Fantasy Football Reax: Jace Amaro, Ronnie Hillman shine

New York Jets rookie tight end Jace Amaro wasn’t expected to make a profound impact as a rookie, as he had a hard time picking up Marty Mornhinweg’s offense during training camp. It seemed like the second-round pick simply had too sharp of a learning curve to make an immediate impact, as the Texas Tech Red Raiders didn’t exactly run a pro-style offense, which also adversely affected his ability to learn the ropes of blocking. When Stephen Hill joined the Jets, he came from an offense that was the opposite of pro-style and had issues learning things, but the difference is that Hill simply didn’t know how to play the position as a whole; at least Amaro consistently showed in college that he knows how to run routes and catch passes.

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Amaro had one terrible drop today, but that was really the only thing that soured what was otherwise a terrific performance. He and Eric Decker led the way on offense, but Amaro was easily the most impressive Jet on that side of the ball. With the running game abandoned, Amaro pretty much moved the chains, catching ten passes on 12 targets for 68 yards and a touchdown. The yardage total was quite bare (just 6.8 yards per catch), but I think it also indicates that Amaro has plenty of long-term value over the course of the season; he is clearly Geno Smith’s safety valve.

Last week, Amaro, who caught just three passes in the first two weeks of the season, caught just three passes for 19 yards and seemed to regress from quality performances against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. But his targets went back up this week, and he turned in a very positive performance. I would scoop him up if he’s available, but he isn’t anything more than a backup TE for fantasy football purposes.

Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman came into today’s game against the Jets knowing that he would be facing an elite run defense, but he also knew that he had a perfect opportunity to show off his stuff with Montee Ball out for a few weeks with a somewhat significant groin injury. Hillman was once touted as the team’s future feature back in the 2013 offseason, but fumbles, inconsistent play, and the rise of Knowshon Moreno put that on hold. This year, Ball’s injury has cleared the way for Hillman to get this opportunity, and Ball’s underwhelming 3.1 YPC potentially allows Hillman to seize this chance.

By all accounts, Hillman was a smashing success against the Jets today, rushing for 100 yards on 24 carries as the team’s bellcow, turning the workload into an impressive performance against a top-notch run defense. Of concern was his fumble, though, because it’s the main thing that can prevent him from fulfilling his potential. Though he didn’t score (Julius Thomas did notch two TDs to run his season account to nine), he did get some goal-line carries, and the talented pass-catching back added three receptions. He’s a must-own in all leagues, because he is currently the Broncos lead back with Ball out and could become the feature back for good.

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