Making the Case: Don’t sleep on A.J. Green this fantasy season

Every year there are a few players who are going too high, or too low. In this series, I’ll make my case for or against those players. Agree, disagree? Tell me why in the comments or on Twitter @NFLClark!

A.J. Green has been the model of consistency since posting a thousand yards and 7 TDs in his rookie season. In 2018, A.J. was the same old A.J., averaging over 13 points per game in standard scoring before injury ended his season in Week 8 (Green had 1 catch for 7 yards in Week 13 – I’ve made the executive decision to remove that game from the calculations).

Green’s cost is a greatly discounted (he’s going in the middle of the 3rd round in best-ball drafts even with some recent, positive press) with the RB-first-and-foremost strategy coming back in to fashion. And while the Bengals offensive line is still a concern, Cincinnati at least made a concerted effort to address the O-line in the offseason.

The Bengals took a shot on the Sean McVay coaching tree with the addition of new head coach Zac Taylor. It is unreasonable to think that Taylor will come in and immediately replicate what McVay did in Los Angeles, but it is not naive to have some hope for the Bengals offense to improve upon last year’s rank of 17^th in offensive points scored. For years fantasy fans have bemoaned the lack of creativity from Marvin Lewis and Bengals offense. Andy Dalton and Co. would only have to tread water for AJ to maintain his current value. If they take even a small step forward…

The only thing I can think of suppressing Green’s cost is injury concern. A.J. did miss half the season last year, and this is not the first time he’s missed significant time. Green did not suffer an injury expected to linger in to this season, though, and for the most part he’s been reliable, playing in 15 or 16 games in 5 of his 8 NFL seasons.

Don’t overthink this one, take the discount on Green.