Fantasy football: Odell Beckham’s Rams arrival has Van Jefferson implications

Hey, OBJ is headed to L.A.!!! What a day, what a day! Or, is it?

What exactly should fantasy managers expect out of Odell Beckham Jr. with the juggernaut Rams offense?

Will Beckham be like Sammy Watkins on his various different stops? (Plays when healthy, but minimally productive.) Will he be Josh Gordon with the Patriots, Seahawks or Chiefs? (Invisible were it not for his name.) Will he just be the Rams’ newest version of DeSean Jackson? (An isolated deep threat of minimal importance.) Or will he be Randy Moss? (Recapturing his former glory in a new, more friendly setting.)

We don’t think he will be another Jackson. Beckham is younger, has always been more versatile, and if the Rams wanted another Jackson they would have just kept Jackson, rather than cutting him.

We don’t think he will be as invisible as Gordon, whose one good season was so long ago (2013) it was before Beckham entered the league (2014). And Beckham wasn’t just a one-season wonder, he strung together three excellent seasons with the Giants to kick off his career.

That leaves us with Moss or Watkins. Since Moss is a unicorn, we’re not going to bet on Beckham repeating such a rare feat. Rather, we think he will just be OK, which puts him in Watkins territory.

That’s not great for fantasy managers with Beckham on their rosters. But it could be worse for those who have Van Jefferson, with Beckham stealing playing time from the second-year receiver, just as Watkins has taken snaps away from other potential young talent such as Mecole Hardman in Kansas City, and now Devin Duvernay and Rashod Bateman in Baltimore.

Beckham normally lines up on the outside. With Cooper Kupp entrenched in the slot for the Rams, that leaves Robert Woods and Jefferson as the two who could see a decrease in snaps or targets.

The Rams are gunning for a Super Bowl this season, so they’re aren’t going to prioritize Jefferson’s maturation. They’re going to lean on the veteran Woods. You can see that is current snap counts — Woods has taken 92.5 percent of offensive snaps, Jefferson 78.2.

So how should fantasy owners react? First, don’t panic if you have Jefferson. In fact, he might see this as a challenge, and that would work to your favor — particularly this week.

Beckham won’t play, but Jefferson knows he is on the way. He could turn in an extra-zesty performance Monday against the 49ers. The better he plays, the harder it will be for Beckham to eventually bump him.

Also, it is already midseason on the NFL schedule. Beckham isn’t going to walk in and have immediate command of the playbook. It will take him some time to catch up to the language and get in sync with QB Matthew Stafford.

But before you worry about the future, if you have Jefferson and are looking for a WR3 or Flex option this week, start up the Van.

BIG WEEKS

Carson Wentz QB, Colts, vs. Jaguars (FanDuel $7,500/DraftKings $5,900)

Outside of last week’s outlier vs. the Bills, the Jags have allowed at least 18.5 points to opposing QBs in six of their other seven games.

D’Ernest Johnson RB, Browns, at Patriots (FD $5,400/DK $4,700)

Primary RB Nick Chubb and reserve RB Demetric Felton have been on the COVID list all week, and they were ruled out on Friday. RB Kareem Hunt is still out, so Johnson could duplicate his Week 7 volume.

Mark Ingram RB, Saints, at Titans (FD $5,500/DK $4,500)

Alvin Kamara has been ruled out with a knee issue. Expect Ingram to absorb the lion’s share of the workload, making him worthy of season starting status and a strong cheap DFS option.

J.D. McKissic RB, Washington, vs. Buccaneers (FD $5,400/DK $5,200)

Starter Antonio Gibson’s shin problem hasn’t disappeared. WFT likely will have to play keep-up with the Bucs — which means more passing, which is in McKissic’s wheelhouse.

SMALL WEAKS

Aaron Rodgers QB, Packers, vs. Seahawks (FD $7,800/DK $7,100)

Even if he plays, he will be coming in cold after nearly two weeks away from the team on COVID-IL. Dak Prescott last week showed what a rusty QB can look like. Green light every week thereafter, though.

D.J. Moore WR, Panthers, at Cardinals (FD $6,800/DK $6,300)

It’s been bad enough with Sam Darnold recently (10.1 PPR average over past five games). P.J. Walker? He has completed 3 of 15 passes this season. He would need to complete his next 19 passes to get to the league-average completion rate.

Courtland Sutton WR, Broncos, vs. Eagles (FD $6,600/DK $5,600)

Troubling drop in targets since Jerry Jeudy’s return, with just two last week. Eagles have surrendered just two WR touchdowns in the past five games.

Dallas Goedert TE, Eagles, at Broncos (FD $5,900/DK $4,700)

Has more than three catches just once in his past four games. Denver has yet to allow a tight end receiving TD.

Fantasy Insanity Daily Duel

Site: DraftKings

Slate: Sun. main (11 games)

Type: $12 tourney

Top prize: $10K

Pot: $100K

Drew’s Crew

QB – Tom Brady (TB, at Was) $7,600

RB – Najee Harris (Pit, vs. Det) $7,900

RB D’Ernest Johnson (Cle, at NE) $4,700

WR – A.J. Brown (Ten, vs. NO) $7,800

WR – Mike Evans (TB, at Was) $6,900

WR – James Washington (Pit, vs. Det) $3,500

TE – O.J. Howard (TB, at Was) $2,700

Flex – J.D. McKissic (Was, vs. TB) $5,200

DST – Cardinals (Ari, vs. Car) $3,700

Wilk’s Warriors

QB – Carson Wentz (Ind, vs. Jac) $5,900

RB – Dalvin Cook (Min, at LAC) $8,000

RB – Ezekiel Elliott (Dal, vs. Atl) $7,000

WR – Mike Evans (TB, at Was) $6,900

WR – Michael Pittman Jr. (Ind, vs. Jac) $6,300

WR – Russell Gage (Atl, at Dal) $5,000

TE – Dan Arnold (Jac, at Ind) $3,500

Flex – D’Ernest Johnson (Cle, at NE) $4,700

DST – Titans (Ten, vs. NO) $2,600

Season risked: $70

Season winnings: Jarad $20, Drew $15