Player Spotlight & Fantasy Outlook - Robert Woods

Robert Woods Wide Receiver #17

Los Angeles Rams | 

Height: 6-0   Weight: 195   Age: 26

Born: 4/10/1992 Gardena, CA

College: USC

Experience: 6th season

High School: Junipero Serra HS [Gardena, CA]

The Perception:

Since entering the NFL back in 2013 being selection by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the NFL draft, Robert Woods has enjoyed varying levels of success thus far in his NFL career. When Buffalo took a chance on the young, relatively undersized pass catcher from the University of South California, it was clear they were getting a player that would take on the responsibilities of being a secondary receiver with very high upside to potentially be the go-to target in year one of their roster transition. Woods showed flashes of solid play in his first season in the league but was hampered by a weak pass game limiting his statistical performance building a perception early that he wasn’t as advertised. The remainder of his career in Buffalo showed consistent above average progression with the 2014 season being the highlight of his time with the Bills. It was difficult to endorse any notion (at that time) that Woods could carry a team alone, as proven when the Bills selected Sammy Watkins in that 2014 season, in attempts to create a one two punch at the receiver position that could rival the better duos in the league.

The early outlook on Woods after he completed his rookie deal with the Bills, showed a player that was very capable of making catches over the middle while housing a suburb blocking aspect to his game that pegged him one of the best in the NFL. The Bills however felt the value Robert was chasing in his next contract was unreasonable and they let him walk to free agency. The 2017 offseason became a blessing for Robert Woods as he was able to garner a contract with the Los Angeles Rams essentially going back to the state of California to once again call home. The Rams were in clear need to upgrade the entire roster under the great hire of offensive mastermind - coach Sean McVay; Robert Woods became one of the first pieces to a large rebuilding puzzle to bring this team back to form. Upon signing his new lucrative contract, negative perceptions followed to suggest the Rams provided Woods far too much money for what would emerge on the field. However, the gleaming opinion from upper management showed belief that Woods could in fact be the number one receiving option with the Rams which was debated with great scrutiny in media circles.

As the offseason moved forward and training camp began to take shape, a familiar face was acquired via trade when Rams general manager Les Snead was able to bring the electric play-making ability of Sammy Watkins to town, thus providing conflict for Woods to become that number one receiver. While some up and coming stars in this league would take exception to their team adding players of Watkins caliber to the roster as a gut shot betrayal, the constant professional Robert is, he welcomed Watkins with open arms believing this was for the greater good of the franchise. As the season began, Woods again found himself in a complementary role as the second receiving option as the Rams looked to get their young franchise quarterback (Jared Goff) to finally take flight. As the season progressed, Woods indeed filled the role to one similar of that with the Buffalo Bills. Consistent production filled the stat sheet with one great performance in the first seven weeks which became a far cry to what the expectations were when he signed his multi-year contract. It seemed negative perceptions would continue to follow Woods.

The Reality:

As the Rams entered their bye week (week nine), Robert Woods still hadn’t gained the notoriety most expected when he took his talents to the Rams. That was about to change as Los Angeles flew to New York to face the Giants were Woods essentially had his coming out party to the tune of 4 receptions for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. The statistics didn’t blow anyone away on paper, but watching how Woods was able to finally hit another gear; single handily taking over the contest was quite encouraging. Gaining the confidence of coach McVay, Robert was highlighted in the following game against the Houston Texans where again Woods found a way to better his previous performance forcing the national media to take notice with an impressive 8 receptions, gaining 171 yards and adding another 2 touchdowns.

It was extremely important to review those contests to assist the evaluation process for Robert Woods as we enter the 2018 season where expectations for the Rams have lifted to levels of Super Bowl contention. Robert Woods did deal with injury issues last season which ultimately derailed what would’ve been a career season, but showed enough promise to warrant higher expectations. This season with Sammy Watkins departed via free agency to the Kansas City Chiefs; general manager Les Snead addressed the receiver situation again adding Brandin Cooks in orchestrating yet another trade, this time with the New England Patriots. While most will ascertain that the Sammy Watkins experiment didn’t pan out as hoped, the Brandin Cooks addition has us at ADF reinvigorated to predict huge success and continued progression for this Rams offense, thus lifting Robert Woods further.

Woods could in fact be one of the best secondary wide receivers in the game entering the light age of 26 years old, inevitably entering his prime, but one aspect that goes completely overlooked is his fantastic ability in run game setting up locked down blocks for his running backs to find the edge. During his time in Buffalo it was no coincidence that the Bills possessed the best run attack in the NFL for two straight seasons while Robert set the edge. When looking back at the resurgence of Todd Gurley in 2017, credit must be given where due, as Robert Woods played a massive role to allow their super star running back find open lanes to gallop through. The upside for the upcoming season has us beyond excited as Robert Woods should find his way to being very productive and a weekly performer.                

The Outlook:

As the Los Angeles Rams have stock piled a roster that on paper looks to be the front runners in competing in a very difficult NFC, Robert Woods could be somewhat of a forgotten man in terms of play-makers on this squad. While it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle with guys like Cooks, Gurley, and Goff receiving all the headlines, Woods is the constant professional that comes to work daily while putting his body on the line for his team. Robert has great hands teamed with above average speed while possessing a fantastic first step and solid route running which should help garner more targets this season from his quarterback. Offenses that employ vastly diverse schemes with multiple talents able to disguise their action usually have the most success in this league. A lot of attention will be forced to Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley this season leaving Woods a prime benefactor to reap the rewards. Barring injury and health issues, Woods should finally find his way north of 1000 yards receiving for the first time in his career on the 2018 campaign.

From the fantasy football perspective, Woods is an interesting player to draft and house on your roster for the upcoming season. We’ve had many discussions with fellow colleagues about the outlook of Woods, and the conversation seems to always steer toward the comparison of value between Woods and Kupp. While Cooper Kupp finished the season with more fantasy points then Woods, Robert missed time which allowed Kupp to propel himself over Woods in terms of final statistics. Woods finished the year ranked as the 32^nd best receiver in PPR (Point Per Reception) formats, generating a healthy 163.3 fantasy points in only twelve games played, equating to 13.6 points per contest. Had Robert played the entire season, his point totals would’ve eclipsed the 200 (217.6 based on average) point mark, making him sit around 15^th best in fantasy scoring for receivers. As of today, Woods holds an ADP (Average Draft Position) hovering around the 80 to 100 mark, essentially being selected in the late fifth to early seventh round, not bad for a player with the potential to garner over 200 fantasy points. While the ADP value meter might be a little high for Woods based on overall production, we simply can’t look away from the potential this offense has while having Woods become a massive part of that success. Woods should start the year as a weekly Flex player with the potential to move into a high end WR2. ADF fully supports Robert Woods in the 2018 season if selected with the correct value placement.