Why Fantasy football owners should continue to be patient with A.J. Green

I completely get it.

In drafting A.J. Green this year in fantasy football — which didn’t cost a ton after a 2019 mostly lost to injury — you hoped he could get back to being the wide receiver who had 964 yards or more in seven straight seasons, until his past two years were cut short.

But the Cincinnati Bengals vet hasn’t produced in his first two games — he’s grabbed just eight passes for 80 yards. Not great at all.

But there are signs that Green could be on his way to getting back to at least some of his past consistency.

Let’s start with what we saw Thursday night in the loss to the Cleveland Browns — at times, it was good coverage from Denzel Ward. At others, it was getting on the same page with rookie QB Joe Burrow.

That led to a frustrating night: just three catches on a whopping 13 targets. Sadly, targets don’t get points in fantasy.

But here’s the thing: getting targeted 13 times means Burrow likes looking his way. And at some point, as Green gets acclimated to NFL play again (remember, no preseason this year!) and Burrow learns his position, those targets will turn into catches.

This also caught my eye:

That tells me that WHEN they connect, it’s going to mean the yards will pile up. And after we saw Burrow throw a ton toward the end of the game, we know there’s going to be more volume.

So maybe you leave Green on the bench for the next week or so. But don’t drop him yet. There are signs some good stuff could be in store.