{"id":69172,"date":"2019-07-28T21:53:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T01:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=69172"},"modified":"2021-06-01T20:24:47","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T00:24:47","slug":"oj-howard-fantasy-football-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/07\/28\/oj-howard-fantasy-football-outlook\/","title":{"rendered":"O.J. Howard 2019 Fantasy Football Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HowaO.00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">O.J. Howard<\/a><\/strong> is one of the worst kept secrets in fantasy football this year. After breaking out in his sophomore season, he suffered a leg injury that cut his year short. Many were hoping to take advantage of recency bias and hope that others forgot about him when creating their 2019 fantasy football rankings. That didn\u2019t happen, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/buccaneers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> tight end is ranked right where he should be on fantasy big boards. But that doesn\u2019t mean players shouldn\u2019t target him in their drafts. Below is an\u00a0O.J. Howard 2019 fantasy football outlook.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/2019\/04\/28\/2019-fantasy-football-headquarters\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>Fantasy Football Draft Headquarters<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>O.J. Howard 2019 Fantasy Football Outlook<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>A Season Cut Short Due to Injury<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>O.J. Howard was on his way to a great season last year before going down with <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/2807052-buccaneers-oj-howard-placed-on-injured-reserve-with-foot-ankle-injuries\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">foot and ankle injuries in Week 11<\/a> against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/giants\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Giants<\/a>. To that point, Howard had racked up 565 yards and five touchdowns on 34 receptions. He\u2019d only had one game the entire season with under 50 yards. For a tight end, that is a great floor.<\/p>\n<p>In fantasy, he was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fantasypros.com\/nfl\/reports\/leaders\/te.php?year=2018&amp;start=1&amp;end=11\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TE5<\/a> at the time of his injury, averaging a healthy 8.7 points-per-game in standard leagues. In fact, the tight end landscape was so barren that he somehow still finished at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fantasypros.com\/nfl\/reports\/leaders\/te.php?year=2018&amp;start=1&amp;end=17\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TE10<\/a> overall when the season was over, despite missing time with his injury.<\/p>\n<p>O.J. Howard has all the tools to be a top tight end in the NFL. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2017 draft. At six-foot-six, he is a big man, but also freaky athletic. It took him a while to pull ahead of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BratCa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cameron Brate<\/a><\/strong> on the depth chart, but he was quickly developing into a problem for opposing defenses.<\/p>\n<p>Just look at this 75-yard touchdown he caught last year:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fitz to O.J. Howard for 75-yards and the TD. Bucs up 13-7!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoBucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoBucs<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PHIvsTB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#PHIvsTB<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tK6sZ1X93w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/tK6sZ1X93w<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Buccaneers\/status\/1041389898983301120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 16, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Trending Up with Bruce Arians<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>O.J. Howard\u2019s great season earned him the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bucsnation.com\/2019\/2\/21\/18232144\/pff-grades-buccaneers-o-j-howard-as-second-best-tight-end-in-2018\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-highest grade<\/a> among tight ends by Pro Football Focus last season. Now he comes into 2019 looking to further improve himself. Howard comes back to the team with most of the same pieces around him. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=EvanMi00,EvanMi20,EvanMi21&amp;search=Mike+Evans&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Evans<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/G\/GodwCh00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Godwin<\/a><\/strong> will still demand attention from defensive backs. This will leave Howard to work in the middle of the field. However, as the video above illustrated, Howard won\u2019t just limit himself to one section of the field.<\/p>\n<p>But what should get people most excited about Howard is the addition of new head coach <strong>Bruce Arians<\/strong>. After a short stint in retirement, Arians is back as head coach of the Buccaneers. He is an offensive mastermind who will only improve the entire team. Howard should also benefit from some more continuity at quarterback this season, as it looks like Arians is all in on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WinsJa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jameis Winston<\/a><\/strong>. If anyone can squeeze the most production out of him, it\u2019ll be Arians.<\/p>\n<p>The only red-flag with Arians as head coach is that historically he doesn\u2019t involve tight ends much. One reason could be that he has previously had <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/F\/FitzLa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Larry Fitzgerald<\/a><\/strong> in the slot running many of the routes a tight end would run. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/bucswire.usatoday.com\/2019\/06\/09\/should-you-avoid-drafting-o-j-howard-in-fantasy-football-because-of-bruce-arians\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even quoted as saying<\/a> \u201cWe pay Larry (Fitzgerald) and those guys too much money to throw it to the tight ends. They\u2019re here to block.\u201d Still, Arians has never had a tight end like Howard in his offense. It is in Arians&#8217; best interest to get Howard the football.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Outlook and ADP<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It looks like the rest of the league has already caught on to O.J. Howard\u2019s potential, as he is currently rated as the <a href=\"https:\/\/g.espncdn.com\/s\/ffldraftkit\/19\/NFLDK2019_CS_PPR300.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TE5 or about 66 OVR<\/a>. It is a good spot for him, as that was his rank before he was injured. Obviously, the top three tight ends (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/K\/KelcTr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Travis Kelce<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/K\/KittGe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">George Kittle<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/E\/ErtzZa00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Ertz<\/a><\/strong>) are in a tier of their own right now.<\/p>\n<p>But, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/E\/EngrEv00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Engram<\/a><\/strong> currently sits at the TE4 spot. This is mainly because the Giants have no one else to throw the ball to, so Engram will undoubtedly be peppered with targets. However, Engram is being taken a full seven spots ahead of Howard, with little proof that he will outperform the Bucs tight end. If players opt out of the \u201cthe big three\u201d at tight end, it might be a good idea to look at Howard over Engram. Expect a solid return on investment from a strong O.J. Howard 2019 fantasy season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/2019\/04\/28\/2019-fantasy-football-headquarters\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>Fantasy Football Draft Headquarters<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"3zNSwPf4RpxWXOh3wRuRcA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1063327344\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'3zNSwPf4RpxWXOh3wRuRcA',sig:'v3Mve5H89iGlx7lgGgOaHEiHfdNPGYRxp70c5lnDnjs=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1063327344',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>O.J. Howard 2019 fantasy football preview. Howard was on his way to a breakout season before suffering injuries. He should continue producing in 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2250,"featured_media":69224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,54,29],"tags":[444,294,61,40,1624,308],"class_list":["post-69172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-editorials","category-buccaneers","tag-bruce-arians","tag-fantasy-football","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-o-j-howard","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}