In another Sunday Debate Mark Morales-Smith and Brendan Pignataro will be talking Fantasy Football. In this addition Mark will make his case for Travis Benjamin as a championship caliber Fantasy player over Stefon Diggs.
Things are really starting to heat up now with preseason officially underway. Along with preseason starting up, Fantasy drafts are now underway as well. In this Sunday Debate I will gently explain to Brendan why former Miami Hurricane Travis Benjamin is a better fantasy option than Stefon Diggs.
Related Story: Sunday Debate: Stefon Diggs Will Lead You to Fantasy Title
Let’s start with their current quarterbacks. Diggs will have Teddy Bridgewater under center tossing him the ball. Many Minnesota Vikings fans will point to how accurate Bridgewater is and how Ryan Jenson of Pro Football Focus pointed out that he was the NFL’s most accurate passer. But let’s break down just how much damage having Bridgewater can actually do to your fantasy value.
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There may be a reason as to why he’s so “accurate,” as Jenson alludes to. Bridgewater very rarely throws the ball downfield and when he does it’s a disaster. That’s why he managed only 3,231 yards and 14 touchdowns in 16 games.
He threw 212 passes less than 10 yards and 98 behind the line of scrimmage. He was 225-of-310 on those dump offs. He also didn’t throw a pick on those passes. When he was feeling a little saucy and decided to throw the ball 11-20 yards, he was still decent in going 46-of-76.
With that said, he also threw four interceptions to just three touchdowns, so he wasn’t overly effective when it comes to helping his wideouts fantasy value whatsoever. Anything past 20 yards, Bridgewater was a nightmare. On those throws he completed a miserable 11 of 42 attempts with three touchdowns and five interceptions. He was absolutely putrid when attempting to push the ball down field.
It’s nothing against Diggs talent, but how do you expect any receiver to reach their full potential with a guy that throws 14 TDs and can’t push the ball downfield. You can make all the excuses you want for him. The bottom line is he doesn’t get the job done. At least not from a fantasy perspective. He does what he needs to for the Vikes though. He manages the game and hands the ball to Adrian Peterson. Alas, that does not result in fantasy points for Diggs.
Now to the man of the hour Travis Benjamin and his quarterback Philip Rivers. I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Rivers was drafted the same year as Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. Both players are considered future Hall of Famers. If Rivers had a ring or two he would be as well because his numbers are just as potent if not more so than them, he just gets overlooked because he lacks the hardware.
In 164 games he’s thrown for 41,447 yards and 281 scores with just 135 interceptions. Last season he happened to throw for a career-high 4,792 yards with 29 touchdowns. In 171 games, Big Ben has thrown for 42,995 with 272 TDs compared to 147 picks. Manning has totaled 44,191 yards, 294 scores and 199 INTs in 185 contests.
Benjamin himself is an unbelievably talented home run threat speed receiver. Last year with the Cleveland Browns dreadful quarterback situation he was still able to catch 68 passes for 966 yards and five scores. So what do you think he can do with a quarterback like Rivers?
Rivers is not afraid to throw the ball up, and Benjamin is the ideal complement for Keenan Allen. Allen has a big-bodied wideout that can go up and snatch the ball out of the air, while Benjamin is ridiculously fast and can blow the top off a defense.
Also, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Benjamin forced into the leading pass-catcher role at some point this season. Antonio Gates is now 36 years old and his career is obviously winding down.
Allen was on a record pace in 2015 snagging 67 receptions for 725 yards and four TDs in just eight games. Nevertheless, he hasn’t been the picture of health to this point in his career. On top of missing half of last season with a lacerated kidney, he’s yet to play a full 16-game season during his three-year career.
As you can see this is an easy slam-dunk victory Benjamin. While Diggs is talented, he’s stuck on run-first offense without a big-play quarterback. Benjamin has just the opposite. He’s in for a monster season while Diggs will be held back.
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Please check out Brendan’s article too and make sure you let your voices be heard in the comment section.