Fantasy Upside
Roddy White burned a lot of fantasy owners last season by trying to gut out a high-ankle sprain suffered in preseason, but the fact remains he’s only two years removed from posting a 1,351-yard, 92-catch, seven-touchdown season. While he did tough out the injury in order to keep his consecutive game streak alive and help a banged up Falcons’ receiving corps, White was ultimately ineffective until the final five weeks of last year. He showed everyone how much he still means to Atlanta’s passing game when he caught 43 passes for 502 yards and two touchdowns in his final five games when he was finally healthy. With Julio Jones back in the starting lineup and Tony Gonzalez gone, there will be plenty of work for White in 2014.
Fantasy Downside
White is 32 and no longer the focal point of the offense when Jones is healthy. At some point his production is going to fall off a cliff, and unfortunately for general managers and fantasy owners alike, nobody can tell you the exact year the drop off is going to happen. While he’s been durable for the majority of his career, last year was also another reminder that White is in the twilight of his career and injuries could become more prevalent.
Bottom Line
In our pre-season rankings, White ranks as our 17th receiver in standard and 16th wideout in PPR leagues. There’s plenty of value in his fourth-round ADP as he figures to see plenty lot of targets in Atlanta’s pass-happy offense. Even though Jones is the Falcons’ current No. 1, there’s no question that Matt Ryan still views White as one of his security blankets and often seeks him out on third downs. Case in point, the veteran receiver only played one full possession in the Falcons’ preseason opener but still wound up catching four passes for 27 yards against the Dolphins. In 2012 he saw 143 targets while catching 92 passes for 1,351 yards and scoring seven touchdowns. And that was with Gonzalez still in the starting lineup. Now that Gonzo has officially retired, look for White to have a major bounce back season. Last year was an aberration.
