Mohamed Sanu Fantasy: Is Patriots WR Worth Waiver Wire Pickup?

Patriots Trade

Getty Mohamed Sanu is the newest member of the New England Patriots.

Mohamed Sanu’s fantasy value after being traded to the Patriots receives a bit of an uptick. Sanu was already in the WR3 conversation despite being part of a crowded Falcons’ receiving group. The Patriots have been looking for help at wide receiver and Sanu has a chance to be the team’s WR2 behind Julian Edelman given some of Josh Gordon’s struggles this season.

While Sanu should have been rostered before the trade, the new Patriots receiver is still available in more than 50 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. This makes Sanu a must-add in leagues where he is somehow still available. With the Falcons, Sanu could be counted on for 10 to 12 fantasy points a game, but only scored one touchdown this season. Sanu should be more of a red-zone threat with Tom Brady and the Patriots.

So far this season, Sanu has 33 receptions for 313 yards and a touchdown. Sanu managed to be productive despite Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Austin Hooper eating up targets in Atlanta. If Sanu is already owned, you may have missed the window to acquire the receiver as his perceived value is likely to significantly increase after the trade.


Mohamed Sanu Is a Top Waiver Wire Pickup & Can Be Started as a WR3 in Week 8 vs. Browns

Sanu is owned in most deeper leagues but will be a top waiver wire pickup this week. The Patriots take on the Browns in Week 8, and Sanu should be viewed as a WR3. You would like to give Sanu a week with the Patriots before starting, but bye weeks may make this an unrealistic proposition.

Having attended several Falcons training camp practices, Sanu was one of the offensive players that consistently shined and the receiver brought that same production into the regular season. It may take Sanu some time to build the same chemistry with Tom Brady that he had with Matt Ryan. The good news is there is not as many mouths to feed with the Patriots as there was with the Falcons.


The Fact That the Patriots Gave Up a Second-Round Pick for Sanu Shows They Plan to Utilize the Wide Receiver

Sanu moves on from a Falcons offense averaging slightly more passing yards than the Patriots as the No. 2 ranked unit with 299 yards. Some of this is tied to the Falcons trailing in nearly every game and looking to play catch up. The good news for Sanu owners is that the Patriots are averaging more than 11 points per game than the Falcons.

Overall, this trade is not a massive boost in fantasy value for Sanu, but I would say the receiver should see a slight uptick in production. We could see Sanu post more games with 15+ fantasy points as the receiver does not have to battle Jones and Ridley for red-zone targets. It may take a few games for Sanu’s fantasy value with the Patriots to really kick in, but be patient as we can eventually expect the same sort of consistent production we saw with the Falcons.