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The St.Louis Rams must have seen something in wide receiver Tavon Austin to spend a first-round pick on him in 2013, but Austin was unable to showcase his skills for fantasy football players in his rookie year.
The skill is obviously there for Austin to not only be fantasy relevant, but to finish as a top-20 option between his rushing and receiving ability. In his final college season for the West Virginia Mountaineers, Austin finished with 114 receptions, 1,289 receiving yards, 12 receiving touchdowns, 72 carries, 643 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. I still have the feeling that Jeff Fisher doesn’t quite know how to use Austin, however, and that makes me weary of giving him a spot on my roster.
One factor that is going to hurt Austin is the reported loss of Sam Bradford, who has apparently re-torn his left ACL. The 34-year-old veteran, Shaun Hill, will step in as the starting quarterback for the Rams. Hill has never been a part of more than 11 games in a season, and it is very questionable how much gas he still has in the tank at his age. Losing Bradford isn’t the same as Drew Brees, but I think most people would agree that Austin would be in a much better situation with Bradford than Hill.
The Rams also like to use multiple targets and spread the ball around, which decreases Austin’s value. Last season, Stedman Bailey, Zac Stacy, Brian Quick, Lance Kendricks, Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, Jared Cook and Austin all saw 25 or more targets. With the addition of Kenny Britt, there will be plenty of targets for Hill, and he probably will not build rapport with any receiver in particular. Stacy will also be relied on heavily, which will limit Austin’s usage.
Austin had two boom games in 2013 where he scored two touchdowns in each game, but that was it. With a shaky quarterback and a rushing attack already handled by Stacy and new addition Tre Mason, Austin is held back by his lack of a defined role. I doubt things will improve in 2014, and Austin will cause more frustration than excitement for fantasy owners. I see his value, but I can’t buy a player who doesn’t have the right circumstances to succeed.
Don’t expect any significant improvement from Austin in 2014. Let someone else draft him.
Jack Delaney is a fantasy football writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @jackbmore13, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
