Getty Images
If you have owned Brian Hartline in the past on your fantasy football team, you know how frustrated he can make you.
The website Fantasy Pros has a breakdown of how many quality starts a fantasy football player has recorded, and the numbers do not look good from Hartline’s 2013 campaign. In 12 out of 16 games, the 27-year-old receiver recorded 12 poor starts of less than eight fantasy points. He recorded two games with eight to 13.7 points, and two games with more than 13.7 points. That means in 75 percent of Hartline’s starts, he would generally score less than eight points for his owners from week-to-week.
Even though he has been in the league since 2009, Hartline has only recently become fantasy relevant. He has posted two straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards, and he has hauled in a total of 150 receptions in that time frame. Hartline actually finished in the top 25 for receptions among his fellow wide receivers last season, however, and opportunities are one of the best indicators of fantasy football success.
He has had a fairly high reception total, but why did Hartline produce such poor fantasy numbers? One of the biggest issues behind Hartline’s lack of fantasy success is the fact that quarterback Ryan Tannehill was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL last season. If his quarterback is spending most of his time running away from defenders or being body slammed into the ground, that doesn’t leave much time to make accurate throws. The Miami Dolphins brought in some key players in the draft to help protect him, and the addition of pass-blocking specialist Knowshon Moreno should really provide Tannehill with some more time to connect with his receivers.
With a new offensive coordinator attempting to bring a fast-paced playbook to the offense and with Tannehill better protected, I think Hartline’s numbers should improve. He has the yardage, but he only scored four touchdowns last season, and only one the year before that. He is a decent-sized target at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, so I believe his touchdown totals can improve this season. I am buying into Hartline, and as a late-round pick, he isn’t a huge risk if things do not pan out.
For a cheap price and with a decent amount of upside, Hartline is worth adding to your roster.
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
