Week 10 features two positions where it’s attractive to pay up for the top options, and two where it’s more appealing to attack the next price tier. Despite this being the Season of the Cheap Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers is in too good of a spot to overlook, and it feels like a week in which gaining Todd Gurley exposure will be critical. They won’t pay for themselves, however, and there isn’t a shipload of value available like in Week 9.
At receiver, from DeAndre Hopkins earning Cincinnati’s undivided attention, to Odell Beckham in Bill Belichick’s crosshairs, to a Ben Roethlisberger-less Antonio Brown, we can probably approximate their production and save $1,000-to-$2,000 in the process. And then, as always, there’s the Rob Gronkowski question.
If we think this is a LeGarrette Blount week, and I do for reasons discussed below, Gronkowski’s usage is a concern. Last week he ran nine slot routes and saw five targets. His season average entering Week 9 was 16.6 slot routes and 8.6 targets. On closer inspection, in the three games that New England received positive pass blocking grades, Gronkowski averaged 21.3 slot routes, 12 targets, 7.7 catches, 105 yards, and 1.7 touchdowns. In the five games where the Patriots’ pass blocking graded negatively, he averaged 12.2 slot routes, 5.8 targets, 4.2 catches, 75.6 yards, and 0.4 touchdowns.
Tom Brady’s average time to throw is the league’s quickest (2.18 seconds), and it was 1.86 seconds last week. That’s how they are mitigating an offensive line injury Armageddon. Danny Amendola’s average depth of target is 6.6 yards, Julian Edelman’s is 7.7 yards, and Gronkowski’s is 9.8 yards. If he’s in-line more, and his routes take longer to develop, Gronkowski will see fewer of Brady’s quick passes – no matter how juicy the positional coverage matchup is. He clearly can still erupt on a limited workload, but with several viable alternatives that are at least $2,000 less expensive, I’m going light on the Gronk this week.
On to this week’s FanDuel tournament picks.
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Pat Thorman is a Lead Writer for PFF Fantasy and was named 2013 Newcomer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. You can follow him on Twitter at @Pat_Thorman