By Winsto (10/27/2022)
The Good
In essence, Baltimore’s offense. Lamar Jackson (238 yards passing, 2 TDs, and 45 yards rushing) had a nice night. He was aided by the rookie TE, Isaiah Likely (77 receiving yards and a TD), who took over after Mark Andrews (33 receiving yards) was injured. Devin Duvernay (64 total yards and a TD) also had a successful night.
On the Tampa Bay side, Mike Evans (WR) had 123 receiving yards while Chris Godwin (WR) had 75 receiving yards. Tom Brady (QB) finally got into the end zone (with 53 seconds left in the game) and had 325 passing yards with a TD. I guess that is good enough? Leonard Fournette (RB) had 58 total yardsbut saved his night with a TD.
The Not Good
In essence, Tampa Bay’s offense. It simply has not functioned as well as it should, considering the star power. Brady and Fournette scored, but the feeling here is that they should be doing more. Cade Otton (TE) disappointed with only 15 yards receiving, though he did have a TD called back due to a penalty and was targeted on another one.
On the Baltimore side, Gus Edwards (RB) was having a solid night (11 rushes for 65 yards), but left the game with what is being called a hamstring injury. The good news is that he was not ruled out, but rather listed as questionable to return. The other good news is that there was no mention of an ACL. Kenyon Drake (RB) had 69 total yards and may be the biggest beneficiary if Edwards misses next week’s match-up with New Orleans. Mark Andrews also left the game, as mentioned earlier. If Andrews misses next week, Likely is definitely a TE target to play next week, though long-term relevance is very iffy once Andrews returns. In addition, Rashod Bateman (WR) also left the game early on, with no receptions.
Moving Forward
- Leonard Fournette had 11 touches to Rashaad White’s 7 touches. That was a bit curious.
- Isaiah Likely may be a top 6 tight end as long as Andrews misses time, but the problem is that Andrews may not miss any time. Still, there is talent there, as my colleague noted in the preseason. Even with a healthy Andrews, Likely may be a top 15 TE, given the sad fantasy tight end landscape.
- Do not cut Gus Edwards as long as his injury is not declared to be severe. So far, that has not been the case. If you do need a fill-in if Edwards misses time, Drake is not a bad option.
Toney Trade
The big story of the day was the trade of Kadarius Toney (WR) from the New York Giants to the Kansas City Chiefs. What does this mean? Look, Toney has talent and passes the eye test, but he has missed MANY games due to injuries. There is no denying the upside of Toney in Kansas City’s offense is very high. There is, however, the question as to why New York decided to part ways with the former 1st round pick, for a compensatory 3rd and a 6th. If Toney wasn’t a guy Brian Daboll wanted, I understand, and given Toney’s injury history, New York was probably not going to get top dollar. Still, for a team that is desperate for a wide receiver, to simply trade away arguably their most talented one at pennies on the dollar raises questions.
So what does this all mean? Kansas City gets an injury-riddle player who has very high potential. Could Toney prove to be fantasy relevant down the stretch in 2022 if he can get his hamstrings to heal? Yes. That said, there is a part of me that is wondering if this trade was more about Kansas City’s plans next year, as their only receivers under contract for 2023 are Marquez-Valdes Scantling and Skyy Moore. And with that in mind, Kansas City saw an opportunity to acquire unproven potential that was on sale.
Regardless, if you have any room on your bench, grab Toney, just to see what happens. The upside is tremendous.