#MCM- Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins
-Hoover26 November 16
Jordan Reed is, if you ask me, the most underrated tight end in football. He has six touchdown receptions so far this season, and is the sixth ranked fantasy tight end (per nfl.com scoring). However, his ownership rate is only 37.4% (nfl.com) and you rarely hear him mentioned in the same conversation as some of the top fantasy tight ends. However, I am here to give Jordan Reed the props he deserves.
My man crush on Jordan Reed isn’t solely based on his fantasy underdog status. I have always had an affinity for players who switch positions, and Jordan Reed is one of them. He was recruited to Florida as a quarterback, but with John Brantley (never heard of him? Me either) firmly in control of the starting job, Reed redshirted and switched positions to tight end permanently. That takes some serious talent. However, when he got to the NFL, he landed on a Redskins team that had a little problem… quarterbacking. Reed has played with three quarterbacks in the NFL (post-injury Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy), and none of them were ever accused of being extremely accurate. But that hasn’t seemed to stop Reed from racking up fantasy points.
With a pair of touchdown catches in his last game, Reed has established himself as a top red zone target. Often times, however, players with lower target numbers and higher touchdowns will be underrated, as someone who had some “lucky catches” that resulted in touchdowns. Don’t get me wrong, low targets can be the sign of someone who isn’t going to maintain their performance, but there are exceptions. Is it still just luck if it happens again? And again? And again? That is where we are with Jordan Reed. We are just warming up to the fact that he can be a top tight end without the huge target numbers other players have. After all, touchdowns are worth more, right?
Tight ends, maybe more than any other position, are constantly shuffling. It is especially hard to judge the value of a tight end from his play last year, as a tight end’s role is ever-changing. His amount of targets depends not only on his talent, but the talent around him. Of the top six tight ends this year (nfl.com), only one of them have a top ten fantasy receiver on their team (that one being Rob Gronkowski). So, if the quarterback doesn’t have a great set of targets at the receiver position, the tight end reaps the rewards. The other side of that coin is, a team with a top receiver probably isn’t going to have a top fantasy tight end. On average, if a team has one of the top five receivers, their tight end ranks 29.6th (per nfl.com scoring). Luckily for Jordan Reed, the top Redskins receiver is ranked 40th, so he should be in for plenty of work.
Jordan Reed is this week’s #MCM. He is a fine player, one of the most underrated in the NFL. Hopefully you can get ahold of him before my man crush spreads and his talents are recognized. Good luck!
My man crush on Jordan Reed isn’t solely based on his fantasy underdog status. I have always had an affinity for players who switch positions, and Jordan Reed is one of them. He was recruited to Florida as a quarterback, but with John Brantley (never heard of him? Me either) firmly in control of the starting job, Reed redshirted and switched positions to tight end permanently. That takes some serious talent. However, when he got to the NFL, he landed on a Redskins team that had a little problem… quarterbacking. Reed has played with three quarterbacks in the NFL (post-injury Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy), and none of them were ever accused of being extremely accurate. But that hasn’t seemed to stop Reed from racking up fantasy points.
With a pair of touchdown catches in his last game, Reed has established himself as a top red zone target. Often times, however, players with lower target numbers and higher touchdowns will be underrated, as someone who had some “lucky catches” that resulted in touchdowns. Don’t get me wrong, low targets can be the sign of someone who isn’t going to maintain their performance, but there are exceptions. Is it still just luck if it happens again? And again? And again? That is where we are with Jordan Reed. We are just warming up to the fact that he can be a top tight end without the huge target numbers other players have. After all, touchdowns are worth more, right?
Tight ends, maybe more than any other position, are constantly shuffling. It is especially hard to judge the value of a tight end from his play last year, as a tight end’s role is ever-changing. His amount of targets depends not only on his talent, but the talent around him. Of the top six tight ends this year (nfl.com), only one of them have a top ten fantasy receiver on their team (that one being Rob Gronkowski). So, if the quarterback doesn’t have a great set of targets at the receiver position, the tight end reaps the rewards. The other side of that coin is, a team with a top receiver probably isn’t going to have a top fantasy tight end. On average, if a team has one of the top five receivers, their tight end ranks 29.6th (per nfl.com scoring). Luckily for Jordan Reed, the top Redskins receiver is ranked 40th, so he should be in for plenty of work.
Jordan Reed is this week’s #MCM. He is a fine player, one of the most underrated in the NFL. Hopefully you can get ahold of him before my man crush spreads and his talents are recognized. Good luck!