Kevin Ogletree-The Most Interesting Man in Fantasy Football Today
Just one game into the NFL season and we already have our first “must-add” pickup from the waiver wire. Everyone will be climbing all over themselves to get to the front of the line for the Cowboys third wide-out who was virtually unowned and un-started before his breakout game last night.
Ogletree had three of the biggest catches in the game last night catching a 10-yard touchdown pass on a broken play, a 40 yard catch-and-run for his second TD, and a 13-yard reception on third-and-10 which allowed Romo to kneel down three times and end the game. In total, Ogletree had eight grabs for 114 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns.
He’s got quite the story about the inspiration his brother has been as he recovers from a gunshot to the head.
The upside
Aside from the feel-good story, there are plenty of reasons to like Ogletree. He looks to be the Cowboys answer at their third wide receiver spot. Last year, Laurent Robinson filled that role and caught 54 passes in 14 games for 858 yards and was one of just three receivers with double-digit receiving touchdowns. Robinson parlayed his big year into a big-time contract and is now playing in Jacksonvilled with Blaine Gabbert. If Ogletree can come close to matching those numbers, he’ll be an extremely useful fantasy option.
Ogletree’s offense is loaded with weapons. Dez Bryant look the part of a number one wide receiver last night, Miles Austin had a solid game including a nice touchdown grab of his own, and DeMarco Murray had 131 yards on 20 carries and added nine yards on a pair of catches. Jason Witten played with a spleen injury and didn’t appear to be his usual target, but is a great option at TE when he’s healthy. Tony Romo looked like an elite QB last night dissecting the Giants defense and getting the ball to the right receiver at the right time (aside from a mostly forgotten ugly INT in the first half). All that to say that defenses won’t be able to focus on shutting Ogletree down with the variety of looks and options Dallas has.
The Warning Label
Ogletree had a total of 25 catches and zero touchdowns before last night’s game. The Cowboys thought so little of him after last season that they chose not to tender him an offer and he was a free agent before signing a one-year deal with the team for this season.
To say that last night was surprising to most experts would be an understatement since many of them projected the Cowboys to cut him this preseason. They didn’t, and now he’s the hottest name on the waiver wire in fantasy football.
Both his TDs last night were on broken plays that were designed to go to someone else. He hasn’t been a big part of the Cowboys gameplan before and as Witten returns to full health and Romo tries to get the ball to Austin and Bryant there may be too many mouthes to feed to make Ogletree success sustainable.
The Takeaway
So what do we do with Kevin Ogletree in Fantasy Football?
If you have the roster flexibility and the top waiver spot, he’s definite the top claim that we know of at this point from week one. However, if you’re in a budget claim system, don’t go crazy and spend your whole year’s big on him since it is just week one.
Check back next week for our WR Rankings (week one ranks here) to see where exactly he falls in the rankings by my initial thoughts is he’ll fall as a mid-WR3 with major upside going forward.