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A couple years ago Green Bay Packers OLB Clay Matthews was a top-five fantasy football IDP option in every format. He was one of the most promising defensive options and was flying up keeper lists. However, he has slipped drastically in 2013 rankings and has even been ranked behind linebackers such as Curtis Lofton and Derrick Johnson this off-season.
Matthews started his 2012 season off by recording a ridiculous six sacks through his first two games. However, he followed it up by recording just three sacks in his next seven contests (Week 3 – Week 15). Matthews disappeared in the middle of the season and left several fantasy owners scrambling down the stretch to find a reliable fantasy linebacker.
Matthews still finished the year with a respectable 13 sacks, though, but many were expecting more from the former USC standout. The outside linebacker even recorded a career-low 43 tackles last season, which was seemingly an exclamation point on his medicare season.
Including the playoffs, Matthews racked up seven sacks and 21 tackles in the team’s last five games. He got over his mid-season slump and proved to be utterly unblockable down the stretch for the Cheeseheads. It may have proven to be too little too late for 2013 IDP owners, but it is certainly promising looking ahead to 2014.
Matthews may not be the number one linebacker in fantasy anymore, but he is easily a top-five option. No one has the ability to burst to the quarterback like Matthews and you can expect to see his name at the top of the sack list all season long, so draft him accordingly this year.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
