Week 6 - Davis continues to dabble in mundane numbers, as he caught 5 passes for 54 yards as Griffin’s favorite target in week 5. With the QB situation up in the air for week 6, Davis remains a TE2 for this matchup.
Week 5 - The good news is that Davis’ targets are finally starting to increase, and he hauled in 4 passes for 70 yards in week 4. He still hasn’t found the red zone as RG3 scampers in for most of the teams scores, and Davis remains a TE2 until Griffin starts looking for him near the goal line.
Week 4 - Fred Davis finally had a breakout game in week 3 as he led the Redskins in targets and receptions to finish with 90 yards. He didn’t find the end zone yet, but at least RG3 showed he is willing to throw to his TE. Heading into week 4 against Greg Schiano’s new look Tampa Bay Bucs defense, Davis remains a TE2 with upside. If RG3 finds him again for 6+ receptions, Davis should climb back into TE1 standing, but we need to see some consistency before that occurs.
Week 2 – Uh oh, what happened there in week 1? Everything went as planned for the Redskins, and RG3/Garcon, but Fred Davis saw just 4 targets (2 catches) for 38 yards? This is a bad sign for a guy who was expected to have a big year in WAS, and heading into week 2 we have dropped Davis out of the TE1 ranks. Hopefully RG3 will establish a repoire with his TE, but Davis will need to see more targets, especially in the red zone, to jump back into the upper echelon of TE1′s where he was expected to finish this year.
Week 1 – Fred Davis will be facing the New Orleans Saints in week 1, and they were surprisingly stingy to TE’s a season ago. The Saints allowed just 666 yards receiving to TE’s in 2011 and just 5 TD’s, which was good enough to bring them in at #5 in terms of defense vs. TE. Davis will clearly have his work cut out for him, and fantasy owners will be looking to see how he and Griffin fare in their connection. Davis is a low TE1 for week 1, and should be started in most formats.
Preseason Analysis
Fred Davis is another one of our favorite sleeper picks for 2012. A new QB in Washington could be just what the doctor ordered for the 26 year old, and as long as Davis can stay healthy and on the field we expect him to surprise a lot of fantasy owners in 2012. In 2011, he appeared in just 12 games thanks to a failed drug test, and with Rex Grossman at quarterback. Even with those numbers working against him he managed to rack up 796 yards, those numbers come out to 1,061 yards over a full 16 game season. Davis will be a great pickup in the middle to late rounds of fantasy drafts as owners will be looking elsewhere for tight ends in 2012.
Wikipedia Images
2009 stats – 16 games – 48 Receptions, 509 Yards(10.6 Average), 6 TD’s, 0 Fum
2010 stats – 16 games(9 starts) - 21 Receptions, 316 Yards(15.0 Average), 3 TD’s, 0 Fum
2011 stats – 12 games – 59 Receptions, 796 Yards(13.5 Average), 3 TD’s, 1 Fum/ 1 Lost
