Week 8 – Dwayne Bowe vs. St. Louis Rams
Last Sunday, Dwayne Bowe had his best game of the season, catching seven passes for 84 yards. While Bowe remains the one of the few receivers on the Kansas City roster with any type of credibility, he has yet to score a touchdown in 2014. Bowe has been doing a great job of perfecting the WR4 stereotype, but if you have to use him as a WR3, he won’t be a disaster.
Week 7 – Dwayne Bowe at San Diego Chargers
Purpose-based fantasy owners need to have purpose-based fantasy players. Based on his recent production, Dwayne Bowe’s purpose in life does not appear to involve helping your fantasy team win critical games. Bowe, supposedly Kansas City’s top receiver, is averaging 48.8 yards and 3.5 receptions per game, with zero trips to the end zone. It is still plausible Bowe will pick up the pace, but at the moment, Bowe is a bench player who does not merit a promotion into your lineup.
Week 5 – Dwayne Bowe at San Francisco 49ers
Who would have figured New England’s supposedly stingy pass defense would be just the tonic Dwayne Bowe needed? Bowe did not have a gigantic night against the Patriots, but he accumulated 81 yards on five receptions, by far his best performance of the season and a nice reward for the few owners who started him. Still, with San Francisco possessing a top ten pass defense and Travis Kelce stealing a lot of Bowe’s thunder, Dwayne remains a WR4 who is anything but a must-start.
Week 4 – Dwayne Bowe vs. New England Patriots
We would like to believe better days are ahead for Dwayne Bowe. After all, he finished strong last year and quarterback Alex Smith also played better down the stretch. But Bowe simply is not cutting it at the moment. Last Sunday in South Florida, Dwayne caught just three passes for 32 yards in Kansas City’s decisive victory over Miami. The emergence of tight end Travis Kelce even casts doubt about Dwayne’s status as Kansas City’s top receiver. Until he shows signs of getting back on track, leave Bowe on the bench.
Week 3 – Dwayne Bowe at Miami Dolphins
After missing the first game of the season because of a suspension, Dwayne Bowe did not return with a bang in Denver last weekend. He caught three passes for 40 yards as tight end Travis Kelce was Kansas City’s leading receiver. Miami’s pass defense has been middle-of-the-road so far, but Bowe has some work to do to regain the trust of fantasy owners. Keep him on the bench until he shows signs of life.
Week 2 – Dwayne Bowe at Denver Broncos
After sitting out week one because of a suspension, Dwayne Bowe returns to a Kansas City team badly in need of his services. The Chiefs looked lost without Bowe, getting drubbed 26-10 by the Tennessee Titans, a team no one picked to be the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl.
Although Denver took many steps to upgrade their defense in the offseason, they gave up 354 passing yards to the Colts last weekend. Kansas City does not possess the weapons the Colts do, but with a defense riddled by injuries, they probably will have to turn quarterback Alex Smith loose at some point to have a chance at staying in the game. Still, with Bowe likely to be rusty, he is at best a low-level WR3.
Heading into the 2013 season, many were hopeful that the arrival of head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Alex Smith would ignite Dwayne Bowe’s numbers. Instead, Bowe was one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy football. Bowe caught 57 passes for 673 yards, which were lower totals than he had in 2012 when the Chiefs went 2-14 and used hauntingly inept Brady Quinn at quarterback for a significant portion of the season. Still, the Chiefs went from the AFC West basement to the playoffs despite Bowe’s struggles and are pointed in a direction that could yield further offensive improvement. Should fantasy owners find a reason to believe or will Bowe burn them once again?
Fantasy Upside
In defense of Dwayne, it can take time to get immersed in a new system and develop harmony with a different signal caller. And if his play during the final stages of the 2013 season is any indication, the odds of Bowe being a disappointment will be slimmer in 2014. In Kansas City’s wild card loss to Indianapolis, Bowe caught eight passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. And while he had only five touchdowns during the regular season, three came after Kansas City’s bye in week 10. Chemistry with Smith ought to be less of an issue as the duo begins their second season together. His stock is depressed, so he should be available at a bargain rate compared to past years. By many accounts, he has made a better effort to come to camp in excellent physical condition. Although Bowe is not a number one receiver in the truest sense, he’s still the best Kansas City has to offer and will get the most targets among their wide receivers and tight ends.
Fantasy Downside
Last season, the Chiefs benefited from playing an easy schedule. They played three teams from the AFC South that had losing records and went 4-0 against the NFC East, where only Philadelphia finished on the plus side of the .500 ledger. This year, Kansas City will be playing the NFC West, which means battles with San Francisco, Arizona, St. Louis, and the world champion Seahawks are ahead. With Bowe being the top receiver on the Chiefs roster, he will be dueling with star cornerbacks like Arizona’s Patrick Peterson and Seattle’s Richard Sherman. They will also be playing the AFC East, which means Bowe will get the pleasure of squaring off with New England’s Darrelle Revis and Miami’s Brent Grimes. In division matchups with Denver, Bowe will have to match wits with Aqib Talib. If Bowe failed to post big numbers with an easy schedule, how well is he going to do when the going gets tougher? Jamaal Charles will remain the focal point of the Kansas City offense. Emerging tight end Travis Kelce might siphon off some targets. As if that wasn't enough, Bowe will miss the first regular season game. He was suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Bottom Line
In many ways, Bowe’s 2010 season remains a curse. He scored 15 touchdowns and has never been able to live up to expectations since that flash of brilliance. On the bright side, his value is low enough now that owners could land him as their WR4. If available at that rate, you could land a WR3 for a WR4 price. And even if Dwayne does not pan out as anything more than a WR4, he could be a reliable bench player.
