Week 6 at Miami Dolphins
Vernon Davis sat out last week with a concussion, and has been limited in practice this week. He gets a favorable matchup against the Dolphins if he does play, but it's worth monitoring his health status. Even if he does play, we don't expect a whole lot. He's just outside of TE1 range.
Week 5 vs. New England Patriots
Vernon Davis caught just one pass in Week 4. He hasn't been practicing leading up to Week 5's game against the Patriots as he deals with a concussion. He's not a good option if he does play. But if he sits out, and Jordan Reed remains out then Jeremy Sprinkle would be next in line. He's not a good option, either.
Week 4 at New York Giants
Vernon Davis went 2-30 on four targets in Week 3. If we take away his one big play of 48 yards this season, Davis has just 70 yards through three games. He'll continue to get playing time as Jordan Reed is sidelined, but he's not heavily involved in the offense. He'll make big plays here-and-there, as he did in Week 1 and several points in 2018, but he's not consistent enough to really rely on. He's a lower-end TE1 choice in a favorable matchup against the Giants.
Week 3 vs. Chicago Bears
Vernon Davis through two games this year has finished 4-59-1 and 3-29. That means he has 21.8 standard fantasy points on the season. Which also then means 54% of his fantasy points this season came on one play (a 48-yard touchdown). Davis may be 13th in standard fantasy scoring for tight ends this season, but it's not a clear picture. Davis isn't a strong fantasy option, especially in a tough matchup against the Bears in Week 3.
Week 2 vs. Dallas Cowboys
Jordan Reed was inactive last week, which led to Vernon Davis getting the start. He had a big 48-yard reception early, but finished the day with a 4-59 stat line on seven targets. Not bad overall, but when most the yards come on one play, it's a little worrisome for the future. Davis is just on the outside of TE1 territory, and that's only if Reed is inactive again. There's some speculation Reed could be back, and if that's the case, Davis isn't worth playing.
Week 1 at Philadelphia Eagles
Jordan Reed is in the concussion protocol. It's his seventh diagnosed concussion of his football career, which means Vernon Davis could see more action aside from just Week 1. Davis filled in on occasion last season, starting eight games. He averaged 33.4 yards in those seven starts, which isn't terrible, but he only caught 11 passes in those seven games. So you can likely expect about 2-3 receptions for somewhere between 30-40 yards from Davis, which makes him a TE2 option.
Week 15 at Jacksonville Jaguars
We're going to make this really simple for you. Washington has the lowest implied total in Week 15 at 14.5 points, a full 2.5 points lower than the next worst team. They are on their fourth quarterback. The running game has been extremely inefficient, and the starting tight end is injured now on top of previous injuries to wide receivers. There isn't a single Redskins player we feel comfortable starting in fantasy football for Week 15.
Week 11 vs. Houston Texans
Washington is a team that is built around its defense and ball-control offense. This team is third in time of possession, but for fantasy purposes, Washington has an implied team total in Week 11 of only 19.75 points. Only Oakland is lower. Vernon Davis flashed for seven targets two weeks ago but went back to just one last week. He's still just a Jordan Reed handcuff at this point.
Week 10 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vernon Davis flashed last week with Jordan Reed potentially getting banged up in the game, but he still needs to be viewed as just a handcuff to Reed in an offense that doesn't exactly exude excitement. The match-up is great, as the Bucs are bottom five in the league in aFPA to TEs, but given last week as the first time this season Davis had more than three targets, we remain skeptical as long as Jordan Reed is active.
Fantasy Upside
Vernon Davis's upside is tied to whether Jordan Reed is on the field and healthy. Reed missed 10 games last season, which allowed Davis to put up low-TE1 numbers from Week 8 on last season.
Fantasy Downside
Vernon Davis is a TE handcuff. He's worthless when Jordan Reed is active.
2018 Bottom Line
Only Jordan Reed owners should be drafting Vernon Davis and doing so only in best-ball leagues. Davis should remain on waivers in redraft leagues unless Reed suffers another injury.
