By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
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Funchess had his best season in 2017, catching 63 passes for 840 yards and eight touchdowns. It wasn’t a huge year, but one that kept him in the fantasy discussion. Unfortunately, 2018 was a big step back statistically, and he looked destined to mire on a mediocre team’s wide receiver depth chart, but in came Frank Reich and the Colts to the rescue. The Colts aren’t a smash spot for him when it comes to available targets, but we know how efficient this team is in the passing game and Reich was extra motivated to pick Funchess up in free agency. Indianapolis used its tight ends and running backs often in the passing game last year, but that was in part due to a lack of depth at the wide receiver position. Reich knew he needed a strong No. 2 receiver and targeted Funchess.
At the NFL’s annual meeting in Arizona, Reich was effusive in his praise for Funchess, saying “I’m so excited about Devin. When I watch his tape, what I see is an athletic big man. I like to talk about having the route-running skill, this combination of having good feet, good instincts and good body control, and then what sometimes we refer to as body quickness it, helps you separate at the top of routes, it helps you get off versus press coverage. And Devin has all of that. And he’s got really good feet… I remember watching his tape coming out of college thinking, ‘This guy is a monster physically, and look at his feet. Watch the way this guy runs routes.’ I remember thinking this guy could play in the slot, the way he runs routes. He’s a big man, so the catch radius is massive.”
That praise isn’t just Reich trying to make the Colts’ signing look good. They gave Funchess $10 million with incentives for up to $13 million in 2019, and Reich has shown that he doesn’t just blow smoke to blow smoke. Last offseason, Reich had similar praise for Eric Ebron, who was also coming off some lackluster numbers and trouble with drops, and Ebron went on to have his best season, by far, with 13 touchdowns.
Funchess also gets a significant upgrade at quarterback going from Cam Newton to Andrew Luck. I’m a Newton fan, but much of his fantasy goodness has come from his rushing ability, which in the end cuts down on the overall attempts, yards and touchdown passes.
Warren Sharp of Sharp Football also took a deep dive into Funchess’ routes with the Panthers compared to the routes Luck threw in 2018. In that analysis, he found that “Funchess was absolutely OUTSTANDING (80% success) on the two routes Luck threw the most last year under Reich: curls and outs.” The sample size wasn’t huge for those routes, but under Reich, Funchess will get more work in the slot and with curls and outs, which is more in Funchess’ wheelhouse as a converted tight end with good feet and body control on contested catches, much like Alshon Jeffrey was with Reich as his offensive coordinator in Philadelphia.
Funchess won’t be asked to win outside regularly like he was with the Panthers. He obviously wasn’t as good lining up outside, as he had zero drops in 55 career NFL slot targets and 23 drops on 246 outside targets. Drops are fixable, and with his background as a tight end playing inside, his outstanding catch radius and ability to get to a ball, coupled with Newton’s sometimes erratic passing, Funchess was at a significant disadvantage in Ron Rivera’s offense. Reich will help accentuate Funchess’ strengths and put him in the right spots, likely around the red zone, to do the most damage. I expect Eric Ebron’s numbers to take a hit, but Funchess should quickly get back to his 2017 self with the ability for more this season.
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