FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 6
Calvin Johnson
I predicted before the season that Calvin Johnson could reclaim his spot at the top of the wide receiver mountain in 2015. I was wrong. But it's precisely this slow start to the season that makes Megatron an excellent tournament play this weekend.
No one is denying that the deck is stacked against Johnson right now. While Johnson may not be as fast as he used to be, Matt Stafford is playing amazingly bad, registering an awful -0.07 Passing NEP per drop back. With those kind of numbers, it's fair to wonder whether Johnson might be starting to feel like Larry Fitzgerald did after Kurt Warner's retirement and before Carson Palmer's arrival in Arizona. This poor quarterbacking has forced a transition to a more conservative offense, where Johnson's targets are coming to him much closer to the line of scrimmage than he has become accustomed to, contributing to an inefficient 0.47 Reception NEP per target, which is on pace for a career low.
But it's important to note the brutal competition the Lions have faced this season as a major contributing factor to Johnson's underwhelming performance. Through five games, the Lions have yet to face a team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in passing defense per our metrics. And three of their opponents rank in the top nine passing defenses in the league. Moreover, three of their opponents this season also rank in the top 10 in rushing defense as well, making any offense difficult to come by.
This weekend, the Lions will attempt to right the ship against a much weaker passing defense in the Chicago Bears, who currently rank 21st in the league against the pass. While nobody is denying the Lions' offense has taken a step back, including Johnson, this is the perfect type of game for Johnson to turn back the clock and beast like he always has. And with so many people scared to pull the trigger on rostering him, his ownership should be really low in a prime matchup. Throwing Megatron in a few of your tournament lineups is a good strategy to leapfrog over your competition gravitating toward more chalky plays.
