Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Dynasty Dude Podcast. I'm your host,
Corey Evans. This week's show is titled Good and Bad
Usage Trends. I've identified five players that have had both
good and bad trending in usage. It's been favorable based
on gainscript or injuries ahead of them on a depth charts,
or it's been unfavorable based on their inconsistent roles. It
is now time to determine what does the rest of
season value look like and how can we view them
in the Dynasty market, not only the rest of this year,
but in their career arcs from here on out. With
that being said, let's get right to it up. First,
is Kamani Vaidal. We know that Omari and Hampton's expected
to miss more than the minimum acquire four games on
IR with that ankle injury.
Speaker 2: Sounds like he could even.
Speaker 1: Be held out precautionary wise for his long term health
beyond the charges week twelve. By that is up for
debate and more of a week to week than certain
timeline Outside of the four game stint. That injury Hampton
sustained was in Week five, so we saw in week
six the Vidal Show against Miami eighteen totes, one twenty
four in the ground, three receptions fourteen yards and a touchdown,
four targets across a sixty seven percent snapshare, and if
you did not know that Hampton was injured, at times,
Kamani Videll looked as good or better than Hampton has
in twenty twenty five. Meanwhile, the assumed starter Hassan Haskins,
who has their relationship with Jim Harvell dating back to
their time together at Michigan, played second fiddle to Vidal
against the Dolphins, with production for Haskins of six rushes
for fourteen yards and only one catch for nine yards
with one targets. Haskins had a thirty one percent snap share.
While it's unlikely that Kamani Cees featured back status to
this extent for as long as Hampton is, so, it
was an encouraging U SAX trend for the former six
round pick out of Troy in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2: If we were to rewind.
Speaker 1: To Vidal as a prospect, there were a lot who
assumed he would push or eventually supplant JK.
Speaker 2: Dobbins.
Speaker 1: Dobbins had a terrific season with the Chargers last year. Instead, Now,
Fidal is brought back to the practice squad active roster
and is firmly in the RB two or Fox conversation
for the reverseeable future. So while he's had bad U
SAXE trends in the past, this Week six outburst with
Hampton out of the picture was highly encouraging for Camani
at least until Hampton returns could very well be until
Week thirteen or beyond when the Chargers are on by
in week twelve. What we don't want to overstate is
that Haskins won't have a role because it's certainly going
to be in RBBC and this could also be a
high point for Vidal this season. But the fact of
the matter is when push came to shove, this was
Kamani's game script and his role to take over while
Hampton is nursing his ankle injury. How about Rico Dowdell.
What a story it's been. He has exceeded even the
most optimistic expectations with top tier RB one usage over
the past two games with chewba Hubbard's sideline. With that
lingering calf injury remaine to be seen if Chew will
be back in time for Week seven or not. Week
five versus Miami, Rico went twenty three for two hundred
and six yards rushing in a touchdown, had three receptions
for twenty eight yards across four targets. That was for
a sixty seven percent snap share. Week six filed suit
versus Dallas and a revenge game thirty tots in the ground,
a buck eighty three and then four catches fifty six
yards and a receiving score five targets, a healthy eighty
eight percent of snaps. Rico is no stranger to NFL
and fantasy football success. Case of point being his twenty
twenty four PPR RB twenty three season a RB two
and twelve teen leagues or a high end RB three
and ten team leagues with Dallas, where he delivered output
of two thirty five ten to seventy nine and two
Russian scorers, along with a thirty nine two forty nine
and three receiving efforts that was on forty nine target
in terms of a trend for twenty twenty five. If
Rico were to assume the RB one role for Carolina
rest of season, you could easily extrapolate his stats to
be on power better than what he did in Dallas
last year. The question is, though, how does the Panthers
backfield rotation shakeout.
Speaker 2: Once Chuba Hubbard returns.
Speaker 1: One thing is clear, ric O'Donnell isn't going to disappear
and is performing as arguably one of the most effective
running backs on a per touch basis in all of football.
Based on reports out of Carolina does Solic it's going
to be now a one to a one b rotation
and or game flow hothand dependent approach, which is frustrating
from a fantasy lens for both Rico and Cuba. It's
worth noting for a sample size picture that when Hubbard
was active from weeks one to four, Rico snap shares
checked in at thirty four, twenty nine, forty, and thirty
nine percent.
Speaker 2: He was the lesser half of that committee.
Speaker 1: Based on the torrid stretch that Rico donnald has been
on in weeks five and six, we might expect that
to flip and or Cuba to be eased in so
that as cap injuried is now resurface or become a
long term issue. This even further complicates the outlook of
Jonathan Brooks, assuming he can return in twenty twenty six
because this backfield is now loaded with running back talent,
even throwing Trevory ten into that mix. All that being said,
for the most part, we've seen more good than bad
usage trends for ricododdo. The dilemma again is when you
look at weeks one to four, the usage wasn't great
compared to weeks five to six Cuba sideline. What does
rest of season fare or look like When it comes
to Rico, No matter what, he should still be flex viable.
And if Cuba cannot return or eventually is outright benched
in favor of Ricodaddo, then that could be a huge
development in fantasy football. I do expect it to be
in RBBC where Cuba has the odd end favorite edge
to regain that starting role or at least a sixty
to forty seventy thirty split. But make no mistake that
rico'dodal is here to stay and he's making a huge
name for himself after doing it already in Dallas and
now again in Carolina this season.
Speaker 2: How Aboutante Smith?
Speaker 1: Usage has not favored Devonte all year in sixteenth played
so far, with the receiving log of twenty nine three
twenty one, only one touchdown, thirty five targets. Speaking of targets,
Smith targets per week of three, six, nine, two, ten,
and five. That simply is not going to get it
done for what's viewed as a wide receiver two. With
wide receiver one Spike weeks, Smith has instead been more
of a wide receiver three or worse on a per
game basis. The snap shares, thankfully, are not an issue.
Season low for Smith seventy five percent. Season high has
been at ninety eight percent, So on field rock running
participation in terms of utilization is not the problem here.
It's usage, it's targets, it's volume in this surprisingly ineffective
Philadelphia offense. Perhaps even more concerning is that Smith has
failed as a past sixty years, receiving in five of
six games so far, with the loan exception being his
one hundred and fourteen yard outbursts versus Denver. Smith even
has been held to four or few receptions in four
different contests. This is not that Avanta Smith were accustomed to.
The same can be said for the entire Eagles passing
game outside of Dallas Goddard, which if you expect the
data to bounce back positively should be some regression working
in the favor of Smith, AJ Brown, et cetera.
Speaker 2: Rest of the way, let's do.
Speaker 1: Reflect back though on pedigree, consistency and c that Devonte
Smith has been the PPR wide receiver twenty nine, nine,
nineteen to twenty seven dating back to entering the NFL
in twenty twenty one. So worst case scenario, Smith is
on that wide receiver three flex CUSP while those best
range of outcomes is a back end wide receiver one
or a high end to middle of the range wide
receiver two. All that being said, there is no denying
the fact that there's been more bad than good usage
trends for Devonte Smith in twenty twenty five, and he's
been one of the larger busts at wide receiver compared
to his ADP or even startup draft cost in Dynasty
League's be right back after a short break got forget.
If interested and you want more access to me, join Patreon.
It's only five, twelve or twenty five dollars per month
for my rookie, veteran mvptier levels. You'll gain instant access
to all of my n season rankings, all published and
accessible for you to save as Google sheet links, as
well as a bonus episode per week and unlimited direct
message access to me for any questions you might have.
That's what I'm there for us if you give my
phone number. It's really easy and accessible on the Patreon
mobile app. You can join with the episode show note link,
Apple or Spotify.
Speaker 2: Go to dinasy Pod on social media.
Speaker 1: You'll find me on there with a bio link to join,
or even send me an email to Dynasty dudepodgmail dot
com and I will send you that link needed to
become a Patreon member. Be right back. Let's talk about
the usage of Luther Burden. His early season role was
virtually non existent, with only seven receptions prior.
Speaker 2: To Chicago's Week five by.
Speaker 1: Out of the by, Luther's usage did increase four catches,
fifty one yards, four targets, albeit on only twenty three
percent of snaps against Washington. Nonetheless, it was a positive
trend for his rest of season outlook snapshares per week
Ruth the Burden have been twenty seven, eighteen, twenty nine,
twenty eight and twenty three percent. It's inconsistent. The trend
is not stewing favorable In one direction.
Speaker 2: Composed to the other.
Speaker 1: Until we can see Burden be more of a forty
fifty plus percent snapshare contributor, it's hard to trust or
insert him in fantasy lineups, but the sky is the limit.
Do keep in mind, at least at the time of
this recording, that DJ Moore is dealing with a day
to day growing issue that he was hospitalized for after.
Speaker 2: That Monday night football game.
Speaker 1: It sounds more serious than it might be ending up
in the hospital. However, Ben Johnson has label djmore day
to day. If DJ Morrimis is time, Luther Burden is
X man up and could, quite honestly, as I've talked
about in previous episodes, really cast aside the future of
DJ Moore in Chicago based on the ceiling and impact
that Burden is capable of producing. Even so, we can
assume that Burden is going to overtake all of Mine's
a kias in due time. Zakias is a veteran who
has been given the benefit of the doubt early on
in the campaign, has had his fair share of drops
or lackluster performances in the terms of opportunity cost. The
Bear spent a second round pick thirty nine overall this
year out of Missouri on Burden, and he does not
turn twenty two until December, so this is the time
to pounce or strike while the by the window still
exists in Dynasty Leaks, because once Ben Johnson starts creating
play packages around him, as we've seen in the past
with Amaras Saint Brown Jamis and William sam Laporta in Detroit,
then Burden's price tag is gonna become unaffordable or not
realistic to acquire. There's still that opportunity to buy shares
a Burden despite the both good and bad usage trends
we've seen for his rookie campaign, but out of the
by seeing four catches forty one yards on four targets
is a better development than only the seven catches before
the bears by and last, but not least, a potential
rising star before our eyes.
Speaker 2: It's a J. Barner.
Speaker 1: Elijah Royo received all the offseason hype I myself bought
into it. However, make no mistake that for the time being,
AJ Barner's title one in Seattle on the best Fantasy
assets use in lineups between himself and Arroyo, Barner has
gone seventeen for two oh five and four touchdowns. It's
nineteen to targets compared to seven catches ninety eight yards
with twelve targets for Elijah six games played, so small
sample size, but enough.
Speaker 2: To trust Barner over a Royo.
Speaker 1: Keep in mind that aj was a fourth rout out
of Michigan last year and in terms of pre draft evaluation,
was viewed more as a blocking than pass catching tight end,
yet has found a prominent role in the Seahawks offense
has become a better pro than collegiate producer at Michigan.
Barner was also solid as a rookie last season thirty
two forty five, four touchdowns, thirty eight targets. The snap
shares have been outstanding for Barner in twenty twenty five,
checking in at eighty five, eighty nine fifty four being
a low eighty six, eighty and seventy eight percent. You
can insert and trust Barner into your fantasy lineups and
not think much of it. Sure, a bit touched on dependants,
but he's had at least three targeted four contests yards
per game for receiving being zero twenty six, twenty three,
thirty two, fifty three to seventy one. That is trending
up in usage, a great sign of his role being
secure and perhaps the most important, Aj looks the part
on the field as a fluid route runner who is
elusive after the catch and is being used as a
focal point on all downs and especially in the red zone.
I don't think it's an overreaction or overstatement to rank
Aj Barner as a tight end one and Dynasty leagues
moving forward borderline top ten, if not top twelve. I'm
going to have to update my rankings accordingly, because if
he has another couple weeks of his recent good production,
then it's hard not to value him in that threshold,
especially with how thin and a consistent the Titan landscape
truly is in our game of fantasy football. That will
do it up your enjoy this fix episode of good
and bad usage trends.
Speaker 2: Appreciate you listening.
Speaker 1: If you enjoyed the content this week or just my
show in general, please drop a five star review readay
to support me and increase my exposure and visibility in
the podcasting space for fanas football. Thanks again, until next time,
this is the Dynasty you're checking out. Enjoy the rest
of your week and good luck in your fantasy matchups
this weekend.
Speaker 2: See you
Speaker 1: English of BO