Rico Gathers?

[kris_kapsner]

Is Rico worth targeting right now?

He's a raw potential pass catcher on a team that needs pass catching options and the HoF TE in front of him just retired.

Buy?

If so, what's the price you'd expect to have to pay in a 16 team league that forces you to start players at all positions, even on bye weeks? So, it's necessary to have a second TE.

[dynastyninja]

He's worth a flyer and has a good shot at being relevant, but TE is always going to be tough to predict. I'd buy, but only for cheap.

[kris_kapsner]

He's worth a flyer and has a good shot at being relevant, but TE is always going to be tough to predict. I'd buy, but only for cheap.

What's "cheap" to you?

I offered a future 3rd, but was countered with me giving a 2nd next year and getting Rico and a 4th this year.

Thoughts?

[ninotoreS]

FYI, he played with the 2nd-team at OTAs.

I offered a future 3rd, but was countered with me giving a 2nd next year and getting Rico and a 4th this year.

Thoughts?

I think if Gathers is on the waiver-wire in a dynasty league right now, then he'd most likely be a 2nd-round pick in rookie / free-agent drafts.

Why take someone like Goedert over him in the 2nd round of rookie-drafts, who's set to be stuck behind Zach Ertz for at least the next four years? There's red-zone targets there for the taking in Dallas, and jumping Swaim on the depth-chart won't be hard for Gathers unless he's still just completely incompetent as a blocker.

[M-Dub]

FYI, he played with the 2nd-team at OTAs.

Yep. I’d rather take a flyer on Swaim. He might still be on your waiver wire. I scooped him up a few days ago in my league.

[MucBuc]

Who played with the 1st team?

[Valhalla]

Is Rico worth targeting right now?

He's a raw potential pass catcher on a team that needs pass catching options and the HoF TE in front of him just retired.

Buy?

If so, what's the price you'd expect to have to pay in a 16 team league that forces you to start players at all positions, even on bye weeks? So, it's necessary to have a second TE.

As much as a physical specimen as Gathers is, I don't think the coaches plan to use him. It sounds like Rico possibly thinks the same.

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas ... man-roster

From that article:
"Gathers said, however, he was cleared from concussion protocol before Week 7 last season and could have returned to practice. However, the Cowboys placed him on the injured reserve list before the season and never elected to bring him back.

"They finally gave me the clear to start back working out normal and going back into the meetings and stuff," Gathers said. "For the most part, I was excited after getting cleared, but the people above had bigger expectations for me rather than me coming in and practicing and getting back on the field.

"Really they didn't tell me anything. But I could just tell by the drift of the season and the drift of the coaching staff that I probably wasn't going to play last year anyway. I just look forward to getting back on the field this year."

"The biggest thing for me this year is just making it to the regular season," he said. "I have to make sure I'm healthy and make sure I'm able to be on somebody's 53-man roster.""

It sounds like Gathers was ready to play week 7 on last year, but the coaches didn't have faith in him. It's also telling that Gathers has a goal to "be on somebody's 53-man roster." That indicates he may believe he's getting overlooked/unnoticed by the Dallas coaching staff. Watch the Amazon special and you won't be all that impressed with the coaching staff there, so maybe he is just being overlooked, or maybe he just wasn't good enough last year.

I think it's Jarwin this year at tight end, which is nothing too exciting IMO. It's like the golden TE opportunity left behind years ago in Atlanta when it was the Toilolo show...opportunity but nothing exciting anyways.

[ninotoreS]

Who played with the 1st team?

Swaim, the good blocker.

Yep. I’d rather take a flyer on Swaim. He might still be on your waiver wire. I scooped him up a few days ago in my league.

Actually, it's a good thing Gathers is on the 2nd-team. He's already moved up the depth-chart a bit, ahead of Schultz and about even with Jarwin.

Of course he wasn't gonna be with the 1st-team in OTAs. If he gets to the 1st-team, he'll do it in training-camp / preseason, when full-contact is back in effect and he proves he can block some. No opportunity for that in OTAs.

I'd rather roster a second good match-up play D/ST than roster Swaim. Swaim won't matter in fantasy, starter or not.


As for how much Gathers talked to reporters and what he said, well, folks, that's just Rico Gathers. Don't you know he's the NFL's next superstar TE? According to him.

I'm sure Gathers is just miffed that he's not already starting. You can consider his opinion of himself either a negative or a positive, depending on the work ethic he associates with it.

[dynastyninja]

He's worth a flyer and has a good shot at being relevant, but TE is always going to be tough to predict. I'd buy, but only for cheap.

What's "cheap" to you?

I offered a future 3rd, but was countered with me giving a 2nd next year and getting Rico and a 4th this year.

Thoughts?

I wouldn't pay a 2nd for him and would sell him for that.

[turcorox911]

I really hope this guy makes the team. I know he can't block that well, but it'd be dope to see the Cowboys finally play a move TE. However, I just don't think that's in the cards this year. Drafting Williams and Schultz indicates the team's willingness to block for the run game, while Tavon Austin and Bo Scarbrough shows that the team wants adequate depth at RB. Obviously Fleming and the other 2 OL they signed show that they want depth. It also doesn't guarantee Chaz Green a spot on the roster.

[sugbear65]

With the current state of WRs and TEs, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Gathers become fantasy relevant. Not like there is much of an established pecking order in the pass game at this point, there’s targets to be had.
That said, no way I’m spending a 2nd on him right now, that’s more his price if he does become the clear starter heading into the season. I like him as a FA, or mr. irrelevant type pick in a draft, if you are looking to take a flier on somebody. But he has almost zero value trade wise to me.

[Jason]

I think Rico will be good on his next team, perhaps just like Martellus Bennett. Maybe I'm biased because I remember him scoring multiple touchdowns in preseason DFS and all that stuff should be taken with a grain of salt.

One thing we do know is Dallas is run by people with head-in-a$$ syndrome. Maybe they aren't interested in developing a guy who already missed an entire half a season+ with a concussion problem, maybe they fear Rico Gathers will become a kneeler. Maybe he hasn't introduced himself to the coaching staff's seeing eye dogs, maybe he's not a "Garrett Guy" like Dez Bryant, idk.

[Valhalla]

One thing we do know is Dallas is run by people with head-in-a$$ syndrome. Maybe they aren't interested in developing a guy who already missed an entire half a season+ with a concussion problem, maybe they fear Rico Gathers will become a kneeler. Maybe he hasn't introduced himself to the coaching staff's seeing eye dogs, maybe he's not a "Garrett Guy" like Dez Bryant, idk.

This is what concerns me as well.

[Ice]

Rico has a real shot to be the guy in Dallas if not this year then next.

He had no real experience in football but was a basketball star in college,. He was hurt early last year and Dallas made an IR move, most likely to save him. Rico is a big guy that is very athletic. Dallas is hoping to have the next A. Gates type player. Don't buy anything like he is not a Garrett type; He didn't play organized football since he was 13 years old. Dallas had no plans to play him last year.

A 2nd for him next year is about right. You get a free year of use to develop and if you missed it's no different than 1/2 the 2nd round picks in fantasy anyway. Getting a 4th back is gravy. Low risk trade IMO. He has a prototype body with great speed/size ratios.

Even experienced TE's take time to transition as its one of the more difficult positions to play given so many reads in blocking and routes off those reads.

The fact Dallas didn't go after a TE is a sign they are not unhappy with who they have. He will get loads of work this preseason to see if he is ready to make the leap.

Think his real value is probably 2019 but if he shows well in camp a future 2nd may look like a steal. FYI, I do not put huge values on 2nds. If I see a player I want 2nds are easy to trade for downstream if you missed.

[sugbear65]

Rico has a real shot to be the guy in Dallas if not this year then next.

He had no real experience in football but was a basketball star in college,. He was hurt early last year and Dallas made an IR move, most likely to save him. Rico is a big guy that is very athletic. Dallas is hoping to have the next A. Gates type player.

A 2nd for him next year is about right. You get a free year of use to develop and if you missed it's no different than 1/2 the 2nd round picks in fantasy anyway. Getting a 4th back is gravy. Low risk trade IMO. He has a prototype body with great speed/size ratios.

TE's take time as its one of the more difficult positions to play given so many reads in blocking and routes off those reads.

The fact Dallas didn't go after a TE is a sign they are not unhappy with who they have. He will loads of work this preseason to see if he is ready to make the leap.

Dallas didn’t go after a TE because up until a couple days before the draft they were under the assumption Witten was returning. And they did draft Shultz. But my main question is, you can’t really consider a 2nd for Gathers a “low risk trade”? I don’t care how much you like the player, giving a 2nd for who could possibly be the 4th TE on his depth chart is exactly the opposite of low risk.