Mark Andrews is off to the worst start of his career, and it’s biting fantasy managers in their ankles. He ran four routes on Sunday. Just four. Has he truly taken a step down, or is there something else brewing under the surface? Let’s take a look.
Mark Andrews Fantasy Football Concerns – Ravens TE Struggling
Usage
Andrews has historically been the lead receiver for the Ravens. Through his first six seasons, Andrews participated in over 90% of the team’s routes. Week 3 marked a low point for the former star, with only 4 routes on Lamar’s 15 attempts. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar have eaten into his usage, and there’s no reason to think this won’t be the new norm. Likely has been extremely effective in his limited routes, and even Kolar had a 30 yard reception Sunday.
This hasn’t been a result of injury, unless the Ravens are hiding something. Andrews hasn’t popped up on the injury report in weeks, and has had plenty of time to recover from the hip drop tackle injury from last season. If the offense is using more tight ends, and Andrews has gone from the number one option to the odd man out, his fantasy price was one of the worst this offseason.
Efficiency
Just a year ago, Andrews posted over a 20% target share and 2.01 yards per route run. Now? 10% of targets. Barely over one yard per route run. He was blanketed against the Chiefs, which makes sense because they didn’t want to let the Ravens run through him. But it seems that early season blanketing has led to a trend where the team would prefer to run through Zay Flowers and a combination of Likely, Agholor and the rushing attack. Andrews has 4.8 expected yards after the catch, but has turned that into only 3.5 yards after the catch per Next Gen Stats. Even when he sees the ball, he’s doing almost nothing with it.
It’s unfortunate to see, but Andrews hasn’t shown anything that would make the team want to target him more, and what he’s doing with his targets is pedestrian at best.
Rest of Season Mark Andrews Outlook
For a tight end drafted in the top six at his position, this is tough to say. Andrews is a spot starter until further notice. If he goes back to being the focal point of the offense, it will be extremely apparent and easy to plug him back in. But until that happens, fantasy managers are putting him in and just praying for a touchdown. He’ll need some touchdown luck or some big plays (which he seems to not be able to do anymore) to sneak into the top ten at the position.
Mark Andrews Dynasty Price Check
Andrews has already dipped down to TE9 in consensus rankings, and there’s still room to fall further. With a deeper look at his usage and efficiency, there’s a chance he keeps tumbling and is a must sell. David Njoku is ranked behind him and has been struggling with injury, even Dallas Goedert looks like he might have more juice at the position. Pivot now before the age and lack of production sour the community on his price.
Main Photo Credit: Syndication: USA TODAY
