It’s been one heck of a start to the season for 2019 UDFA Greg Dortch. DeAndre Hopkins’ suspension combined with multiple injuries to the Arizona Cardinals pass-catchers has thrust Dortch into action. And he’s responded. How much of a priority is Dortch for fantasy football managers to add off the waiver wire ahead of Week 4?
Greg Dortch has taken hold of the Cardinals’ WR2 job
Marquise Brown is locked in as the Cardinals’ WR1. He’s averaging a whopping 11.3 targets per game. Dortch is no threat to Brown’s workload.
But this team still needs a WR2 with Hopkins out for three more games and Rondale Moore on the shelf. After three weeks, I’m willing to anoint Dortch as the man for the job.
Dortch is averaging an 80% snap share on the season. He’s seen 23 targets through three weeks and is averaging over 15 PPR fantasy points per game. Given his performance, I don’t see how or why Kliff Kingsbury would want to change anything even when Moore returns.
Dortch will take a backseat to Hopkins when the latter returns, but there are three more games to play until then, meaning three more fantasy football matchups for you to win. Even if Dortch becomes useless in Week 7, three more weeks of WR3 production has value.
The Cardinals are throwing the ball a lot
Through three weeks, the Cardinals have passed the ball on an absurd 72% of their plays. To be fair, they have been playing in a negative game script for all three games. At the same time, we have reason to believe that trend could continue.
The Cardinals are not a good team. This is not a team that is going to make the playoffs. They will spend more time trailing than not. As a result, they will be throwing. In Week 3, Kyler Murray threw the ball 58 times. He is now averaging 47 pass attempts per game.
With James Conner woefully inefficient on the ground, averaging just 3.0 yards per carry, the only hope the Cardinals have to move the ball is to throw. And Murray isn’t running the ball himself as much as in prior seasons either. He’s averaging a career-low 21 rushing yards per game. More notable is the lack of designed quarterback runs. Murray has been reduced to a tactical scrambler who doesn’t scramble. This is bad news for the Cardinals, but good news for their pass-catchers.
Should fantasy managers prioritize Greg Dortch on the Week 4 waiver wire?
Given the likely options available, Dortch is my top waiver wire target at the wide receiver position. He plays in a high-powered passing offense (albeit one that scores far less than it should and has an overrated quarterback). He’s the clear WR2 on a team without a true alpha WR1.
Dortch is running nearly 80% of his routes out of the slot. That allows him to get open quickly and near the line of scrimmage for Murray to pepper him with targets. Dortch is a great PPR asset.
Fantasy managers who need wide receiver help should go after Dortch on the waiver wire. He’s not a league-winning player, so don’t spend too much FAAB on him. But a 10-15% bid makes sense. In deeper leagues where he’s still available, I might be willing to go a little higher. The same goes for teams that desperately need someone they can start.
Consider Dortch a weekly top-36 option, at least until Hopkins returns.