5 Players Whose Fantasy Football Stock Has Risen Since Free Agency Started
Ted Ginn Jr., WR, New Orleans Saints
It feels like Ted Ginn Jr. was meant to play for New Orleans, doesn't it?
Ginn is now out of Carolina, a place where he was able to make a nice career turnaround. Over his last two years with the Panthers, Ginn hauled in 98 balls for 14 touchdowns and nearly 1,500 yards.
Not too shabby for a guy everyone hates because he "drops too many passes."
In Carolina, Ginn handled 16.87% of the team's targets in 2016 and 19.16% of them in 2015, which equated to 95 and 96 targets, respectively. But the Panthers threw the ball 563 and 501 times in those two seasons -- the Saints haven't thrown the ball fewer than 600 times since Barack Obama's first year in office.
In other words, a dip in market share as Ginn shifts over to New Orleans is still fine if he were trying to maintain that type of volume. And with Brandin Cooks out of the picture, 90 targets isn't even close to unreasonable for Ginn.
And he has Drew Brees now, which is the biggest reason we should be bullish on the veteran pass-catcher.
We know that Ted Ginn is a deep ball specialist. Well, last year, Brees was eighth in the NFL in pass attempts that travelled 15 or more yards through the air, ending the season with the most passing yards in football on those types of throws. And, unsurprisingly, this isn't anything new: he ranked third in yards on passes that went 15-plus air yards in 2015, second in 2014, first in 2013, fourth in 2012, and second in 2011.
If you're Ted Ginn, Drew Brees is the guy you want throwing you the ball.
Ginn will more than likely be drafted as a team's fourth, fifth, or sixth wide receiver in fantasy football this year, but I wouldn't be shocked if he finishes as a top-30 option given his opportunity and the offense he's in.