Bloggin Hood’s 2018 Fantasy Football Preview – Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams Depth Charts
July 20, 2018Every year, thousands of fantasy players win their leagues. Not only do they receive a giant trophy, they also receive a champion’s pay check and the right to mock the rest of their league mates until next season. Few things in life are more rewarding than winning, but even fewer top winning when you’ve done nothing but start virtual players. Truly, it’s the reason many of us get out of bed in the morning.
However, for every winner, there are hundreds of thousands of losers. Some of these poor unfortunate souls finish in second place. Others just miss the playoffs. But a select few come in dead last. These outcasts are mocked by even the next to last place finisher, forced to suffer through unending punishments and shamed to the point of severe confidence loss. There’s a reason you see a bunch of Viagra commercials during the NFL season. That will put those images of people sitting in adjacent tubs outside in a whole new light.
The 2018 Bloggin Hood Fantasy guide doesn’t look to help the first place winner. No, that’s not the Bloggin Hood way. Instead, we intend to give to the poor(poorly informed) by taking knowledge through tons of research(the rich). Now, who actually did this research? Why me, Bloggin Hood of course. If you don’t trust my work, go ahead suck a rock, or kick lemons. Do it in reverse and see if I care.
The Blogging Hood Fantasy guide is not for the faint of heart. The word count would make George RR Martin blush, mostly because he’s forgotten how to write. This year, we’re not even stopping at one preview. Welcome to Part 1 of the 2018 fantasy guide – Team Previews.
Over the next 16 weekdays, right until the last day in July, we’ll be looking at two NFL depth charts for potential breakouts, busts, and deep names to consider. What we will not be doing in part one is addresses ADP, or any actual rankings. I haven’t looked at any of that stuff yet. At this point in the year, it’s irrelevant. If you’re drafting in July, it means you’re baseball team has probably tanked to 12th place. It’s way too early to hone in on ADP. We’ll save that for part two.
If you followed the Bloggin Hood Fantasy Baseball guide and find yourself in 12th place, no refunds.
Without further ado, let’s dissect two team’s depth charts, as per rotoworld.com.
LAC
With Deandre Jordan signing with the Mavericks (for real this time), the Clippers have lost their last link to Lob City and move on to a new identity – blissful irrelevance. It’s not unusual for the Clippers to not matter, and that experience will come in handy for the next 3-5 years…
Wait, this is about the Chargers isn’t it? I’m never going to get used to having two LAC abbreviated sports team. Think of the writers and move back to San Diego.
Los Angeles Chargers
It’s somehow always another player’s fault in LA
If it wasn’t for the Chargers history of having a ton of talent on paper and underachieving, I think they might realistically be the favorite to win the AFC. They have a bunch of talent on the offensive side of the ball, and their defense is absolutely stacked. An all LA Super Bowl is in play, and while I doubt it’ll happen, it’s fun to imagine the traffic jams. You’d have to leave on Tuesday to arrive to the game on time.
The best thing about the Chargers for fantasy purposes is the clear hierarchy. Most teams have multiple backs that you have to sort out, and messy receiver situations. The Chargers have a clear bell cow back, and top tier threat out wide and a good QB. Sure, the wideout situation beyond Keenan Allen is messy, but odds are you weren’t starting them anyway. It makes things a lot cleaner for drafting. More teams should be like the Chargers, minus the constant underachieving.
QBs
Philip Rivers – Rivers is no longer the guy who can win you a week by himself. But he’s a solid choice with a stacked receiving core, and because of his age, you might get him at a discount. You can bank on 4,500 yards any somewhere between 26-30 TDs, which is a low end QB1. You may not want to start him every week, but even his division got softer – Kansas City and Denver are no longer the defensive juggernauts of the past couple of years. Rivers should be a solid choice that you can get late in the draft as he’s boring compared to Watson, Wilson and other, younger options. If only he ever learned how to actually throw a football. That shot put motion should have stopped by puberty, but I guess it works.
RBs
Melvin Gordon – Efficiency certainly isn’t Gordon’s game. In his career, he has never averaged 4 yards a carry. However, Gordon does get volume in an era where it’s hard to come by. He is one of the few backs who will average 20 touches a game, and he’s not a negative in the passing game, where he managed 58 catches last season. You like to have backs who rarely come off the field, and Gordon is one of the last bell cow backs available in most drafts. Despite my opinion of him being somewhat of a plotter, I think part of his problem is a questionable offensive line. If there are improvements, Gordon could see a top 5 finish. At the turn, Gordon is a safe, if not sexy, pick who provides both yardage and TDs.
Austin Ekeler – I think it’s a rule that the Chargers have a back under 6 foot on their roster. Eckler is basically a poor man’s Darren Sproles, who only touches the ball 74 times last year, but came away with 612 yards. That’s a good amount of production. He certainly won’t be a threat to Gordon’s workload on the ground, but I would expect him to take a few targets and receptions. Ekeler could be a decent PPR weapon, but don’t expect huge numbers from Fake Darren Sproles. There’s no guaranteed anything goes away from Gordon, who the Charges are content with running into the ground.
Justin Jackson – Just a name to remember as if Gordon were to go down, Ekeler could not handle the role of lead back. Jackson is an athletic freak, who if given an opportunity could be very interesting, but odds are against that happening in 2018.
WRs
Keenan Allen – This might sound hot takey, but I don’t think it is. Is taking Keenan Allen over Julio Jones that crazy? I don’t think I’d be able to pull the trigger on this personally (at least not yet), but I think it’s reasonable. Allen is a borderline first round pick you can get in the second for sure. You’ll hear a lot about how Allen picked it up in the second half, but he was solid the first four weeks, and when his lull hit, he wasn’t providing absolute zeros. Also remember he faced Jacksonville and Denver in that time. Denver is much softer this year, and Jacksonville is an unlikely opponent (If you think I’m researching the schedule, you’re crazy). Especially with Hunter Henry out, he’s the unquestioned top target in this offense, including the red zone. 100 catches, 1,400 yards and 10 TDs isn’t that lofty. Draft with confidence.
Tyrell Williams – T. Williams had a down year after a breakout 1,000 yard sophomore campaign, but that was to be expected with a healthy Allen. Williams continues to fill another Charger tradition of having giant receivers who make big plays. T. Williams isn’t a volume receiver, and you’ll need long plays for relevance. I think he’ll ultimately be the 3rd option in the passing attack, which is bye week fill in with upside, but little else.
Mike Williams – Jeez, this Williams is also 6’4”. Does any other team hate tall receivers? How does the Chargers scoop all of these guys up?
Williams’ rookie season was basically a wash. He spent a lot of the season hurt, and didn’t see many snaps as the season went along. I don’t think Williams will be benched this season, as you don’t take a player 7th overall if you aren’t planning on using them. Assuming health, he should get the #2 spot on the team. The targets might be a bit inconsistent, but I can see him developing into a sold WR 3 type this year. He’ll come more or less free, so it’s a good player to take a shot on.
Travis Benjamin – Benjamin is little more than receiver depth – the player who will take the top off the defense. He’s not a bad player, but he’s unreliable in fantasy. He only caught 24 passes last year, though he did average 16.7 yards per catch and had 13 carries. Benjamin is a dart throw for a long TD each week and nothing more.
TE
Virgil Green – Ok, this is the 5th consecutive year Green has been put on a sleeper list, but the Charges do use their tight ends. Had Hunter Henry not torn his ACL, he’s probably be the 4th TE off the board. Instead, the Chargers may use Green near the goal line, making him a TD dependent option. Then again, maybe they’ll just use one of their 800 6’4” receivers. It could happen.
Los Angeles Rams
I actually didn’t take this photo
Remember the first lyric of 2Pac’s California Love? If not, shame on you. Fortunately, I’m here to right your wrongs.
Out on Bail, Fresh out of jail California Dreamin’
Do you think every single Rams player sang this the moment Jeff Fisher was fired? It must have felt like a giant, mustached stone was removed from their chest. Once the shackled of unimaginative play calling and boredom was removed, the Rams exploded into one of, if not THE most entertaining team in football. Much of the credit should go to Sean McVay for learning how to get the most out of players written off as nobodies. However, a significant portion is just from Jeff Fisher not being in the Locker Room. Congrats on that Rams.
The biggest concern fantasy wise is how good the Rams defense might be. Championships are rarely won on paper, especially for Tic Tac Toe tournaments I suppose, but the Rams defense looks frightening. I mean, they’ve signed everybody of note and make the Jaguars Defense look like Tiger Cubs. For the record, I’d still be scared of a Tiger Cub. In theory, a great defense limits the passing game, but I think the passing game will be ok. This is Todd Gurley’s team anyway, and the better the defense, the most likely Gurley will be the top pick in the draft. It’s not the choice I’d make, but there’s a reason I’m writing a blog visited by 3 people a week.
QBs
Jared Goff – I’m not trying to take away from the incredible improvement that Jared Goff made in his second season. I just want to point out that his year last season was fine, but it’s not like he’s the next Aaron Rodgers. He completed 60% of his passes and had a 4:1 TD to INT ratio, but I can’t see his numbers improving by much this year based on that defense. You’re basically hoping for a repeat, and if he regresses, he’s not startable. I see Goff as a good streamer, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near aggressive to roll him out week 1.
RBs
If you had Gurley last year, he probably won you a title
Todd Gurley II – There’s not much I could possible say after the year that Gurley had. The only thing I caution you is to watch out for TD regression. He’s probably going to score less than he did last year, but that’s the only reason to drop Gurley from the first pick to the second. The offense is centered around his skill set, and he’s used heavily around the goal line and in the passing game. There’s nothing to dislike here. Even if you worry about his second season, remember, Jeff Fisher isn’t there to stink of the joint.
Malcolm Brown – Listed here because all top of the line running backs need some sort of handcuff. Brown is the closest thing to a handcuff, so you take him in the last round.
WRs
Brandin Cooks – Cooks is the type of receiver you’d love to have as your WR3, but will have to take as your WR2. The end line is always beautiful, but knowing him is as frustrating as your typical TE dependant TE. Some weeks, Cooks looks like the best player in the NFL. In others, he might as well not exist. This goes beyond his Patriot season, as he often disappeared with the Saints. He seems to be a head case and is this generations DeSean Jackson. Yes, I know Jackson is still in the league, but you get the point.
The biggest concern with Cooks is Sammy Watkins. Watkins was a glorified decoy for most of the year, yet somehow scored a bunch of TDs, which I don’t remember. That’s how disappointing Watkins was. If Cooks takes the Watkins role on, he will not get the redzone looks, making him a wasted pick. I can’t see him being as poor between the 20s as Watkins last year, but it gives me a lot of hesitation. I view him as a WR 2/WR 3 fringe and expect to rank him 24th or 25th. If you want to gamble, there’s few who could pay off more.
Robert Woods – Outside of a poor week 4, Robert Woods was dominant in 9 of his last 10 games of the year. The only things stopping him from fully breaking out was injury. He was catching five passes a game, peppering a few TDs, and showing to be a true asset. If he’s healthy, I’d expect Woods to end up with the most targets. He might score all that many touchdowns, but you could get to buy low on a breakdown playing people don’t realize has broken out. A WR3 who’s potentially a WR2, Woods is a great mid round target, even though his name isn’t as fun as the following player.
Cooper Kupp – If you don’t like saying Cooper Kupp, you have no soul.
King Koopa had a very good rookie year and could be poised for more work out of the slot. He had a solid 62 catch, 869 yard debut and was frequently targeted around the goal line. The biggest issue with Cupp was consistency – his catches wavered back and forward, and his truly explosive weeks (12 and 14) came without Woods. To me, this shows the pecking order, and I think Cupp is the 3rd man. This doesn’t mean he has value. It just means he’s going to be over-drafted, mostly so you get to say his name.
Michael Thomas (Fake) – This is not a sudden trade of the Saints’ star receiver. This is a similarly named special teams player. Players without any sort of sportsmanship can nominate this player in auction drafts and watch a hapless owner blow his budget on a player unlikely to catch 5 passes. Now, since you’re reading this blog, none of you have sportsmanship, so I expect to read success stories about this move all August. You’re welcome.
TEs
There’s some potential TEs to pick up during the yea, but nothing worth drafting, especially when you consider the amount of targets going to the three wideouts and Gurley.
