"You spin me right round, baby, right round..."
Sorry, I just thought that song lyric was appropriate at this moment. The never-ending carousel of changing starting quarterbacks continues as the Tennessee Titans have decided to start rookie Zach Mettenberger against the Houston Texans on Sunday, ESPN reported.
What are the fantasy implications of such a change?
Well, it's not as if the Titans' offense was spitting out fantasy studs left and right. But, receiver Kendall Wright, tight end Delanie Walker and running back Bishop Sankey are all owned in roughly 88% of leagues, despite the poor play from Jake Locker and Charlie Whitehurst. It's worth taking a look.
Walker started off the season hot, catching three touchdowns and producing 317 yards in his first four games. Since then, he's failed to reach the endzone and is coming off a one point output against a banged up Redskins defense. Wright has been maddeningly inconsistent, catching just one ball against the Jaguars before having a good game against Washington last week. He has three double-digit games on the season, but they have been sandwiched between forgettable performances. Sankey has been a fantasy nonfactor for every game except one.
The decision to go with Mettenberger lowers the middling value for Wright and Walker. Mettenberger was a sixth-round pick out of LSU, where he had a stellar career. The Tigers became the first team in college football to have a quarterback throw for more than 3,000 yards, two receivers eclipse the 1,000 yard mark and produce a 1,000 rusher, all in the same season.
But the NFL isn't college and, as we've seen, several rookie quarterbacks have struggled this year. Mettenberger has already thrown one interception this year in just five pass attempts. Rookie quarterbacks haven't exactly lit it up this season. I don't think he's the cure for Tennessee's offensive ailments, at least not yet. Not even NFL analyst and former player Ross Tucker thinks the rookie has a shot to stick around long.
To ease Mettenberger into a groove, coach Ken Wisenhunt will undoubtedly want to support him with a strong running game. That means more carries for Sankey, which is good for his prospects going forward. What he'll do with an extra workload remains to be seen. Sankey produced just 117 yards on 34 carries (3.4 yards per carry average) over the last two games.
I wouldn't trust any of them as starters on a consistent basis at this point.
