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U of Tennessee WR Justin Hunter (1 Viewer)

Shanahanigans said:
Andy Dufresne said:
What rookie WR DID do anything last weekend?
I would be less concerned if he was active and didn't produce, than seeing him inactive despite being 100% healthy. That's a huge red flag for me, especially when the Titans only had 4 active WRs. The fact that they don't even think Hunter is worth having to run go routes and keep the defense honest, or in case of injury, has me seriously worried about his future.

In bigger dynasty roster leagues, 22+, I think he should definitely be on a roster, but as far as my 19 player roster, I prefer Terrance Williams by a relatively large margin. Not only does Williams have upside immediately being in the Cowboys' #3 spot, but he also provides similar potential to Hunter. I am still very intrigued by Hunter, but I am starting to think he will be more like Jon Baldwin than AJ Green.
Did you watch Terrance Williams play? I thought he was awful. Cordarelle Patterson got 5 snaps on offense. He very well may have been inactive too if it wasn't for his return skills.

IMO WRs don't need 3 years to develop. I think that is a myth. I do believe they had better be showing quite a bit by year two though. Flashes of talent at minimum. But IMO there is little to worry about at this point with Hunter. He missed a lot of the OTAs etc with an injury. So he very well could be behind from a mental standpoint with the offense. Besides, does it really matter if he catches 12 passes instead of 25 as a rookie?

Take a look at the number of top WRs that needed some time to develop. Every one of these guys required patience if you took them as a rookie.

-Brandon Marshall

-Demaryius Thomas

-Vjax

-Jordy Nelson

-Victor Cruz

-Randall Cobb

-Pierre Garcon

-Eric Decker

-Wes Welker

There's just as many, if not more WRs that develop into high end players after a year or two, than players that burst onto the scene like AJ Green or Julio.


Terrance Williams is in danger of losing the No. 3 receiver job.
Williams dropped two passes and ran the wrong route on a play that resulted in an interception on Sunday night. He didn't show any chemistry with Tony Romo and continues to struggle with picking up the Cowboys offense. Dwayne Harris will get extended look as the third receiver this week. Sep 11 - 7:34 PM
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 
The problem here is that hes had 90% bad press and now hes not even in suiting up. The Titans vets aren't great and Hunter can't even bump one of them off not named Britt.

 
Take a look at the number of top WRs that needed some time to develop. Every one of these guys required patience if you took them as a rookie.

-Brandon Marshall

-Demaryius Thomas

-Vjax

-Jordy Nelson

-Victor Cruz

-Randall Cobb

-Pierre Garcon

-Eric Decker

-Wes Welker
In general, I agree with this way of looking at things. I think it's usually a good sign when a rookie WR shows flashes of talent in his debut season. On the other hand, I don't look at the absence of clear and tangible progress as a negative. It's a neutral. Neither good nor bad. My thoughts on Hunter today are no different than they were three months ago. I would only begin to move the needle if he looked hopeless or different from what I expected in games, or if there was a clear and undeniably negative event (i.e. major injury, getting suspended, getting cut from the team).

Having said that, I'd point out that some of the guys on your list at least showed flashes of competence right away. I remember watching Demaryius return a kick against Tennessee as a rookie and being amazed by his quickness at his size. I know Marshall had some buzz in his rookie year and that Cobb flashed major potential in his first game. Many of the standout NFL WRs who did nothing as rookies have the excuse of being small school prospects (steeper learning curve?) or late draft picks (less opportunity?). Miles Austin, Vincent Jackson, and Wes Welker come to mind.

With a high pick from a major D1 school like Justin Hunter, I would hope that he could at least catch 15-20 passes for 200-250 yards and show flashes. If it becomes an AJ Jenkins situation where they clearly don't trust him at all then "neutral" would start to drift into the realm of "negative" and I would have to think about lowering my expectations. Pretty much anything less than a total 16 game goose egg shouldn't sound off the alarms just yet though.

 
I can't think of many other players who were compared to AJ Green and Randy Moss coming out. No way I give up on him this early in his career.
Just about any really fast WR with decent size has been compared to Randy Moss at some point if they showed anything.

Moss is fading from conversation now though so it should be less frequent. Perhaps the new comparison is Green.

eta- Not suggesting to drop Hunter at all. But if you invested in him you should be ready to be patient for 3 years.

 
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I drafted Hunter with the measured expectation that he would take some time to develop, and nothing has changed that assessment. Hitting the panic button after one week seems like a knee jerk reaction. Patience will be key.
x2. I had no illusions that he would take flight this year. Locker is a work in progress, offense/O-line is changing, and Britt is still there. I think they will let Britt go and Hunter gets his chance next year.

 
Take a look at the number of top WRs that needed some time to develop. Every one of these guys required patience if you took them as a rookie.

-Brandon Marshall

-Demaryius Thomas

-Vjax

-Jordy Nelson

-Victor Cruz

-Randall Cobb

-Pierre Garcon

-Eric Decker

-Wes Welker
In general, I agree with this way of looking at things. I think it's usually a good sign when a rookie WR shows flashes of talent in his debut season. On the other hand, I don't look at the absence of clear and tangible progress as a negative. It's a neutral. Neither good nor bad. My thoughts on Hunter today are no different than they were three months ago. I would only begin to move the needle if he looked hopeless or different from what I expected in games, or if there was a clear and undeniably negative event (i.e. major injury, getting suspended, getting cut from the team).

Having said that, I'd point out that some of the guys on your list at least showed flashes of competence right away. I remember watching Demaryius return a kick against Tennessee as a rookie and being amazed by his quickness at his size. I know Marshall had some buzz in his rookie year and that Cobb flashed major potential in his first game. Many of the standout NFL WRs who did nothing as rookies have the excuse of being small school prospects (steeper learning curve?) or late draft picks (less opportunity?). Miles Austin, Vincent Jackson, and Wes Welker come to mind.

With a high pick from a major D1 school like Justin Hunter, I would hope that he could at least catch 15-20 passes for 200-250 yards and show flashes. If it becomes an AJ Jenkins situation where they clearly don't trust him at all then "neutral" would start to drift into the realm of "negative" and I would have to think about lowering my expectations. Pretty much anything less than a total 16 game goose egg shouldn't sound off the alarms just yet though.
I'd agree that the list of players I put up there aren't perfect comparisons. Just using current players trying to point out that just because Hunter isn't ready to go week 1 isn't a death knell to his career.

 
guess this could be interpreted different ways (bad to have WR on such a run heavy team, OR it isn't like WRs at top of depth chart were dominant and are creating an insurmountable gap)...

i didn't realize britt and wright only had one and two receptions, respectively...

you have to think there will be games the titans need to throw more... than it will interesting to see how the WR depth chart shakes out later in the year...

 
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The Titans are built and committed to the run. They do not trust Locker and want to make things as easy for him as possible.

Whoever they play needs to be able to block and understand their offense. Particularly their audibles for when they do want to check out of the run.

Long term if Britt does well this will be an even bigger obstacle for Hunter.

 
The Titans are built and committed to the run. They do not trust Locker and want to make things as easy for him as possible.

Whoever they play needs to be able to block and understand their offense. Particularly their audibles for when they do want to check out of the run.

Long term if Britt does well this will be an even bigger obstacle for Hunter.
It's pretty stupid to plant your flag with Chris Johnson. This whole regime is going to be broomed next offseason so Hunter will get a reboot then.

 
I drafted Hunter with the measured expectation that he would take some time to develop, and nothing has changed that assessment. Hitting the panic button after one week seems like a knee jerk reaction. Patience will be key.
x2. I had no illusions that he would take flight this year. Locker is a work in progress, offense/O-line is changing, and Britt is still there. I think they will let Britt go and Hunter gets his chance next year.
I feel similarly, but there isn't a positive way to spin a heathy scratch week 1. It's not the death knell of his career and I'm not by any means jumping ship, but it's not a great start either.

 
nobody has claimed it is a positive, but there is a school of thought in the thread that it is ridiculously early in dynasty to panic...

a few things... missed time in preseason, unusual and unexpected move to suit up just four WRs in week one (maybe all year?) and damian williams special teams experience conspired to hunter's inactive status...

if you liked his athleticism and talent before, i don't think there has been enough change in a week to warrant drastically revising his long term outlook (point taken that if he doesn't play a down all year, that would be troubling)...

as to britt, i could see more reasons for titans not extending him... he is talented, but has missed time regularly due to injury, and his sheer volume of off field issues (can't be many players with more arrests in last two or three years?) complicate any prospective negotiations...

 
nobody has claimed it is a positive, but there is a school of thought in the thread that it is ridiculously early in dynasty to panic...

a few things... missed time in preseason, unusual and unexpected move to suit up just four WRs in week one (maybe all year?) and damian williams special teams experience conspired to hunter's inactive status...

if you liked his athleticism and talent before, i don't think there has been enough change in a week to warrant drastically revising his long term outlook (point taken that if he doesn't play a down all year, that would be troubling)...

as to britt, i could see more reasons for titans not extending him... he is talented, but has missed time regularly due to injury, and his sheer volume of off field issues (can't be many players with more arrests in last two or three years?) complicate any prospective negotiations...
True, but some here seem to be shrugging it off saying it's no big deal and ignoring it as part of their assessment.

It may well prove to be just a hiccup in a solid career, but the list of players who are healthy scratches and become relevant fantasy contributors is a good deal shorter than the other.

It seems to show that the knocks on his as a college player and continuing through his first camp and into his first season. It doesn't mean that these issues can't be fixed, but it does show that these problems still persist. I don't know how you can't adjust his long term prospects down, even just a little bit.

 
nobody has claimed it is a positive, but there is a school of thought in the thread that it is ridiculously early in dynasty to panic...

a few things... missed time in preseason, unusual and unexpected move to suit up just four WRs in week one (maybe all year?) and damian williams special teams experience conspired to hunter's inactive status...

if you liked his athleticism and talent before, i don't think there has been enough change in a week to warrant drastically revising his long term outlook (point taken that if he doesn't play a down all year, that would be troubling)...

as to britt, i could see more reasons for titans not extending him... he is talented, but has missed time regularly due to injury, and his sheer volume of off field issues (can't be many players with more arrests in last two or three years?) complicate any prospective negotiations...
True, but some here seem to be shrugging it off saying it's no big deal and ignoring it as part of their assessment.

It may well prove to be just a hiccup in a solid career, but the list of players who are healthy scratches and become relevant fantasy contributors is a good deal shorter than the other.

It seems to show that the knocks on his as a college player and continuing through his first camp and into his first season. It doesn't mean that these issues can't be fixed, but it does show that these problems still persist. I don't know how you can't adjust his long term prospects down, even just a little bit.
Because it's ONE game that he didn't even play in.

 
maybe chalking up week one inactive status in part to missed time and being behind is optimistic...

maybe attributing it to his college knocks coming to roost already (despite above being a possible explanation) is pessimistic...

the former may not NECESSARILY be example of ignoring anything (again, this could be a negative and pessimistic take), as much as difference of interpretation...

part of the problem is we may not be dealing with apples to apples comparisons...

in the above "list" of players that were healthy scratches, what would such a list represent and look like...

can it be parsed by number of healthy scratches (he has had one so far, not 16)?

how many missed as much time as hunter in preseason?

how many had his measurables?

or his skill set (authoritative independent scout cosell graded him as top vertical threat in draft, several compared him to AJ green in combo of body type and movement skills - don't recall that being said about jenkins this time last year, as to the doom and gloom compers)...

how many on list played for teams that suited up just four WRs (if there is a point that imo isn't being addressed much and in fact being overlooked in the thread, it is this)... rams suit up five WRs, bailey suits up... if they suited up four and he was inactive, is bailey still same player? did he undergo a talent subtraction? :) purely related to an external numbers game, nothing to do with intrinsic talent (bailey is a third rounder and hunter second, you could make a case hunter should be further along, that is a different argument, maybe superseded by some above ones - ie, missed time)...

did everybody on the list have three vet WRs as good as britt, wright and washington in front of them (as noted above, WR4 williams plays ST)?

of those, in how many cases were there reasonable chance two of those three would not be on the team the following season?

and so on...

* not trying to be hunter apologist... but it is a very realistic possibility that hunter could be one or two on depth chart in 2014 (does anybody expect williams to hold off hunter next year... if so, why would they have drafted him in the first place, that can't be too many people?)...

and isn't that more important, shouldn't that be weighted more heavily in his long term projection, than a temporary setback in first week?

 
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maybe chalking up week one inactive status in part to missed time and being behind is optimistic...

maybe attributing it to his college knocks coming to roost already (despite above being a possible explanation) is pessimistic...

the former may not NECESSARILY be example of ignoring anything (again, this could be a negative and pessimistic take), as much as difference of interpretation...

part of the problem is we may not be dealing with apples to apples comparisons...

in the above "list" of players that were healthy scratches, what would such a list represent and look like...

can it be parsed by number of healthy scratches (he has had one so far, not 16)?

how many missed as much time as hunter in preseason?

how many had his measurables?

or his skill set (authoritative independent scout cosell graded him as top vertical threat in draft, several compared him to AJ green in combo of body type and movement skills - don't recall that being said about jenkins this time last year, as to the doom and gloom compers)...

how many on list played for teams that suited up just four WRs (if there is a point that imo isn't being addressed much and in fact being overlooked in the thread, it is this)... rams suit up five WRs, bailey suits up... if they suited up four and he was inactive, is bailey still same player? did he undergo a talent subtraction? :) purely related to an external numbers game, nothing to do with intrinsic talent (bailey is a third rounder and hunter second, you could make a case hunter should be further along, that is a different argument, maybe superseded by some above ones - ie, missed time)...

did everybody on the list have three vet WRs as good as britt, wright and washington in front of them (as noted above, WR4 williams plays ST)?

of those, in how many cases were there reasonable chance two of those three would not be on the team the following season?

and so on...

* not trying to be hunter apologist... but it is a very realistic possibility that hunter could be one or two on depth chart in 2014 (does anybody expect williams to hold off hunter next year... if so, why would they have drafted him in the first place, that can't be too many people?)...

and isn't that more important, shouldn't that be weighted more heavily in his long term projection, than a temporary setback in first week?
All good points and all good possibly explanations.

Another very plausible explanation is that he was inactive because despite all his physical prowess, the coaches don't trust him enough to even have him active for a "jump ball" route if need be and he just isn't getting it yet.

Since the above is a possibility, and it is worse than the alternative that he is active, I would factor in that possibility and bump him down a notch or two.

That doesn't mean he won't get it, it doesn't mean there aren't other possibilities on why he was inactive, and it doesn't mean his ceiling is just as high as before.

It is just factoring in new information and constantly adjusting on the fly.

 
key data points are whether you think britt and washington are around next year.

i don't.

but it is important for everybody to answer that question for themselves.

 
First of all - great thread.

Second - and maybe it has been answered before, but why did they trade up to get Hunter if they planned on returning to a run based attack?? That doesn't make sense to me, especially considering they already have two first round receivers on the roster.

 
First of all - great thread.

Second - and maybe it has been answered before, but why did they trade up to get Hunter if they planned on returning to a run based attack?? That doesn't make sense to me, especially considering they already have two first round receivers on the roster.
Part of the reason may be they expect Britt to be elsewhere sooner than later.

 
nobody has claimed it is a positive, but there is a school of thought in the thread that it is ridiculously early in dynasty to panic...

a few things... missed time in preseason, unusual and unexpected move to suit up just four WRs in week one (maybe all year?) and damian williams special teams experience conspired to hunter's inactive status...

if you liked his athleticism and talent before, i don't think there has been enough change in a week to warrant drastically revising his long term outlook (point taken that if he doesn't play a down all year, that would be troubling)...

as to britt, i could see more reasons for titans not extending him... he is talented, but has missed time regularly due to injury, and his sheer volume of off field issues (can't be many players with more arrests in last two or three years?) complicate any prospective negotiations...
True, but some here seem to be shrugging it off saying it's no big deal and ignoring it as part of their assessment.

It may well prove to be just a hiccup in a solid career, but the list of players who are healthy scratches and become relevant fantasy contributors is a good deal shorter than the other.

It seems to show that the knocks on his as a college player and continuing through his first camp and into his first season. It doesn't mean that these issues can't be fixed, but it does show that these problems still persist. I don't know how you can't adjust his long term prospects down, even just a little bit.
It's not uncommon for a good receiver to have been a healthy scratch in his rookie year. Just looking at the highest-scoring fantasy receivers of the last 10-15 years, you have Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Santana Moss, Donald Driver, Plaxico Burress, Laveranues Coles, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Isaac Bruce who were all inactive for chunks of their rookie year. Steve Smith and Wes Welker might well have been, too, were they not their team's primary return specialist.

All else being equal, you would rather a player be better than worse, but "healthy scratch in his first game" is pretty low on my list of reasons for concern. If it's midseason and he's still a regular on the inactive list, I'll officially be worried.

 
First of all - great thread.

Second - and maybe it has been answered before, but why did they trade up to get Hunter if they planned on returning to a run based attack?? That doesn't make sense to me, especially considering they already have two first round receivers on the roster.
The Titans scouts rated Hunter higher than any WR in recent memory.

Britt's been a headache. His talent and potential(not production) might command a big money deal they might not want to pay in 2014.

Drops of easy passes were ridiculous the last two years in such a manner that can completely deflate any momentum an offense has and would send people to bang their heads against walls.

 
Saw coach Munchaks presser after Thursday practice, because of Damian Williams injury, there is a chance that Hunter will play as WR4 this week. WR4. Because of injury.

Seems to me that either Washington or Britt or both will have to be gone for Hunter to get on the field regularly.

Britt is UFA after this season. Washington has one year at just under 5 million left. Would be cheaper to cut than to keep, whereas Britt might be expensive to keep.

I'd be surprised if both are on the team in 2014, but equally surprised if none of them are.

Which of the roles does he fit best? I'd certainly expect him to leapfrog Williams into at least the WR3 spot next year

 
needing britt to underwhelm in order to ascend up the depth chart may be tantamount to needing gravity for an apple to fall...

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130917/SPORTS01/309170017/Benching-serves-Britt-s-warning

it sounds like his effort and concentration are being questioned (pulled for two holding penalties in as many weeks, coach stated his route running has been sloppy at times), he is already reported as allegedly throwing coaches and locker under the bus (that ought to increase his playing time)...

ponchsox posted below in britt thread (not sure if copy/paste of article or his commentary?)... germane to this conversation, as it makes a bit more concrete and less speculative chances of britt being in TEN beyond this year...

"Kenny Britt tweeted Tuesday he believes the Titans are "pullin' that Jared Cook card," and that 2013 will be his last season in Tennessee.

Oh boy. Britt is likely on to something — it seems quite likely he'll be allowed to walk in free agency — but his situation differs from Cook's in that he's actually been given a chance to make plays the past two seasons, he just hasn't. Nevertheless, it's an amusing metaphor. Benched for a stretch of Sunday's loss in Houston, Britt has just five catches through two games, and has graded out as a bottom-four receiver in Pro Football Focus' ratings. His tweet, which will likely soon be deleted, will only land him further in the doghouse."

* confirmed the jared cook jab still on his twitter page...

https://twitter.com/KennyBritt_18

i don't think he needs to talk his way off the team... if he is gone, he is gone... it could just make him less marketable in free agency as malcontent (as if the checkered medical and bulging off field incident files weren't enough)...
 
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whoa...

Via Andy Burrell:

Just got word that Kenny Britt has been kicked off the Tennessee #Titans. One other player has been kicked off as well.Stand by for details
And

"Kicked off" was the term used via Nashville source about Kenny Britt.I'd like to think he is being traded or has been

released.
*******FALSE ALARM******

From Andy Burrell:

Quote

Well I blew it. Source says he cut me off and Britt is still on the team. Guess I learned my lesson about getting a 2nd source.
 
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Britt is a headcase, needs to hang out with Titus Young. Maybe he thinks he's better than Calvin Johnson, too. ;)

 
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whoa...

Via Andy Burrell:

Just got word that Kenny Britt has been kicked off the Tennessee #Titans. One other player has been kicked off as well.Stand by for details
And

"Kicked off" was the term used via Nashville source about Kenny Britt.I'd like to think he is being traded or has been released.
sounds like mix up/false alarm noted in britt thread?

regardless, the recent tweet won't endear him to the coaches...

 
Jim Wyatt ‏@jwyattsports 26m

Zach Brown missed with illness. Kendall Wright has concussion symptoms and didn't practice #Titans
Looks like Williams is back though... Hunter could see some opportunities again this week regardless.

 
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I'm not looking for advice necessarily here, just throwing in a personal anecdote to show where his dynasty value is in one of my leagues...

I have the opportunity to trade a future 2nd for Hunter and a future 5th. I'm leaning towards taking it, the potential is just huge there.

 
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I'm not looking for advice necessarily here, just throwing in a personal anecdote to show where his dynasty value is in one of my leagues...

I have the opportunity to trade a future 2nd for Hunter and a future 5th. I'm leaning towards taking it, the potential is just huge there.
I'm sure nobody cares, but I pulled the trigger.

 
He nearly had another long TD earlier in the game but there was a PI in the endzone that wasn't called... the DB straight held his arms down as he was reaching up to grab it and it kinda bounced of his hands/body.... He probably could've got it if he attacked it more... kinda just let it come to him and tried to body catch it.

ah... they mention it in that article Faust posted:

"Locker threw a 44-yard pass to him in the middle of the end zone, where he had a bit of space to work against safety Eric Weddle. Weddle got away with pass interference, but Hunter still felt like he should have pulled in the pass.

“He let the first ball come to him,” Wright said. “We told him after that, ‘Just high-point the ball.’ Nobody out there can jump with him.”"

 
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Kenny Britt did not play at all during the Titans 10-play, 94-yard game-winning drive Sunday.
Plagued by drops, penalties and ill-advised tweets, Britt is getting phased out in Tennessee. Jake Locker actually asked for rookie Justin Hunter to be in the game late, not Britt. Hunter's snaps at the X spot figure to grow, while Britt is not anything close to a fantasy asset right now. He has five catches for 43 yards and no touchdowns through three weeks.

NICE!!! was getting worried I wasted a 1st rounder on him
 
maybe somewhat lost in the excitement for hunter (being the hunter thread) is that locker played well...

he could be a key piece of the puzzle for hunter's future success, if he fulfills his potential.

 
i do like hunter better in dynasty than redraft...

i could be off base, but i'm pretty sure the organization values hunter far more importantly for the future than pollard...

not sure wright's snap counts will impact on hunter if they intend the former to be used on the inside more... britt, if healthy, will be on outside... whether TEN wants to re-sign him in 2014 will seemingly be contingent on how he looks and does this year, perhaps off field factors will weigh in the decision as well... it sounds like the team also wants hunter to be on the outside ...

* quote from cosell...

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/05/28/mining-the-2013-nfl-draft-for-the-not-so-obvious-contributors-part-2/

NFL Films guru Greg Cosell had this to say about Hunter, “(Hunter) is, without question, the most explosive as a route runner with his long body, route fluidity, vertical speed and playmaking ability at the catch point.” Cosell also noticed that he had recaptured “legitimate acceleration and vertical explosion that clearly projects to the NFL” and “will impact games.” He went on to compare Hunter to a raw AJ Green.
Somewhere, Greg Cosell is not surprised by yesterday's developments.

 
Rotoworld:

Titans OC Dowell Loggains suggested Justin Hunter may play more at the expense of Kenny Britt going forward.
Ex-Rotoworld superstar Chris Wesseling has deemed Britt the NFL's worst player through three weeks. "We have a lot of faith in Justin," said Loggains. "Justin is going to be an extremely special player." As the rumor goes -- and it was essentially confirmed by Loggains -- Jake Locker personally asked for the Titans to bench Britt for Hunter on the Titans' Week 3 game-winning drive. Hunter answered the bell with a 34-yard touchdown catch.

Source: Titan Insider
 

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