Alright, the plan was to have the next RSJ Hype Meter come out next Tuesday. Still, some of us forgot how to watch football without blowing our fantasy football loads at reacting to everything we see directly in front of our faces. Just look at these absolute rookies getting all hopped up on the hype of 60 minutes of football:
Oh crap… that’s no rookie… that’s my boss.
The good news is that I am sure that my levelheaded boss and the future of this website simmered down, stayed grounded, and didn’t buy into the hype.
If the Wolf is jumping this far into the hype, there is a good chance that you are, too. Lucky for you, the scientists in the Hype Meter and Confidence Score labs are not union, and we were able to pull them into the factory to work overnight hours for no additional pay. YEAH CAPITALISM!
If you need a quick recap of how the Roto Street Journal Hype Meter and Confidence Score works, check out the article I posted yesterday to get caught up.
ISAIAH LIKELY (BAL-TE)
A tight end for the Baltimore Ravens did precisely what was expected and will finish this week as a top 2/3 TE. The bad news for most fantasy owners? It was not the tight end drafted in the 4th or 5th round, but the one that was TE19 off the board this drafting season.
Isaiah Likely finished the game with 9 receptions on 12 targets for 111 yards and 1 TD, a stat line you’d be gushing over if it was coming from your WR1. Last night, Likely was in for 70.3% of snaps, more than double his high snaps while both Likely and Mark Andrews were healthy last year.
If someone can find Wolf’s underwear, just report it to the janitorial department. You don’t want to get your fingers on those soggy bottoms.
Now it’s time for the cold water. The Ravens team we saw last night was sloppy, disjointed, and needed Mark Andrews. The Ravens team that we expect to lead the AFC North will be much more dependent on spreading the ball around, including getting Mark Andrews more involved in the passing game. Andrews is still recovering from a severe injury, and becoming firmly engaged in the offense will take time. Even coming off of the injury, it was not like Andrews was not on the field or running routes.
I do not see a world where Ravens coach John Harbaugh allows the all-pro TE to make $7M a year for the next two years to serve as a track star on his team.
This is not saying to fade Isaiah Likely, but make sure not to buy too much into the hype and blow your FAAB in your first round of waivers. There will likely be a fantasy team hurting for a TE willing to pay much more than you are, so try to temper your expectations and offer a reasonable offer.
RASHEE RICE (KC-WR)
If you’ve been paying attention, folks in the know have been singing the praises of the WR core of the Chiefs for a bit. A couple of weeks ago, Duck posted an article stating that Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice could be the 2024 steals of the off-season. In the article, he pointed out that Rice is set up to feast underneath and designed opportunities, which is precisely what happened last night.
Speedy and reckless is not only how he drives his cars but also how he runs his routes. With Travis Kelce consistently drawing double coverages and defenses needing to protect the deep ball potential of Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice looks prime to take on an Amon-Ra St. Brown role for one of the most accurate Quarterbacks in the league. Patrick Mahomes will happily win games and Superbowls by targeting slant after slant if that is what the defense is willing to give. Good news for Rashee Rice owners: his rookie campaign offered the highest charted slant route rate Matt Harmon has ever seen.
The good news, if you do not have Rashee Rice, is that he stayed out of the endzone last night and was quietly eclipsed in hype (more on that next) by Xavier Worthy. If you can find a fantasy team owner with Rice and talk them into thinking Worthy is the true WR to have on the Chiefs, you may find yourself with a stud WR1/WR2 in your lap.
XAVIER WORTHY (KC-WR)
Fun fact: if you look up Xavier Worthy on Twitter, six of the top ten posts discussing him blame the Bills for allowing him to end up on an offense so primed for his skills. He scored touchdowns on 66% of his touches last night, leading the fantasy world to decide he will be the next Tyreek Hill.
Let me start by saying that Xavier Worthy is going to be a good NFL player—really good. But just hear me out… he may not be worth the investment you need to make due to how off-the-charts he is on hype right now. If you are reading this article, that means you are probably in a legitimate league, and someone has Worthy on their team.
If you ask Wolf, he’s in on buying high.
Before last night, according to our Fantasy Football Trade Value Chart, Worthy had a value of 8, tied with George Pickens and just above Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dionte Johnson, and Rome Odunze. After last night, the hype will drop a 1 in front of that 8 and make it so you would need to give up someone like Malik Nabers or Mike Evans for a shot at Worthy.
If you are willing to risk giving up your WR2 to gamble on a rookie after his first game with 3 touches, be my guest, but it is a bit too steep for what we have seen. Partner this with the fact that Travis Kelce only had 3 receptions and that Rashee Rice and Justin Watson were the only other WRs with any receptions; I just do not see the volume being there for Worthy to be a reliable WR2 for your team.
DERRICK HENRY (BAL-RB)
Two double negatives in two articles, impressive!
The script flipped really quickly for Derrick Henry last night. After one drive, people were ready to give him the crown back as “King Henry,” yet after the game, everyone was ready to give Justice Hill all of their FAAB. Although Justice Hill out-snapped Derrick Henry, it is important to take a step back and realize that it is all about the game script.
As pointed out, the Ravens are not anticipated to be behind in many games this season, especially by multiple scores. Henry showed that he still has his legs below him but is stuck with the script of being borderline useless in passing scripts. If you can, try to talk the Henry owner in your league into the “Justice Hill is the future” hype you can find on Twitter and take Henry at a discount. Buy into future success with the Baltimore Ravens.
