Eric Decker Fantasy Football Week 7 Projection

Despite the New York Jets’ putrid 1-5 record and seemingly stagnant offense in 2014, WR Eric Decker has been far more productive than he is being given credit for.

Out of the five games he has played in this season, only one was forgettable. This is rather impressive considering the Jets running game has been virtually non-existent, particularly over the course of the last three games. Here’s a breakdown of Decker’s stats by game.

"five receptions, 74 yardsfour receptions, 63 yards, one TDone reception, 19 yardsfour receptions, 48 yards, one TDsix receptions, 54 yards, one TD"

Despite the prevailing thought in fantasy circles more often than not, Decker’s worth playing each and every week regardless of who the Jets are matched-up with. In games the Jets are expected to lose, they will most likely be playing a fair amount of ‘catch-up’ and will be in need of passing. This will lead to plenty of garbage yardage as opponents fall into prevent defenses and apply a ‘bend but don’t break’strategy.’

In order for QB Geno Smith to be successful he relies heavily on his No. 1 receiver and seemingly rarely makes it very far through his progressions, indicated by his incontrovertible inability to find Jeremy Kerley as of late. Smith was able to get rookie TE Jace Amaro more involved last week vs. the Denver Broncos and that was a great sign, but Amaro’s emergence has little to nothing to do with Decker’s targets. Smith is an inexperienced quarterback, and inexperienced quarterbacks rely on their first option as a security blanket.

Sep 14, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker (87) celebrates his touchdown catch during the first quarter of a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Simply put, Smith needs to look for Decker if the Jets are getting blown out, as well as when they are actually competing in order to prevail; making him an undeniably reliable WR2 fantasy option on a regular basis.

Decker’s also a huge bargain on one-week fantasy sites like Fan Duel and Draft Kings as he is often an extremely low percentage owned player who comes at a reasonable price, yet performs like a player who should cost far more. Currently, Decker’s priced at $6,500 on Fan Duel which is essentially the price for an ‘average’ player.

Take advantage of the fact that most people don’t really know what’s going on with the Jets from a statistical standpoint every week, they just know they’re losing and are an enjoyable target to make fun of. On Draft Kings Decker’s priced at $5,600 which, similarly to Fan Duel, is the price for an average player against the Draft Kings salary cap.

Since Draft Kings is a one-point PPR (points per reception) scoring format, he accumulated 17.4 points with his six receptions, 54 yards, and one TD last week. This performance was either better than, or equal to, far more popular names in fantasy like Randall Cobb of the Green Bay Packers and Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The New England Patriots’ defense has not lived up to the hype it carried throughout the summer and look like a rather unimpressive unit. While it might build an impregnable bubble in the trenches and stop the Jets’ suspect running game — New England isn’t built to stop an opposing offense on two fronts — so we can expect even Smith to expose it at times.

While we are unlikely to see a plethora of 100-plus-yard performances from Decker, he’s still undeniably productive and will make those who play him in re-draft — or in one-week — look savvy. Don’t miss out.

Week 7 Projection

six catches, 85 yards, one TD.