Last week we took a look at Jordan Akins who was headed to a breakout week before suffering a concussion against the Vikings. He should still be widely available if you need a tight end. This week we will be diving into a wide receiver on a team with a ton of potential. This week’s dynasty sleeper is Isaiah Ford. The seventh-round pick in 2017 has carved out a nice little role in the Miami Dolphins’ offense at the beginning of the 2020 season. According to MyFantasyLeague, he is only owned in 20% of leagues, so it shouldn’t be hard to attain Isaiah Ford at his current price.
2020 Season and Career
Isaiah Ford so far this season has 15 catches for 151 yards on 26 targets. He is currently WR75 in PPR scoring. In the first four games this season, Ford has received 5, 9, 2, and 10 targets respectively. He had a 7 for 76 yards performance in Week 2 and went 4 for 48 this past week.
The problem with Isaiah is that he has been battling with Jakeem Grant for playing time during the first few weeks of the season. Last week that changed, as he was second in snaps with 63% compared to the 43% Grant played. Ford has been on my radar since the beginning of the season, and I like the way he is trending. Isaiah Ford is currently getting 20.4% of the team’s air yards, which puts him just ahead of Preston Williams and second on the Dolphins.
He has been productive enough this season to use in emergency spots for fantasy, and this offense still has plenty of room for improvement with Tua waiting in the wings. Ford isn’t a burner with a 4.61 40-yard dash coming out of Virginia Tech, but he does have some abilities to become a dependable slot receiver in the NFL. Ford has done most of his work in the slot coming in at fifth in the league in slot snaps according to Player Profiler. As you can see, Player Profiler gives Ford a nice comparable of Tyler Boyd. This is huge if you are looking for upside. Ford has that potential, however, he needs to continue to stave off Grant for that to come to fruition.
He has seemingly come from nowhere. Last season in Weeks 14-17 Ford averaged seven targets a game and over 58.75 yards a game to close out the 2019 season. In 2020 he has seen the majority of his work when the team is trailing. The good news for Ford is the Dolphins are currently 1-3 and spend a lot of time trailing. Isaiah Ford has 13 catches and 135 yards when the team is trailing and only two catches for 14 yards when leading. Preston Williams, who was a darling of the dynasty community, has been far less productive than Ford so far after four weeks. If Ford can continue to grow his role on this team, he could have some mid-season appeal as we head into the second quarter of the season.
Future Outlook
While Ford brings you some appeal this season going forward, I believe that Ford also brings some value to your receiver position beyond this season. This Dolphins’ offense through Week 3 was 15th and was 22nd the week before that. The offense could stand for some improvement. The future is right around the corner with Tua Tagolvailoa currently on the sidelines looking to take over for this franchise. Ford is currently on a one year deal but is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. I could see the Dolphins re-signing him as a cheap option as they turn the reigns over to Tagolvailoa. The slot receiver in this offense will be extremely valuable for a quarterback that made his money on passes between the hashes at Alabama.
Ford has an opportunity here to capitalize on his current situation and move it into a longer-term contract on a team with promise. If he can keep building the rapport with Chan Gailey and this coaching staff, he could be a gem at the end of your bench that can bring you some WR 4 upside. While others on this offense struggle, grab Ford now, and if his role continues to grow, which I predict it will, we will all be happy dynasty owners going forward. I believe that there is an opportunity for Ford in this Dolphins offense. Whether Ford can grasp it is another question. At this point though, the reward is far greater than the risk in my opinion.
Watch Isaiah Ford Mic’d Up
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xSyo_rwXv4[/embedyt]
Previous Dynasty Sleepers of the Week
Thanks for checking out this week’s Sleeper of the Week. I look forward to Week 5 action and finding you some more gems throughout the season. You can follow me at @Cmoney52 on Twitter. You can message me or shoot me a tweet if there are players you would like to be featured in this segment.
