When Matt Doherty got off to a hot start, it raised eyebrows in the fantasy soccer community, but it seemed very few thought the Wolves' wing-back could keep it up. Fast forward to the present and the Ireland international is an established goal threat for his club, and a top-25 player in the ESPN game.
How is Doherty performing so well, and why did no one see it coming?
Doherty wasn't exactly an unknown coming into the season, having played all but one match for Wolves in the Championship last season, but he simply wasn't putting up the numbers to seem fantasy relevant. In fact, he has already recorded as many shots on target as he managed all of last season (12) and is just a goal and an assist short of his total 2017-18 goal contribution. If you were to look at the Irishman's production and profile this season compared to last, it would be quite easy to assume they were entirely different players.
To explain that, we first must take a circuitous path through Barry Douglas. In the preseason, many Wolves players were highly touted fantasy assets and, in defense, Douglas looked the best of the bunch. The left-back was a creative force last season, finishing the Championship campaign with the most assists in the league while creating more chances than any of the high-profile midfielders at his club.
Looking like a lock for fantasy success in the Premier League, what do Wolves do? They sell Douglas, of course, just two weeks before the season starts. While they found a positional replacement in Jonny Castro Otto, it quickly became evident that the Spaniard was less comfortable bombing forward than his predecessor. So, with Douglas gone, it was only inevitable that someone would have to pick up the creative slack and it's now become quite evident that Doherty is that someone.
While Doherty had not previously been asked to carry out much in the way of attacking duties, he seems to be well suited to it. He has already been a direct contributor on six goals this season, which is joint-best among all defenders in the Premier League. It also means that Doherty has been involved in nearly 40 percent of Wolves' goals. While he is providing far more going forward than he has in previous seasons, the change in role and the underlying statistics, point toward this being sustainable for the 26-year-old.
He is now top-three in every attacking category at his club, with Raul Jimenez the only player ahead of him in goals, shots on target, and assists, and Joao Moutinho the only player with more chances created. So, in Doherty, you have a player who is scoring like a forward and creating like a midfielder, while being listed as a defender.
Admittedly, calling Doherty a defender isn't entirely accurate, as his role in manager Nuno Espirito Santo's 3-4-3 formation really sees him play more as an all-purpose right midfielder. That to the side, he is listed as a defender in every fantasy game this season, so we will refer to him as such.
Now, at his position, the Wolves' man ranks top-ten in 64 percent of our positive scoring categories, taking top honors in both goals and shots on target. Also, while not present in our game, he has had the third most touches in the box, confirming just how frequently he is getting into scoring positions. While Doherty concedes some ground in the defensive categories, keeping him out of the discussion for the best defender in fantasy, he does more than enough to stand above the rest of his tier.
Among Tier 2 defenders, Doherty leads in points, points per game, goals, shots on target, and passes, while standing no worse than third in any other category. Because of this, he not only represents the best fantasy option but the most consistent one as well. He has now scored 10 or more points in the last three matches, making it a tier-high nine on the season. The only concern for the Wolves' defense, who rank top-five in the league by the by, is that they have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last eight matches. Fortunately, in our game, neither clean sheets nor goals conceded contribute towards an outfield player's point tally, removing the one potential speed bump for Doherty.
That last fact should prove quite helpful during the coming weeks as Wolves will face three top-10 attacking sides before the new calendar year begins. These big matches should not scare away managers from selecting Doherty, as he still averages more than nine points per game when facing clubs in the top six of the table. This makes him largely matchup-proof and an incredibly reliable asset at a position and tier that is so often in flux.
Doherty may not finish every week as the best Tier 2 defender, but that doesn't change the fact that he is the best Tier 2 defender, and is as close to a set-and-forget option as you'll find in our weekly game.