Time to worry if you have any Packers on your team?

By Martin Richardson

Sometimes, when you start looking at players who you need to have closer inspection of, or players who are not quite there in terms of Fantasy production, you end up going down avenues you don’t expect. In this case, the more I looked at players who need to maybe do more for their respective teams both in reality and Fantasy football, I kept getting drawn to players for the Green Bay Packers. On the face of it, their 5-3 record is a solid record, but with an early season loss to the Browns, as well as two losses on the bounce to the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, that 5-3 record has them sitting third in their division and facing an uphill battle to get going and play some meaningful January football.

For Fantasy players, what does this mean for the like of ‘star’ QB Jordan Love, or running back Josh Jacobs? With games coming up against the beleaguered New York Giants, then three NFC North games on the spin, things could well be over by December for the Packers and Fantasy players alike.

JORDAN LOVE:

Last season, I fell hook line and sinker for the ‘big contract, elite QB’ narrative that befell Jordan Love in the offseason. I drafted him confident he would be a top 10, maybe even a top 5 QB in Fantasy football. But that didn’t happen. Needless to say, I didn’t make the same call this year, but what is worth noting is that once again he isn’t a top 10 Fantasy QB. Sitting in the mid-teens, Love is a steady away QB that is not in the elite conversation for Fantasy production. This season his biggest game, of three TDs, 337 yards and a fumble, was against the Dallas Cowboys, and their defense is about as solid as the cheese blocks Packers fans wear on their heads. His second-best game was against the Steelers, and they are just as up and down as the Packers.

What is clear is that for Fantasy players, Love needs more games where he comfortably more than 250 yards throwing, something he has not done consistently all season. Even then in those games he has 5 games where he has thrown for a single touchdown or less. So if you happen to a game like the Eagles last week, or the Browns in week 3, Love is not someone you want starting in your Fantasy lineups. With that in mind, the next 4 games are huge calls for those who have Love in their teams. Can you play him versus the Giants, more than likely; but that NFC trio thereafter makes for rough games for Love and the Packers.

JOSH JACOBS:

What Jordan Love lacks in touchdown consistency, Josh Jacobs makes up for. He has been so reliable for Fantasy players this season and given those upcoming games, I can see him being the given the ball so much to avoid any of those interceptions Love has needlessly thrown throughout his time in Green Bay.

With a touchdown in every game bar the weird Browns game, Jacobs has been a top 5 RB in Fantasy football all season. He is an elite talent and that will not change as he faces the Giants this week, then those NFC showdowns.

This will be a test for the Packers, there is no doubt about it, but with Josh Jacobs and Fantasy matchups on the line, he will no doubt be a productive player down this tough stretch. My only note of caution here is to take a look at the spread of those points he’s got recently; without those touchdowns against the Steelers, Panthers and Eagles, he would not be hitting those double figures every week as his yards are not great on the ground. You have to hope that Love et al can get the explosive RB into those positions to cash it in for Fantasy points.

ROMEO DOUBS:

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It just isn’t working out for the receivers in Green Bay, is it? Since that big game in week 4 against Dallas, where Doubs caught three touchdowns, he has been pretty much Fantasy irrelevant. His next best game came against the Panthers where he simply amassed 91 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown since the bye. Chances are you drafted him thinking he would be the main man for Love given the injuries to Christian Watson and bedding in rookie Matthew Golden, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case.

CHRISTIAN WATSON:

Speaking of Watson, should he have caught that pass? Well, according to Watson himself, he said he should have? But, what remains is a player who just cannot stay fit. There will have been people who will have thought they’d snagged a winner with him being on waivers pretty much half of the season. Even now his status for this weekend against the Giants is questionable as he has been limited all week due to managing his return from that ACL injury. This isn’t what you need from someone who was touted as the answer the all the WR issues the Packers had since they traded Davonte Adams.

MATTHEW GOLDEN:

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Here is another prime example of those expectations placed upon receivers. Golden was drafted in the first round with high prospects after a career year for Texas in the SEC. But, as with all receivers in Green Bay, his play just hasn’t been what was expected. Of course, there is the rookie tag and we know it takes time to bed into the NFL, just ask Emeka Egbuka. And just like Egbuka, people will have drafted in Fantasy leagues as a sleeper who could well have been a solid contributor in the right situation. But that situation is not Green Bay. His best game was 86 yards against the Bengals, and their defense is nearly as good as the Cowboy’s, so read into that what you will. He has been used so sparingly by Matt LaFleur, averaging about 3 receptions a game, which is not how someone as talented as Golden should be used.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

When it comes to the Packers, unless you have Josh Jacobs and his early season form, you’re probably staring at your Fantasy team frustrated by the lack of production from your Green Bay boys. Jordan Love needs to get more air yards and more than a touchdown a game, which would impact with the rest of the team: Doubs, Watson and Golden would improve drastically. There is a really big question surrounding just how important Tucker Kraft has been and how LaFleur and his team haven’t been able to get the offense working since his unfortunate injury. You’ll definitely need to keep on all these players given that difficult NFC North slate that is coming up.

 

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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