Nothing says fantasy like spending 17 hours pouring over YouTube clips of a 2011 game between Southern Miss and the University of Houston all so you can figure out if Austin Davis is worth a long-term add as a QB2.
But that's what's going down this week folks, all so I can bring you our first official installment of "Who are you?"
Basically it's a column / research paper / online clip bonanza giving an in-depth look at unheralded players that are making a splash both in the real and fake game.
We'll get to Austin Davis, but for now we start with the top waiver-wire add of the week in Branden Oliver.
Who are you, Branden Oliver?
Rocking that No. 43, the University of Buffalo product looked like a fusion of former San Diego backups Darren Sproles and Mike Tolbert en route to a massive 30.20-point fantasy performance against the Jets.
At 5-foot-7 and 210 pounds Oliver is 20 pounds heavier than Sproles but a good 35 pounds lighter than Tolbert.
And while Oliver is not nearly as fast as Sproles, he does have some of that open-field shiftiness that has made Sproles such a tough cover.
Oliver also mixes in Tolbert-esque ability to absorb contact, keep the legs moving and grind out extra yards.
A little 6-yard catch in the second quarter showed that Oliver has big power. He took a hit straight on from a linebacker, powered past him, dropped his pad level to take on the next defender, powered past him as well and then was eventually forced out of bounds by another two defenders. He turned a 2-yard loss into a 6-yard gain.
Just six of the eye-popping 182 yards he racked up to go along with two touchdowns. But this type of production is nothing new for the standout from the Mid-American Conference who is used to heavy workloads and huge yardage figures.
During his last three years at Buffalo, Oliver had six games of 200-plus scrimmage yards. Even in an injury-riddled junior season where Oliver only played in seven games, he still managed to have two such games of 200-plus scrimmage yards.
And Oliver didn't work out of some quick-hitting spread offense. The vast majority of his yards came through tough ground work.
His senior season versus Ohio, he racked up 249 rushing yards on 34 carries where he showed power and an awesome stiff arm -- a great weapon he will use often in the NFL.
And if you thought Oliver was only smashing lesser competition, check him out versus a sixth-ranked Georgia team. In this one run versus the Bulldogs, Oliver literally showed off everything he does well.
The hole on that play completely collapsed but because Oliver has great vision and patience, he waited for the defenders to commit, then bounced to the outside. Once he was in the open field, the fluidity of his hips let him make a small move to cut inside and blow by the linebacker. The stiff arm at the end (surprise, surprise) allowed him to rack up another 10 yards before being dragged down.
His patience and subsequent burst was on display again Sunday versus the Jets when he waited for a hole to develop before dashing up the middle for a 15-yard score.
Thanks to being teammates with Khalil Mack, a large number of scouts ended up getting a look at Oliver, but his measureables were only so-so. Oliver ran an unimpressive 4.6 second 40-yard dash and pounded out 26 reps on the bench press. Both ok numbers for a running back but nothing that would shoot him up draft boards considering his small-school pedigree.
He went undrafted and wound up in San Diego. Truth be told, the Chargers could have found a gem in Oliver ... along with those wise enough to burn a very high waiver priority on him.
Expectations moving forward:
Some will worry that Oliver will cede work to Ryan Mathews once he returns, which could happen, but we still don't know Mathews' exact timetable to return. Worst case scenario for Oliver owners moving forward? Mathews comes back in two to three weeks and they split the load 50/50. Best case? Mathews comes back in five weeks and splits the load 50/50. Either way Oliver will continue to put up numbers. Play him as an RB2/flex every week with confidence.
Who are you, Austin Davis?
AUSTIN DAVIS IS THE BEST NFL QUARTERBACK FROM SOUTHERN MISS SINCE BRETT FAVRE!
What other analysis do you need?
Yeah, no, you probably do need a bit more than that but it's always fun to write "Brett Favre" in all caps.
So here you go, the third-string Rams quarterback was thrust into the spotlight after yet another ACL tear sidelined Sam Bradford and a quad injury sidelined the ancient Shaun Hill.
His first couple games were rough, especially in fantasy, where Davis put up five points in one half of work at home versus the Vikings, and then just nine points on the road versus Tampa Bay. Two teams that are not necessarily defensive powerhouses.
But then Davis went cray-cray versus Dallas and Philly putting up 20.98 and 26 fantasy points respectively, thus resulting in me digging up the aforementioned 2011 Southern Miss versus Houston tape.
Davis was a walk-on at Southern Miss, battled for the starting gig and ended up breaking Brett Favre's records for passing yards and touchdowns. Not bad.
He was a Conference USA All-Academic Team member and graduated with a degree in business administration while also finding the time to propose to his girlfriend at a basketball game. Sweet stuff!
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 220 pounds, Davis has respectable size for the position, but after a good career for the Golden Eagles he went undrafted in 2012. This despite actually receiving one-on-one tutelage from the old gunslinger himself.
"Who else would you want to work with other than Brett Favre?" Davis told Cox Sports TV. "Now, I don't have the arm strength that he does, so some of the things, I tell him, 'I can't do that Brett, I've got to lead the guy a little bit more than you did.'"
And it was that arm strength that was part of the reason Davis went undrafted. The NFL.com scouting report on Davis read in part, "He is a good athlete and an accurate short-intermediate passer ... Struggles with his deep ball at times ... It remains to be seen whether or not he has the type of zip on his ball to hit a deep 15-yard out in the NFL."
But while the arm strength is one issue, more problematic is that Davis seems to lock on to one receiver and fire, despite the coverages.
On film anyway, the decision making doesn't seem to have changed an appreciable amount. His senior year we saw the same proclivity to squeeze balls into tight windows, which can be great if the receiver makes the play, but in another play, Davis stared down one receiver, threw into a zone and paid the price by giving up a bad interception on a ball he should have never thrown.
If you watch it again, not only was the pocket clean, but Davis had a man wide open underneath on the other side of the field. If he had noticed the linebacker floating over, Davis could have turned and gunned it to his checkdown for a positive play. Instead it was an easy pick and great field position for Houston.
Expectations moving forward:
Despite two excellent weeks, it's hard for me to advocate Davis, even as a spot start, mostly because I see the turnovers becoming a serious problem. If some random guy with YouTube and a fantasy show can notice his tendencies, expect defensive coordinators to see it as well, running zone coverages underneath and daring Davis to go over the top, likely with a safety edging toward Brian Quick.
Plus, his schedule is brutal. The Rams take on San Francisco and Seattle at home and then go on the road for three consecutive weeks taking on Kansas City, the Niners again, and then Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals. Good luck, but no thanks.
-- James Koh is an anchor/reporter for NFL Network and the host of NFL Fantasy LIVE. Follow him on Twitter @JamesDKoh
