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While you were away: Wide Receivers

While you were away: Wide Receivers

The last month of the calendar year is often a blur. Between holiday shopping, family get-togethers, and social obligations, staying focused on fantasy takes extra effort. For owners whose teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, the incentive is nil. Even for those still alive, trends and breakout players can be missed.

Yet there are always a few guys who turn it on in December and are able to take that momentum into the following season. So if you happened to check out around Week 13, don’t worry. Over the next two weeks I’ll be profiling five players in each article who turned it on… while you were away.

Last week I dug into running back and this week I’m tackling wideouts. Let’s get to it!

[Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 2501B2B | SS | 3B | C | OF | SP | RP]

Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills
Both 2014 and 2015 began nearly identically for Watkins, with the speedster flashing in Week 2, then struggling to maintain consistency. Once again held back by the talent under center, nagging injuries, and questionable play calling, it seemed the former first-round pick was stuck in a low-budge rip-off of “Groundhog Day.”

After the team’s Week 8 bye, however, things started to turn around. QB Tyrod Taylor got healthy, developed some much-needed chemistry with Watkins, and started looking the stud wideout’s way. The back end of the season saved Watkins’ fantasy value, as he closed out 2015 the sixteenth best receiver in FF. From Weeks 12 through 16, he was the third best wideout in the virtual game, amassing 543 yards and six scores.

Each time Watkins garnered double-digit targets he produced either a 100+ yard outing or scored a TD (three of the four times he saw at least 10 targets he was able to accomplish both). Proving that he could beat some of the best cornerbacks in the game (*cough* Revis *cough), Watkins showed off his sick double-move and finished his sophomore campaign on a high note. Assuming Taylor retains his signal caller duties, Watkins figures to start 2016 with a wow, not a whimper.

Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Coming off of a promising rookie campaign, the hopes were high for Matthews. Despite showing promise at the start of the season, the Vandy product fell into a regrettable sophomore slump, grappling with concentration issues and one-dimensional usage.

The whole of Matthews’ second pro season would be a wash, were it not for his ability to produce in garbage time. Yet it’s interesting to note that when the game was out of hand and he was able to relax, this polished route runner put up the points. In fact, six of Matthews’ eight TDs came between Weeks 12 and 17.

Relegated to the slot under Chip Kelly, Matthews’ involvement should increase with Doug Pederson installing his West Coast offense. At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, Matthews has both the size and athletic versatility to play outside as well as underneath. While his ADP soared into the third and fourth rounds last August, this go-around dissatisfied owners should help to keep his price affordable, as he projects to go near the seventh round in 2016.

[Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 2501B2B | SS | 3B | C | OF | SP | RP]

Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Initially, I had planned to highlight Tyler Lockett at this point in the article, assuming that nearly everyone was aware of Baldwin’s dominance from Weeks 12 through 19. I figured scoring three TDs in the same contest in which superstar Jimmy Graham was lost for the season wouldn’t go unnoticed. And yet, in examining (very) early ADP data, I was surprised to see Lockett going off the board just two rounds (and eight receiver spots) after Baldwin.

Sure Lockett’s youth is appealing. And his upside on special teams is undeniable. But Baldwin hit pay dirt 11 times, produced two 100+ yard outings, and averaged eight targets per game between Weeks 12 and 16. He closed out 2015 as the seventh best wideout in fantasy, and was the best player at his position the week of the virtual game’s Super Bowl.

Still, the fantasy community seems to have trouble buying into Baldwin as anything more than a chippy blocking receiver. Helped by QB Russell Wilson’s willingness to sling it, and on the heels of a 14 TD season, Baldwin proved he had the tools to emerge as legitimate threat in the passing game. Of course, Graham figures to be a part of the offense next year, but he’s also coming off of one of the most devastating injuries a player can suffer. The Seabirds want to be back to the Super Bowl. And Baldwin will be a key factor in getting them there. Don’t sleep on his value.

Markus Wheaton, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
He may not be an alien, but he’s proven to be a fantastically versatile receiver – excelling as a deep threat and as a speedy slot guy. The third option in Pittsburgh’s high-flying offense, the former colligate sprinter showed his mettle down the stretch. Finding the end zone four times over the last six weeks of the season, Wheaton ranked among the top 15 fantasy WRs for the year’s last quarter.

Despite chemistry issues with Big Ben his rookie year, and after being supplanted by Martavis Bryant in 2014, Wheaton demonstrated resolve in 2015. He’ll have to do that again in 2016, as third-round pick Sammie Coates figures to compete with him for the team’s third receiver gig.

Regardless, given Bryant’s off-the-field struggles and noting Heath Miller’s age (33), the next man up in the Steelers offense is likely to pack a fantasy punch. Given Coates’ below-average hands and raw route running, my money is on Wheaton. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him post eight TDs in 2016.

[Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 2501B2B | SS | 3B | C | OF | SP | RP]

Cody Latimer, WR, Denver Broncos
I’m admittedly breaking from the format with this guy. He’s not someone who lit it up at any point this year, let alone at the end of the season. In fact, he only started one game in all of 2015 (or 2016, for that matter). But in that game… he scored. And I expect him to build on that, come September.

As discussed on Monday’s post-Super Bowl edition of the Yahoo Fantasy Freak Show, Latimer could be in line for an increased role with Peyton Manning assumedly riding off into the sunset. He showed immediate chemistry with back-up QB Brock Osweiler in Week 10, and found the end zone the following week while Emmanuel Sanders was sidelined.

An athletic freak, whispers out of Denver suggested that Latimer was buried on the Broncos’ depth chart because Manning didn’t take to the young wideout. With only unrestricted free agent Andre Caldwell and 33-year-old Owen Daniels standing in his way, the tall and strong specimen has a good shot of seeing meaningful snaps in the fall. His breakout has been long predicted, but it’s now or never for the former Hoosier.

Follow Liz on Twitter @LizLoza_FF