Fantasy Football: 5 Bold Predictions for Week 10
Each Top Patriots Wide Receiver Will Score a Touchdown
It's Week 10 of the NFL season and we now understand why the New England Patriots benched Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl 52. To put it frankly, he's been bad. In his first season with the Tennessee Titans he's allowed seven touchdowns through eight games (the Titans defense has allowed 11 receiving touchdowns total this season) and he's allowed an incredible 143.0 passer rating when targeted according to PlayerProfiler.com. If there's one matchup we should expect the Pats to abuse in this one, it's Malcolm Butler covering wide receivers.
And the Pats receivers are really coming on now after a slow start. Josh Gordon had a blowup game last week, while Julian Edelman is looking more like himself the further removed he gets from his suspension. Chris Hogan's production has fallen off this year, but he's still locked in as one of the top options on the team according to snaps played per game. He's averaged a little over 40 yards per game in their last four outings.
So why do I think these wideouts will all hit pay dirt? It's not just petty revenge on their former defensive back. Rob Gronkowski has not looked like himself this year, and it seems like the Pats are adjusting accordingly. Even if he plays this week, which is not a given, he's struggling this year. Despite being a red zone monster in years past, Gronk has just two red zone targets this year and has caught neither. His targets per game have dropped to just over six, while they've hovered between seven to nine per game in each of his healthy seasons dating back to his sophomore year. He's been hurt this year, and it's reflected in his stat sheet.
Without Gronk in the red zone, the Pats have been relying more on utilizing running backs in that area of the field -- especially James White through the air. The Titans aren't allowing opposing running backs to score often. They've allowed just two rushing touchdowns to opposing backs all year and zero receiving touchdowns. Their defense is stopping the run at the goal line and the Patriots will probably be smart enough to notice that, which should skew more scoring opportunities to the receivers.
The Patriots wide receivers have been getting primed for this moment. The Titans scheme will force those red zone and end zone targets to Gordon, Edelman and Hogan, and those three are each going to capitalize by scoring a touchdown.
