.
From Jarvis Landry to Cooper Kupp, the league’s leading slot receivers are all safely tucked away on the majority of fantasy rosters. But these three emerging players are widely available and well worth rostering for the weeks ahead.
TAYWAN TAYLOR, TENNESSEE TITANS
Plenty was written about Taywan Taylor prior to the season, especially after the Titans appointed Matt LaFleur as their offensive coordinator. LaFleur did, after all, spend the 2017 season with the Los Angeles Rams, an offense that heavily featured slot receiver Cooper Kupp. Taylor posted a 38.6% (77th percentile) College Dominator Rating during his time with Western Kentucky, averaging 17.7 yards per reception. He was not a tremendous athletic prospect, but his 10.78 Agility Score (92nd percentile) makes him an ideal slot man. Taylor’s closest comparable player, per PlayerProfiler, is Doug Baldwin.
He started the season slowly with just seven receptions through the first three games. However, while Corey Davis attracted all the attention for his performance against the Eagles in Week 4, Taylor’s contribution was just as noteworthy. He caught seven of his nine targets for 77 yards. He also played on a season-high 66.2% of the offensive snaps. Taylor is one of 29 wide receivers who have seen at least 15% of their teams’ total targets whilst playing at least 25% of their snaps in the slot. Taylor ranks No. 6 with 2.36 fantasy points per slot target.
The Titans average 3.6 yards per attempt on the ground so far this season, and few could deny that their most impressive outing of the campaign was against the Eagles when they trusted the arm of Marcus Mariota. If the team adopts this approach on a longer term, this should mean an increase in opportunities for Taylor moving forward.
Taylor is available in nearly 97% of Yahoo leagues, and while he is unlikely to be a surefire WR1 moving forward, he could challenge for WR3 status most weeks.
KEKE COUTEE, HOUSTON TEXANS
Keke Coutee had to wait until Week 4 of the season to make his NFL debut, and did he make the most of his chance when it finally arrived! Coutee finished Sunday’s win over the Colts with 11 receptions for 109 yards, the most catches by a player in his first NFL game of all time (overtaking the ten of Anquan Boldin from back in 2003).
Operating in a high-volume pass attack that featured multiple NFL prospects at Texas Tech, Coutee’s 30.8% College Dominator Rating (53rd percentile) and 15.4 Yards per Reception (61st percentile) pushed him under the radar among analytical football scouting services, but a discerning look at his final season revealed a prolific young receiver. Coutee joined Anthony Miller and Michael Gallup on college football’s top-5 receptions and receiving yards lists in 2017. Zoom out further and see that Coutee is faster than both. Incorporate his 11.08 (66th percentile) Agility Score into the picture, and the NFL’s next lightening-in-a-bottle slot receiver jumps off the page.
Coutee saw 37.5% of Houston’s total targets on Sunday, no mere feat considering DeAndre Hopkins was in the game. 17 of his 21.7 fantasy points against the Colts came from the slot. Coutee has a chance to build on his solid debut and emerge as a genuine third option in an offense with no receiving tight end of consequence and no other receivers behind Hopkins and Will Fuller. The only worry would be that Coutee may need Fuller and Hopkins to continue playing hurt for him to overtake them in the eyes of DeShaun Watson. Watson averages 12.92 Adjusted Yards Per Attempt (AY/A) when targeting Fuller in 2018, and 8.93 when looking Hopkins way.
Coutee is on 96% of Yahoo waiver wires, and could make for an interesting addition as we enter Bye Week Armageddon.
DEDE WESTBROOK, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Dede Westbrook was an impressive performer at the college level for Oklahoma after transferring from Blinn College prior to his junior season. His senior season in 2016 saw him average 19.1 yards per reception as he reeled in 80 passes for 1524 yards and 17 touchdowns. He finished in 4th place in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, but he did win the Biletnikoff Award for the outstanding receiver in American college football.
Beyond elite college productivity, Westbrook is fast. His 4.44 wheels illuminates his upside, and his 16.8-percent Hog Rate (targets per snap on PlayerProfiler) illuminates his floor. Westbrook now leads all Jaguars receivers in Target Share despite running routes on less than 80-percent of team snaps each week. When he does enter the game, Westbrook has played an astronomical 81.4-percent of his snaps from the slot in 2018, which ranks No. 4 among qualifying NFL wide receivers. Westbrook averages 12 yards per target and 15.7 yards per reception out of the slot (no3 in both categories), and is No. 7 in terms of slot-fantasy points per game with 12.2. While overall volume may be an issue given the Jaguars tending towards the rush more than most teams, you can’t argue with Westbrook’s efficiency when given the ball.
Westbrook is available in 80% of Yahoo leagues, and with a Week 5 matchup against the melted marshmallow that is the Chiefs secondary in Week 5, he makes for a most intriguing pick up.
