Tavon Austin

Week 5 at Green Bay
Tavon Austin caught 6-of-7 targets for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams Week 4 win over the Cardinals. The former top-10 pick is now on pace for 860 yards and 12 touchdowns, making him a streaming option for desperate fantasy owners. The problem is the Rams passing game is so unreliable. For example, Kenny Britt caught seven passes for 102 yards in Week 3 but was only targeted once in Week 4. Now Todd Gurley had his breakout performance, the Rams are likely to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, which will limit Austin's targets. Still, it's clear Gurley and Austin are the team's best playmakers, and it would be foolish for offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti not to design ways to get Austin the ball. Now is the time to pick him up if he's still available, just realize he's not a reliable option yet. Austin is our WR46 for Week 5.

Fantasy Upside
Thanks to his speed and overall explosiveness, Tavon Austin is the one player in the Rams receiving corps with the skill set to be a game-changer. Kenny Britt and Brian Quick are big targets and solid possession receivers, while Stedman Bailey runs the best routes on the team. But none of them have Austin's ability to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. Former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer never quite figured out how to best utilize Austin, which was evident by the times Schottenheimer had the 174-pound receiver take handoffs and run between the tackles. If new OC Frank Cignetti can design ways to consistently get Austin in open space, there’s a chance the third-year pro could finally start to deliver on the high expectations he had entering the league.

Fantasy Downside
Schottenheimer was a lightning rod for criticism last year in St. Louis, but the fact remains that he did try to get the ball in Austin’s hands. Austin just couldn’t find creases between defenders when he received opportunities. He finished as fantasy’s WR83 last year after catching 31 passes for 242 yards with zero touchdowns. Even with a switch at offensive coordinator, Austin remains a gadget player in the Rams run-first offense.

Bottom Line
Austin ranks as our WR79 in standard formats and is being undrafted in 10 and 12-team leagues. He has the skill set to be an explosive player, but he is not an ideal fit for the Rams’ run-first system. When the team traded into the top 10 to draft him in 2013, the plan was to open up the offense for quarterback Sam Bradford. Austin was viewed as a great fit for St. Louis’ spread attack Fisher ditched the philosophy four games into the season to go back to his roots of pounding the ball on the ground. That is one of the reasons why Austin had fewer targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2014 than he did during his rookie year in 2013. Despite a switch at coordinator and the addition of Nick Foles at quarterback, it’s doubtful the light bulb suddenly comes on for Austin this season.

Week 16: Austin vs. Giants
Tavon Austin caught two-of-four targets for 14 yards and rushed once for an additional eight yards in the Rams’ Week 15 loss to the Cardinals. Austin should bounce back this week against the Giants but he still holds limited fantasy value. The Rams still don’t know how to maximize his skill set and he doesn’t break enough tackles to be anything more than a gadget player at this point in his career. Avoid him.