There’s nothing worse than uncertainty in fantasy football, especially as the playoffs approach. By this point in the season, you’d like to have a good idea of what to expect from each and every member of your roster on a weekly basis. However, no key player is more uncertain than Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Golden Tate. Tate arrived in Philadelphia via trade and underwhelmed in his first game action with the Eagles. Tate has the ceiling of a solid WR2, especially in PPR leagues, but he also has a zero-catch floor having to learn a new offense. While Tate owners shouldn’t lose long-term hope, it’s best to keep Golden Tate on your bench until he gives you a reason to put him in your lineup.
Fantasy Football: Sit Golden Tate Until Further Notice
The biggest reason to sit Tate is simply that he can’t possibly know the entire offense already. This is obviously expected, as it normally takes an entire offseason to get incorporated in an offense, yet Tate’s only had a couple week to learn everything. In Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys, Tate played just 18 offensive snaps, catching just two passes for 19 yards on four targets.
Tate production will increase as he gets more comfortable with the offense and quarterback Carson Wentz. Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict when Tate will become incorporated into the offense. Even looking at past examples won’t give much insight into what to expect.
Each team operates so uniquely and every player is so different that there’s way to know when Tate will be comfortable with the playbook and with Wentz. Unfortunately, the best thing to do is just sit him until he starts producing. With each week mattering more and more, you can’t afford to put Tate in your lineup and risk another lackluster performance.
Holding Tate Will Pay Off
With Tate not expected to immediately produce, some fantasy football owners may ponder cutting ties with him altogether. There are six teams on bye in Week 11, and it’s to stash players with that much inactivity.
However, cutting Tate would be a short-sighted move that should be avoided, if at all possible. Tate might not produce in Week 11, but he should earn his way to a starting spot before the fantasy championships.
It’s no secret that Tate’s a possession receiver who does most of his work in the shorter parts of the field. While he has the ability to get loose downfield, he’s at his best when he’s hauling in high-percentage passes, moving the chains, and creating his own yards after the catch. Per SharpFootballStats.com, nearly 90% of Tate’s targets have come within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage.
Tate put up all his production with Matthew Stafford at the helm. Stafford, while a solid quarterback in his own right, hasn’t had the best season. So far in 2018, Stafford has a 95.1 passer rating when throwing within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. While this passer rating looks good on paper, it’s only the 22nd-best of quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts.
Carson Wentz, meanwhile, is vastly superior in the short passing game. Thus far on the season, Wentz has a 108.9 passer rating in the short part of the field, sixth-best in the league. Wentz has put up this impressive passer rating despite not having the best weapons to work with. For the grand majority of the season, his best underneath options were Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews.
Golden Tate is a better receiver than both of those players, and the Eagles think so too. If they didn’t, Philadelphia would not have given up a third-round pick for half a season of Tate. Tate will have a role once he gets fully incorporated in the offense, and he’ll be catching passes from a better short-passing quarterback.
Last Word on Golden Tate
Right now, there’s no way to predict what Golden Tate will do in Week 11. The wide receiver will be playing in just his second game with the Eagles and probably won’t have a complete knowledge of the Philadelphia playbook. The Eagles will draw up plays specifically for Tate, but right now he has a low ceiling and a lower floor.
However, this isn’t a reason to give up on Tate long-term. Tate fits this Eagles offense perfectly, and Philadelphia would not have given up a third-round pick if they didn’t believe Tate was a sizable upgrade on the receivers they already had. Carson Wentz is a better short-yardage passer than Matthew Stafford, which plays into Tate’s strengths. At some point, Tate will put it all together and become a WR2 again.
That said, it’s impossible to know when that might happen. While it hurts to leave Tate on your bench if he has a breakout week, it’s significantly worse to put him in your lineup and have him put up another dud performance. Wait for Tate to have his breakout game, and then put him back in your starting lineup.
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