Josh Gordon was claimed off waivers by the Seahawks last week and passed his physical, setting him up to make his Seattle debut in Week 10 on Monday Night Football against the 49ers. Gordon had been placed on Injured Reserve by the Patriots before eventually being waived. The oft-troubled WR joins a Seahawks team already with two solid fantasy WRs in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, but there is the added appeal of getting to play with an MVP contender at QB in Russell Wilson.
Gordon's fantasy value might be no more certain than it was before the season when he was reinstated from suspension for New England. It's another situation with talented wideouts who may be ahead of Gordon on the depth chart. There are a number of different ways it can all break down.
WEEK 10 NON-PPR RANKINGS
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Josh Gordon fantasy outlook
It's probably not realistic to expect Gordon to leapfrog either of Lockett or Metcalf in the Seattle pecking order. Both have been too good this season for anything but a remarkable display by Gordon to make him matter in the Seattle offense more than them. That doesn't mean he can't have fantasy value in a given game. Gordon averaged 3.3 catches per game this season for New England, picking up 14.4 yards per catch. Considering the way Wilson is able to hit both Lockett and Metcalf down the field, there could be similar success for Gordon.
The situation in Seattle most like this one (albeit under a different offensive coordinator) came in 2017. The Seahawks had Doug Baldwin, Paul Richardson, Tyler Lockett, and Jimmy Graham. In order, those players averaged the following yards per game: 61.9, 43.9, 34.7, 32.5, respectively.
Gordon's most likely role, in both real life and fantasy, will be as an occasional big-play and red-zone threat. Those are the two quickest ways to WR fantasy value because chunk yardage and touchdowns add up quickly. They're also the two riskiest means to fantasy valu, because a lot of the time, a boom-or-bust receiver busts.
Gordon shouldn't be a fantasy starter in his debut against the 49ers because that matchup is way too tough for what amounts to a rather large unknown. But Gordon should be back on fantasy rosters, and as soon as Week 12 (after Seattle's bye) he could be a boom-or-bust FLEX play.
WEEK 10 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | DK cash | DK GPP | FD cash | FD GPP
How does Josh Gordon move affect DK Metcalf?
Because both Gordon and Metcalf are more likely to pick their fantasy points up in bunches rather than methodically, it's hard to quantify how Gordon will affect Metcalf on a week-to-week basis. We have to view it more through a rest-of-season lens.
Metcalf averages 18.8 yards per catch in his rookie season. Let's imagine that just one of those completions goes to Gordon each game instead of Metcalf. From now until Week 16, Seattle will play six games, so that would amount to approximately 113 yards that Metcalf doesn't get -- 11.3 fantasy points. If we say Metcalf also loses one touchdown to Gordon, that's another six. So 17.3 fantasy points over six weeks really doesn't seem like a lot.
But like I wrote above, these aren't players who gradually accumulate fantasy points -- they come in a fast and furious manner. Maybe it's 60 yards and a touchdown that Metcalf misses out on in Week 15 as you play in your fantasy semifinals. That's the difference between a win and a loss.
Now, until we see how this plays out, Gordon's acquisition only nudges Metcalf slightly further down any given week's receiver rankings. But maybe he's more comfortably a WR3 now than a WR2.
Russell Wilson, Jacob Hollister, Jaron Brown fantasy outlook
Wilson has already been one of, if not the, best quarterbacks in 2019. Adding Gordon can only help him continue to put up huge numbers and try and win the NFL MVP Award.
It's the tertiary receivers in Seattle that are less certain. Tight end Jacob Hollister just caught two touchdowns in Week 9, but Gordon is a solid red-zone target that could siphon targets here and there away from him. Jaron Brown will be relegated to a fourth WR role and will have no fantasy value going forward.
Gary Jennings fantasy outlook: Miami Dolphins WR sleeper
The Gordon acquisition led to the Seahawks waiving Gary Jennings, who was their fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft. A quick release like that is never encouraging for a player's outlook, but Jennings ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and gets the perfect opportunity in his signing with Miami.
The Dolphins just lost Preston Williams for the rest of the season with injury, which vacates 7.5 targets per game. Jennings might not be ready to step in right in Week 10, but all he has to do to earn that role eventually is be better than Allen Hurns, Albert Wilson, and Jakeem Grant.
Jennings isn't someone you should pick up right now unless you're in a very deep league, but he's a name to keep an eye on and someone you might see in future waiver wire or watch list articles here. Almost for sure, he'll get a chance to produce down the stretch for the Dolphins.