Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall’s Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 6
Published by Chris Roling on October 12, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery continue to coexist as elite fantasy football options regardless of the opposition on the other side of the field on a week-to-week basis. The latest example of this was an explosion from both in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons.
The veteran and his understudy were not even the most-targeted players on the day—that honor went to tailback Matt Forte (13 targets)—but both produced in WR1 fashion:
The scary part is that Jeffery also had a touchdown taken off the board thanks to a penalty.
For these two, Sunday was about as par for the course as it gets from an opportunity standpoint. Coach Marc Trestman, even with his team ahead, often elects to use the pass rather than the rush to burn out the clock, hence Jay Cutler tossing it 38 times as opposed to just 28 total rushes (a number that was padded by 10 in the final 10 minutes of regulation).
Jeffery now has four consecutive games with a minimum of 10 points. The same cannot be said for Marshall, who totaled just 11 points over the course of the past three weeks entering Sunday thanks to nagging injuries. But when healthy, the above production is usually the norm.
It should be noted, though, that Sunday is an outlier this season in terms of both wideouts producing at a healthy clip. Typically, the two tend to counteract each other, as the week-by-week numbers thus far suggest:
This naturally leads into a matchup-focused discussion:
A tough slate and potentially getting in each other’s way are not enough to avoid either Jeffery or Marshall each week. Just look at that Green Bay unit that ranks in the top 10 against wideouts—the two still combined to hit the average points the Packers surrender right on the head.
Were this any other offense—or any other pair of wideouts for that matter—it would be advisable to poke around in sell-high mode thanks to a tough upcoming slate. But these two are not ordinary, and the buy-low window on Marshall just slammed emphatically shut—although it could not hurt to try, just in case.
These two should continue to be treated as WR1 players regardless of matchup. There will be peaks and valleys for each as they sometimes trade off top-flight production, which is difficult to predict, but the risk outweighs the reward each week.
Sunday was merely the latest example of the damage Jeffery and Marshall can do, and when both get in on the action like that, every owner wins.
All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. ET. Statistics courtesy of ESPN. Kansas City, New Orleans on bye.
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