Showing posts with label Start'em. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Start'em. Show all posts

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Week 9 Fantasy Football TE Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Dalton Schultz is listed below as a "start" for Week 9. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 9 with him as my starting tight end.

Then again, Schultz may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster both Travis Kelce and Schultz, you should start Kelce and, in turn, bench Schultz.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 9 Fantasy Football TE Start'em

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys (vs. DEN)

Schultz had his worst performance of the season (two catches for 11 scoreless yards) on Sunday Night Football, but he was targeted seven times in the contest. That ended a four-week streak where he had performed as a top-10 fantasy tight end.

He has now been targeted a minimum of six times in six of seven games this season. Even though the Cowboys have already had their bye, Schultz is one of only six tight ends to have six-plus games with at least five targets and he ranks ninth among tight ends in targets per game (6.29) this season.

Even though the Denver Broncos have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends, the Cowboys have one of the week's top-three NFL implied totals. Given the consistent volume of targets and the TD equity this week, Schultz remains a strong TE1 play this week, especially with tight end Blake Jarwin (hip) not expected to play.

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. LAC)

Goedert finished Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions with six catches for 72 yards on seven targets. The game was a massive 38-point blowout, so Goedert's seven targets represented 43.75% of the team's target share. In addition, it was the second game without Zach Ertz, and the second consecutive game that Goedert reached the 70-yard mark.

Finishing the week as the TE7 in back-to-back weeks, Goedert should continue to benefit from the trade that sent Ertz to the desert. In addition, the Los Angeles Chargers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the position this season.

Albert Okwuegbunam, Denver Broncos (at DAL)

With Noah Fant (COVID) not expected to play in Week 9, Okwuegbunam should get sufficient targets to make him a viable streamer this week. In fact, Fant's likely absence pushes Albert O. into the top 12 (albeit at No. 12) of our rankings this week.

The Cowboys have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. As double-digit underdogs, the Broncos could be forced into catchup mode early in this one.

Week 9 Fantasy Football TE Sit'em

C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. CLE)

No tight end has finished more weeks as the overall TE1 than Uzomah, who has done so twice through eight weeks. In addition, he's one of two tight ends to score 20-plus (half-PPR) fantasy points in multiple games this season. The other is Travis Kelce.

That said, Uzomah has zero games with 10-19 fantasy points and in the weeks that he didn't finish as the overall TE1, he has finished outside the top-12 fantasy tight ends in scoring that week. Joe Burrow has connected with Uzomah for five touchdowns since Week 4, but Uzomah is more of a TD-dependent play in Week 9.

Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots (at CAR)

Once again, it's Hunter Henry inside the top 12 of our fantasy tight end rankings and Smith on the outside looking in. Smith hasn't been productive at any point this season, but he was targeted five-plus times in each of the team's first four games. Over the past four games, he has been targeted only twice in three of them.

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CHI)

Even though rookie tight ends tend to struggle to make meaningful impacts in their first season, Freiermuth has developed into a key part of Pittsburgh's passing offense. The rookie out of Penn State now has seven targets in back-to-back games and has finished as the weekly TE12 and TE2 in those weeks split by Pittsburgh's Week 7 bye.

That said, the Chicago Bears have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. I have Freiermuth ranked as a mid-tier TE2 this week.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Week 9 Fantasy Football WR Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Jaylen Waddle is listed below as a "start" for Week 9. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 9 with him as one of my starting wide receivers.

Then again, Waddle may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson and Waddle and start only two receivers, you should start Kupp and Jefferson and, in turn, bench Waddle.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 9 Fantasy Football WR Start'em

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins (vs. HOU)

DeVante Parker had eight catches for 85 yards on 11 targets, all season highs, in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills. That said, the Dolphins have since placed Parker (hamstring) on IR.

While Waddle finished Week 8 with only four catches for 29 yards, he was targeted a team-high 12 times. It was the third time in six games that Waddle had a minimum of 12 targets in a game. In the past three weeks, Waddle has a 27.66%, 20.0% and 32.43% target share, respectively. The rookie receiver is averaging only 8.6 yards per catch, but the target share should remain sky high with Parker out.

The Houston Texans have allowed the fifth-highest Y/A (14.44) to opposing wide receivers and eighth-highest catch rate (67.81%).

Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens (vs. MIN)

Heading into Week 9, Brown currently ranks inside the top 10 fantasy wide receivers regardless of scoring format. More impressive than his overall level of production is his week-to-week consistency.

Outside of two games where he finished outside the top 50 weekly wide receivers, Brown has been a top-18 fantasy wide receiver in his other five games. In fact, he's been a WR1 (top 12) in four of seven games this season. Only Cooper Kupp (six) has more top-12 weeks than Brown (four).

The Minnesota Vikings have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season. In addition, the Ravens have a top-five implied total this week.

Emmanuel Sanders, Buffalo Bills (at JAX)

Sanders had an 0-for last week as he failed to connect on any of Josh Allen's four targets. Before last week, however, Sanders had scored double-digit fantasy points in four consecutive games. In those four games, he finished the week as fantasy's WR4, WR32, WR14 and WR26, respectively.

Sanders is ranked as a top-25 option (high WR3) and gets a favorable matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. No team has a higher implied total and the Jaguars have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season. In addition, no team has allowed a higher catch rate (77.04%) to opposing wide receivers.

Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CHI)

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers passing offense have left a lot to be desired, but Johnson is a sure thing. Outside of a two-target Week 5, Johnson has double-digit targets in all five of his other games played this season. Outside of that two-target week, Johnson has a target share of 30% or greater in his other five games.

Along with Cooper Kupp (seven games), Tyreek Hill (five) and D.J. Moore (five), Johnson is one of four receivers to have double-digit targets in at least five games. Meanwhile, Johnson was inactive one week and Pittsburgh also had their bye as well. Given his consistently high target share, Johnson has a minimum of 70 receiving yards in five consecutive games.

Week 9 Fantasy Football WR Sit'em

Allen Robinson II, Chicago Bears (at PIT)

Things could not have gone much worse for fantasy managers that roster Robinson. Through eight weeks, Robinson has yet to finish any better than the weekly WR45 in fantasy football (half-PPR scoring). In fact, he is the WR64 this season (even worse on a per-game basis).

The Steelers have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season, but it's difficult to trust Robinson this week (or any week). Nearly a touchdown underdog in a game with the week's lowest total, the Bears have the lowest implied total of the week.

Laviska Shenault Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. BUF)

Before Jacksonville's Week 7 bye, Shenault's 10 targets were a reason for hope. Unfortunately, the second-year receiver posted a season-low 7.84% target share in Week 8 against the Seattle Seahawks. This was his second game with a sub-10% target share in his past three games played.

Given that the Jaguars have the second lowest implied total of the week and the Bills have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, this may be another disappointing week for Viska's fantasy managers.

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)

Good news first: Aiyuk had a season-high seven targets (25.93% target share) in Week 8. In the process, he finished with four catches for 45 yards, both of which either ties or sets a season high.

That's the first step towards getting things back on track for the former first-round pick. Given that Aiyuk had 4/37/1 on six targets in Week 3 (WR23) only to finish as the weekly WR97, WR76 and WR81 in his next three weeks played, it makes sense to take a wait-and-see approach with Aiyuk.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Week 9 Fantasy Football RB Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Khalil Herbert is listed below as a "start" for Week 9. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 9 with him as one of my starting running backs.

Then again, Herbert may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster Najee Harris, Joe Mixon and Herbert and start two running backs, you should start Harris and Mixon and, in turn, bench Herbert.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 9 Fantasy Football RB Start'em

Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (at PIT)

There are some indicators that would point to sitting (not starting) Herbert. The matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers is difficult -- only five teams are stingier when it comes to fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. In addition, no team has a lower implied total this week than the Bears.

That said, Herbert has emerged as a matchup-proof RB2 until David Montgomery is able to return.

In a timeshare with Damien Williams in Week 5, Herbert had 18 carries for 75 yards. Since then, it's been all Herbert even with Williams returning from the COVID list. From Weeks 5-8, only Derrick Henry (81) has more touches than Herbert (69). If we use average touches per game to adjust for byes, Herbert (23.0) would still be fifth over that stretch behind Najee Harris (29.5/G), Henry (27.0), Alvin Kamara (26.0) and Dalvin Cook (24.5).

Despite the difficult matchup, Herbert is a volume-based RB2 and he's performed well even in difficult matchups (only back to rush for 100 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season).

Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills (at JAX)

Buffalo's backfield usage has been split fairly evenly between Moss and Devin Singletary. Excluding Week 1 when Moss was inactive, Moss has 53.79% of the duo's touches this season.

Favored by more than two touchdowns, no team has a higher implied total in Week 9. Positive game script could lead to a few extra carries for the backs and Moss is more likely to get the goal-line touches.

In addition, Moss has a minimum of four targets in three consecutive games. During that three-game stretch, he has a team target share greater than 16% in two of those games.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons (at NO)

Even more so than the overall level of production, the week-to-week consistency has been even more surprising. Excluding Week 1, Patterson has finished as fantasy's (half-PPR) RB5, RB22, RB1, RB21, RB18 and RB13, respectively.

During that six-game stretch, C-Patt has double-digit touches and a minimum of five targets in every game. Furthermore, he has averaged 14.5 touches and 6.3 targets per game over that same span. Outside of Week 1, he has scored no fewer than 13.1 fantasy points (half-PPR).

Even without adjusting for Atlanta's bye week, Patterson has performed as a top-10 fantasy back regardless of scoring format. Even though the New Orleans Saints have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this season, starting Patterson is not a difficult choice for fantasy managers.

Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins (vs. HOU)

Rostering Gaskin has been a frustrating experience for fantasy managers. Week-to-week usage and production has felt like a roller coaster ride.

With Malcolm Brown placed on IR, Gaskin had 15-plus touches in back-to-back games for the first time this season. While it was an odd zero-target game for Gaskin in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, Gaskin has a minimum of four targets in each of his other seven games this season.

Given the matchup against the Houston Texans, the Dolphins are favored despite also having only one win. Positive game script should lead to another 15-touch performance (and cautious optimism) for Gaskin this week.

Week 9 Fantasy Football RB Sit'em

Latavius Murray, Baltimore Ravens (vs. MIN)

Murray is listed above, but this applies to any and all of Baltimore's running backs as a blanket sit'em. Since Week 3, a Ravens running back has reached double-digit touches in only two of five games.

Inactive in Week 7 and on a bye in Week 8, Murray had only a 24.0% and 23.68% team rushing share in his past two games, respectively. Murray has scored a touchdown in four of six games this season. He has finished as the week's RB22-RB31 in the games that he's scored and outside the top 50 when he didn't.

In other words, he's a TD-dependent flex option.

Adrian Peterson, Tennessee Titans (at LAR)

With the injury to Derrick Henry, the back-to-back rushing champion, the Titans have signed Peterson, fifth all-time on the NFL rushing yardage list. Even if it's likely that AP eventually handles the largest share of the workload for the Titans during Henry's absence, waiting a week to insert him into your lineup makes sense. Obviously, Henry's massive workload won't be shifted directly to Peterson. Jeremy McNichols will also see a significant workload bump and I actually have him ranked one spot ahead of Peterson.

Mike Davis, Atlanta Falcons (at NO)

Davis has finished as a top-24 fantasy back in only one game this season (Week 2). In a different week (Week 5 vs. the New York Jets, he had his only game this season with double-digit fantasy points.

Given Patterson's expanding role in the offense, Davis shouldn't be viewed as anything other than a flex option in a difficult matchup. To his credit, he has performed in the flex range (RB25-RB36) in five of seven games.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Week 9 Fantasy Football QB Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Joe Burrow is listed below as a "start" for Week 9. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 9 with him as my starting quarterback.

Then again, Burrow may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster both Patrick Mahomes and Burrow, you should start Mahomes and, in turn, bench Burrow.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 9 Fantasy Football QB Start'em

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. CLE)

One of the reasons I was higher than most on Burrow in the preseason was the expectation that Burrow would throw it often. While the volume hasn't materialized, Burrow has been extremely efficient.

Currently 22nd in the NFL in pass attempts (246), Burrow ranks sixth in passing yards (2,215), fourth in Y/A (9.0) and third in passing touchdowns (20). Burrow's 8.1 TD% is more than double his 3.2 TD% as a rookie. Reunited with Ja'Marr Chase, the duo has picked up where they left off during their historic run as LSU Tigers.

This week's cross-state matchup against the Cleveland Browns isn't ideal, but Burrow will look to extend his streak of impressive performances. The second-year quarterback has finished as fantasy's QB8, QB2 and QB10 over the past three weeks, respectively. In fact, he has thrown three touchdowns in three consecutive games and multiple touchdowns in every game this season.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (vs. HOU)

No team has allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season than the Buffalo Bills, so it was no surprise that Tagovailoa did not finish Week 8 as a top-12 fantasy quarterback. A rushing touchdown and two-point conversion led to a QB14 weekly finish.

Before last week, however, Tagovailoa had finished as the QB10 (Week 6) and QB1 (Week 7) in back-to-back favorable matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. In those two games, the second-year quarterback threw for 620 yards and six touchdowns.

As bad as the one-win Dolphins have been, they are favored this week against the Houston Texans, one of the few teams ranked lower than the Dolphins in our consensus Week 9 NFL Power Rankings. The Texans have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Topping our waiver-wire QB rankings for Week 9, Tagovailoa is a plug-and-play option for those looking for a bye-week replacement for Tom Brady or COVID-list replacement for Aaron Rodgers.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants (vs. LV)

Jones has been solid, not great, over the past couple of weeks. Facing the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 7 and 8, respectively, Jones has finished outside the top 12 (but inside the top 15) fantasy quarterbacks each week. While Jones is not an elite passer, he's an underrated dual-threat option. The former Duke Blue Devil ranks fifth among quarterbacks in rush attempts (46) and rushing yards (241).

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (at NYG)

Outside of a couple of disappointing performances in Weeks 4 and 5, Carr has scored a minimum of 20 fantasy points in his other five games this season. In those five games, Carr has thrown for a minimum of 323 passing yards and two touchdowns. Even though Carr has already had his bye, he is one of 10 quarterbacks to throw for either 300-plus yards and/or multiple touchdowns in at least six games this season.

Week 9 Fantasy Football QB Sit'em

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (at LAR)

The injury to Derrick Henry likely means that the Titans become more of a pass-oriented offense until he's able to return. Even so, a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams isn't necessarily the most fantasy-friendly for opposing quarterbacks.

Heading into Week 9, Tannehill has only one 300-yard game (Week 2) and only two games with multiple passing scores (although one of those was last week). On a positive note, Tannehill has a rushing score in two of his past three games and a total of three rushing scores this season.

Longer term, Tannehill may have more high-volume passing games with Henry sidelined and that has led me to bump him up a couple of spots in my rest-of-season fantasy rankings. This week, however, he's more of an upside QB2.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (at NO)

Like Tannehill and the Titans, Ryan and the Falcons have lost their top offensive playmaker. With Calvin Ridley stepping away, it's a more direct blow to Ryan's fantasy outlook.

Before last week, Ryan had thrown for multiple scores in five consecutive games, a stretch during which he had three 300-yard outings. Last week, however, Ryan completed 20-of-27 for a season-low 146 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Given a difficult matchup against the New Orleans Saints, who have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, Ryan is not a viable streamer this week.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CHI)

Roethlisberger has been mediocre, at best. On a positive note, he has 40-plus pass attempts in four of seven games and an average of 38.4 pass attempts per game. The bad news is that he doesn't do much with the volume.

Big Ben has only one 300-yard game (Week 3) and only one game with multiple passing touchdowns (Week 5). In addition, he has yet to finish any higher than the weekly QB18 and/or score more than 16.02 fantasy points in a game.

At best, he's a low-end QB2 for those in 2-QB or Super Flex leagues.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Week 7 Fantasy Football TE Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Ricky Seals-Jones is listed below as a "start" for Week 7. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 7 with him as my starting tight end.

Then again, Seals-Jones may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster both Travis Kelce and RSJ, you should start Kelce and, in turn, bench Seals-Jones.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 7 Fantasy Football TE Start'em

Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington Football Team (at GB)

Topping our list of fantasy football waiver wire options at tight end, Seals-Jones is still only rostered in 50% of Yahoo! leagues as of Saturday morning. If you still need a bye-week replacement, RSJ could be a viable option.

Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6, Seals-Jones had four catches for 58 yards and a score on six targets. It was his second consecutive solid performance with Logan Thomas on IR. In those two games, Seals-Jones almost never came off the field with 99% and 100% snap rates, respectively, and had a minimum of 15% target shares in both games.

The Green Bay Packers have allowed three top-five fantasy TE performances this season -- Juwan Johnson (Week 1, TE5), T.J. Hockenson (Week 2, TE3) and George Kittle (Week 3, TE4). As we head into a week with six teams on bye, RSJ is a plug-and-play option for at least one more week.

Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals (vs. HOU)

There are a couple of concerns with Ertz. A midseason trade could require an acclimation period as Ertz adjusts to his new team. In addition, the team's receiving corps goes four deep in terms of targets distribution. The team's top four receivers all have at least 28 targets (15.14% target share) through six weeks.

That said, Ertz was more productive for the Philadelphia Eagles than some might have expected and has a minimum of four catches in three of his past four games. During that span, he has finished as the TE7, TE13, TE54 and TE8, respectively.

Even if he doesn't extend his four-week 18%-plus team target share streak, Ertz gets the most favorable matchup of the weekend against the Houston Texans. Not only have the Texans allowed the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season, they have allowed a league-high five touchdowns to the position. In addition, the Cardinals have the week's second-highest implied total as 18-point favorites.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (vs. NYJ)

Henry had a season-low two targets in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, but he converted one of his two receptions into a touchdown to extend his scoring streak to three weeks. On the season, Henry is averaging a receiving line of 3.7/40.2/0.5. While not elite, that's certainly solid.

The Patriots are touchdown favorites over the New York Jets, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

Week 7 Fantasy Football TE Sit'em

Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers (vs. WAS)

Good news first: Tonyan had his second-best game of the season last week. The bad news? He scored two fantasy points (half-PPR) and ended with 10 receiving yards.

Outside of a Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions, Tonyan has no more than two catches, 10 yards or two fantasy points in any game this season. At this point of the season, Tonyan is droppable.

Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots (vs. NYJ)

Once again, if I have to play a Patriots tight end, I'd prefer Henry over Smith due to his consistency.

Smith is averaging career lows in Y/R (7.8) and Y/TGT (5.0) and he has zero top-12 weekly performances this season. Over the past four weeks, Smith has 14 yards or less in three of four games. During that same four-week stretch, he has finished the week as fantasy's TE50, TE15, TE27 and TE43, respectively. The TE15 performance was the one week this season in which he caught a touchdown.

Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks (vs. NO)

Everett returned in Week 6 and finished with two catches for 40 yards on three targets against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Russell Wilson out and Geno Smith in, the Seahawks have a bottom-five implied total this week. In addition, the defensive matchup isn't a favorable one, as the New Orleans Saints have allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Week 7 Fantasy Football WR Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Jaylen Waddle is listed below as a "start" for Week 7. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 7 with him as one of my starting receivers.

Then again, Waddle may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster Calvin Ridley, Chris Godwin and Waddle and start only two receivers, you should start Ridley and Godwin and, in turn, bench Waddle.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 7 Fantasy Football WR Start'em

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins (vs. ATL)

Waddle had the best game of his young career last week in London. The first-round rookie converted 10-of-13 targets into a career-high 70 yards and scored his second and third NFL touchdowns.

Especially if DeVante Parker misses another week, Waddle should be peppered with as many targets as he can handle. The Atlanta Falcons have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans (at ARI)

Cooks had nine catches for 89 yards on 13 targets in Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts. It was the third time this season that Cooks had nine catches and double-digit targets. Heading into Week 7, Cooks ranks fifth amongst wide receivers in receptions (40), eighth in targets (57) and 11th in receiving yards (481).

The Texans are this week's biggest underdog (18 points), so while their implied total is lowest of the week, the team should be throwing often and Cooks is a target hog (32.76% share). Even if Cooks fails to score his second touchdown of the season, the volume alone keeps him in the WR2 mix.

Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (vs. CAR)

Shepard left Week 3 early as he played only 34% of the team's snaps that week and then missed the next two games. In his other three games (90%-plus snap rates), Shepard had 7/113/1 on nine targets (Week 1), 9/94 on 10 targets (Week 2) and 10/76 on 14 targets (Week 6).

If we only look at the three weeks where Shepard played a full complement of snaps, he scored the ninth-most half-PPR fantasy points. In addition, he was tied with Adam Thielen for the most receptions (26), tied for fourth in targets (33) and was sixth in receiving yards (283) over that timespan.

Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots (vs. NYJ)

Meyers has a minimum of four catches and five targets in all six games this season. While he has yet to catch a touchdown in his NFL career, Meyers entered Week 7 with the 12th-most targets (52) and 11th-most receptions (36).

Even though he was quiet in his first matchup (4/38) against the New York Jets this season and the Jets have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers this season, a couple of their games were against teams missing their best receivers. For example, they played the Falcons without Calvin Ridley, the Titans without A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, etc.

In a week with six teams on bye, Meyers consistent volume makes him at least a low-end WR2.

Week 7 Fantasy Football WR Sit'em

Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (at BAL)

In Week 4, Boyd had nine catches for 118 yards on 11 targets (34.38%) target share. That game actually extended Boyd's streak of 30% target shares to three games. Since then, however, it's been a much different story.

Boyd had 4/24 on five targets (13.51%) and 1/7 on three targets (10.34%) in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively. What changed in Week 5? Tee Higgins returned from a two-game absence. Over the past two weeks, Boyd (eight) is a distant third among the team's wide receivers in targets behind rookie Ja'Marr Chase (16) and Higgins (13).

Especially against a top-five defense at limiting opposing fantasy wide receivers, it'll be difficult for the Bengals to support three viable wide receivers. Boyd is just outside my top 36 fantasy wide receivers in Week 7.

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (vs. IND)

Through five games, Aiyuk has eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets. The second-year receiver had more receiving yards in four of his final seven games played as a rookie.

On a (moderately) positive note, Aiyuk has a 14% target share or better in two of his past three games. If that number continues to trend upward, he would eventually beocme startable again. That said, he has finished outside of the top-75 fantasy wide receivers in four of five weeks. Given his low floor, fantasy managers are wise to continue to take a wait-and-see approach.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Week 7 Fantasy Football RB Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, James Conner is listed below as a "start" for Week 7. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 7 with him as one of my starting running backs.

Then again, Conner may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster Alvin Kamara, Jonathan Taylor and Conner and start two running backs, you should start Kamara and Taylor and, in turn, bench Conner.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 7 Fantasy Football RB Start'em

Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams (vs. DET)

For the majority of fantasy managers, Henderson has become an every-week starter regardless of matchup. In our Rest-of-Season (ROS) Fantasy Football Rankings, Henderson is the RB14.

Some of the running backs on bye this week include Austin Ekeler, Najee Harris, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and more. A week of rest for those elite backs means that Henderson catapults into our top three with a mouth-watering matchup against the Detroit Lions.

Favored by more than two touchdowns at home, the Rams should be feeding Henderson all of the touches that he can handle. In fact, it would not be a shock for Sony Michel to get a flex-viable volume of touches in garbage time.

In a 27-point win on Sunday, Henderson had a season-high 23 touches, but he has a minimum of 16 touches in every game that he has appeared. Yet to finish any worse than RB19 in half-PPR scoring, Henderson ranks top 12 in fantasy points despite missing a game this season.

In addition to having the week's highest implied total, the Lions have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. The Lions have allowed a league-high 12 touchdowns to opposing running backs, a league-high 93.1% catch rate, 9.44 Y/R (third-most) and 4.58 YPC (eighth-most). Regardless of how you slice it, this matchup gives Henderson RB1 overall upside.

[Note: If you roster Henderson, the good news is the Rams have another dream matchup (Houston Texans) in Week 8.]

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals (vs. HOU)

Mostly a non-factor in the receiving game, Conner has as many rushing touchdowns (five) as he has receptions (five). Only Derrick Henry (nine) has more rushing touchdowns this season than Conner, who has one of the week's highest TD equities. The unbeaten Cardinals are 18-point home favorites over the Houston Texans.

Only the Los Angeles Chargers (5.29) have allowed more yards per carry to opposing running backs than the Texans (5.15). Even though Conner has only finished as a top-30 fantasy running back in the weeks he has scored two touchdowns, the floor and ceiling are incredibly high this week.

Darrel Williams, Kansas City Chiefs (at TEN)

In last week's win, Williams carried the ball 21 times for 62 yards and two scores and added three catches for 27 yards on four targets. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Injured Reserve, Williams ended the week as fantasy's RB7 (half-PPR scoring). Only Dalvin Cook (31), Najee Harris (30) and Leonard Fournette (28) had more touches than Williams (24) last week.

While he may not get 24 touches again this week, the Chiefs are one of three teams with an implied total north of 30 points and the Titans-Chiefs game has the highest total (by a wide margin). Williams is a top-10 fantasy running back in our rankings this week.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons (at MIA)

Those waiting for Patterson's production to return to earth are still waiting. The only thing that was able to slow him down was the team's Week 6 bye.

Through the first five weeks of the season, Patterson has racked up 173 rushing yards, 25 catches for 295 yards and five total touchdowns. Even when we don't adjust for last week's bye, Patterson has scored the 10th-most fantasy points through Week 6.

Patterson played a season-high 46 offensive snaps (59%) with Calvin Ridley out in Week 5, but he had played only 23-26 offensive snaps per game in Weeks 1-4. If there's a concern it's the relatively modest snap counts, but he has been much more effective than Mike Davis.

The Dolphins have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Averaging more than 20 half-PPR fantasy points per game over his past four games, Patterson is ranked inside our top 10 fantasy running backs for Week 7.

Week 7 Fantasy Football RB Sit'em

Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (at TB)

Bye weeks may necessitate that we start players that we would otherwise prefer to sit. Herbert could be one of those for you this week (as he is for me in the Scott Fish Bowl). It was an easy choice to start the rookie running back last week, but the difficult matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes him more of a flex option even in a week with six teams on bye.

In the two games without David Montgomery, Herbert has carried the ball 37 times for 172 yards and a touchdown and added two catches for 15 yards. Damien Williams missed last week's game, but he has been activated for Week 7. Even so, The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain believes Herbert has leapfrogged Williams on the depth chart.

Tampa has allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and only the New Orleans Saints (2.84) have allowed fewer yards per carry to opposing running backs than the Bucs (3.39) this year. Not only are the Bears double-digit underdogs, but they rank in the bottom three this week in NFL implied totals.

Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins (vs. ATL)

One player that had a great game against the Buccaneers was Gaskin, who caught 10 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns and finished that week as fantasy's RB4. I had noted that week that Gaskin could have sneaky upside, only if we could trust his volume, since he's a talented receiving back and the Bucs are so stout against the run. Because I noted we couldn't trust the volume, I listed him as a "sit" that week.

In a game that should have been more favorable for the running backs in general, Gaskin had five carries for nine yards and two catches for five yards againt the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last week. As I've said before, we can't trust Gaskin or the Dolphins coaching staff to give him a consistent workload.

Here are Gaskin's workloads and weekly finishes over the past four weeks: 16 touches (RB32), two touches (RB77), 15 touches (RB4) and seven touches (RB49), respectively.

Unless forced to start him out of necessity, I'd prefer to keep Gaskin on my bench despite the plus matchup.

Kenyan Drake, Las Vegas Raiders (vs. PHI)

Scoring twice (once on the ground and once through the air), Drake had his best fantasy performance of the season (RB9) in Week 6. Even though he totaled a season-high 73 yards, Drake had only six touches and managed to play only 12 offensive snaps (21%).

In the first three weeks of the season, Drake had a minimum of 11 touches in each game. Since then, he has a total of only nine touches over his past three games. On such limited volume, it's highly unlikely that Drake is able to repeat his Week 6 performance.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Week 7 Fantasy Football QB Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Derek Carr is listed below as a "start" for Week 7. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 7 with him as my starting quarterback.

Then again, Carr may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster both Patrick Mahomes and Carr, you should start Mahomes and, in turn, bench Carr.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 7 Fantasy Football QB Start'em

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (vs. PHI)

Bouncing back from a couple of modest outings, Carr threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns against the Denver Broncos in Week 6. It was the fourth time in six games where Carr threw for more than 340 yards and multiple touchdowns. Entering Week 7, Carr ranks second in the NFL in passing yardage (1,946, 324.3/G).

With his bounce-back performance last week, Carr has now finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback in four games this season. Carr is one of just six quarterbacks to have as many QB1 performances this season.

Based on implied totals from Vegas odds, the Raiders are projected to score the eighth-most points in Week 7. Given that there are six teams on bye including top quarterback options like Josh Allen, Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert, Carr sits inside the top 10 of my weekly fantasy quarterback rankings.

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (at LV)

In back-to-back weeks and half of his games this season, Hurts has thrown for less than 200 yards. Despite a few lackluster passing performances, Hurts has finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback in all six games played this season.

Here is the full list of QBs with six top-10 outings this season: Hurts. (End of list.)

Even if Hurts doesn't post gaudy passing statistics, his dual-threat abilities raises his fantasy floor. Among quarterbacks, only Baltimore's Lamar Jackson has more rush attempts (64) and rushing yards (392) than Hurts (53/300). Coincidentally, all five of Hurts rushing scores have occured in the weeks where he has thrown for fewer than 200 yards. In addition, Hurts has yet to run fewer than seven times in any game this season.

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (vs. KC)

Derrick Henry has been as good as it gets this season. Tannehill has not.

Through six weeks, Tannehill has thrown for 216 yards or less in four games. In addition, he has thrown for multiple touchdowns in only one game (Week 3). Outside of the Week 3 performance (QB8), Tannehill has finished no better than QB17. Given the favorable matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, however, Tannehill has a chance to get back on track this week.

Only the Washington Football Team have allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season than the Chiefs. Taylor Heinicke struggled last week, but before that, the Chiefs had allowed four consecutive top-four weekly QB finishes. In addition, the Chiefs have allowed the third-highest Y/A (8.41) this season.

Week 7 Fantasy Football QB Sit'em

Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts (at SF)

Wentz has 17 fantasy points in three consecutive games and five of six games this season. On the year, he has thrown nine touchdowns and only one interception. After throwing a league-high 15 interceptions last season, Wentz has a league-low 0.5 INT%.

Even though Wentz has been playing well, he has only one top-12 fantasy performance this season. While the San Francisco 49ers have faced some of the best quarterbacks in the league (Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, etc.), they currently rank eighth in NFL pass defense (216.6 YPG allowed).

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears (at TB)

Only three teams -- and one of them (Los Angeles Chargers) has a bye -- have allowed more fantasy points this season than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Combine the matchup with his dual-threat upside and I will throw a few darts in DFS tournaments with Fields this weekend.

That said, the rookie has been mediocre (last week) to outright terrible (all other weeks) as a starter. Through four starts, Fields has completed 53.57% of his pass attempts for 140.5 yards per game and 6.69 yards per attempt and has thrown only two touchdowns. More disappointing from a fantasy perspective is the fact that he has run only 15 times for 68 yards during that stretch.

Given that it's incredibly difficult to run on the Buccaneers and the Bears are 11.5-point underdogs, Fields should throw it more often than last week's career high (27 attempts). While the upside is there if you trust the Bears coaching staff to put him in a better position to produce fantasy points, Fields is an upside QB2 in Week 7.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants (vs. CAR)

Leaving Week 5 early with a concussion, Jones had completed only five-of-13 pass attempts (38.5%) for 98 yards against the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 6, the former Duke Blue Devil completed 29-of-51 for 242 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions against the Los Angeles Rams. He committed a fourth turnover with his lost fumble.

Jones was fantasy's QB6 through the first four weeks, but he will look to shake off some rough outings over the past two weeks. While I wouldn't call the matchup against the Carolina Panthers a plus matchup, they have allowed three consecutive quarterbacks to finish with 23-plus fantasy points -- Dak Prescott (27.02, QB7), Jalen Hurts (23.92, QB7) and Kirk Cousins (28.52, QB2), respectively.

As the QB15 in my rankings, Jones is best-viewed as an upside QB2 (like Fields) this week.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Week 6 Fantasy Football TE Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

As an example, Dawson Knox is listed below as a "start" for Week 6. And I'd certainly be comfortable going into Week 6 with him as my starting tight end.

Then again, Knox may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you roster both Travis Kelce and Knox, you should start Kelce and, in turn, bench Knox.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 6 Fantasy Football TE Start'em

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills (at TEN)

The former Ole Miss tight end is having a breakout season. Other than Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews, no tight end has scored more fantasy points this season than Knox.

Targeted only four times against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, Knox had three catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. That performance extended Knox's streak of games with a score and top-12 weekly finishes to four weeks in a row. During that stretch, he has finished as fantasy's TE11, TE8, TE2 and TE4, respectively.

Once again, the Bills have one of the week's highest implied totals. While the Tennessee Titans have been one of the stingiest defenses to opposing tight ends, Knox remains one of the top options at the position this week.

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (vs. DAL)

While preseason ADPs meant that Jonnu Smith was off the board before Hunter Henry in the majority of fantasy football drafts, Henry has emerged as the team's TE1 over Smith.

Targets and target shares may not be very different between Henry (26, 13.9%) and Smith (23, 12.3%), but Henry has done much more with his targets. Henry has turned his 26 targets into 20 catches for 216 yards (10.8 Y/R) and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins (at JAX)

Since being a complete non-factor in Week 1, Gesicki has a minimum of three catches, six targets and 41 yards in four consecutive games. During that four-game span, he has a total of 22 catches (third-most among TEs), 31 targets (third-most), 227 yards (fifth-most) and a touchdown.

Given the injuries to the receiving corps, Gesicki should remain heavily involved in the passing game in a plus matchup this weekend. The Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys (at NE)

Entering Week 6, Schultz has scored the fourth-most fantasy points among tight ends regardless of scoring format. While his weekly upside isn't very high, his week-to-week consistency has exceeded all expectations. The former Stanford Cardinal has exactly six receptions in three consecutive games and in four of five games this season.

The Patriots are top four at limiting opposing tight ends in fantasy points. As the Patriots focus their defensive efforts on slowing the Cowboys running game or their talented wideouts (Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb), Schultz should once again be the recipient of plenty of targets from Dak Prescott to keep his fantasy floor high.

Week 6 Fantasy Football TE Sit'em

Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers (at CHI)

The Chicago Bears are one of the eight most difficult matchups for opposing tight ends this season. Given Tonyan's relative lack of involvement in the offense, those that drafted him as a back-end TE1 can no longer trust him in their lineups even in easy matchups.

Tonyan has eight receiving yards (or less) in four of five games this season. After a hyper-efficient 88.1% catch rate in 2020, Tonyan has a career-low 52.9% catch rate and is averaging only 4.8 yards per target, also a career low.

Jonnu Smith, New England Patriots (vs. DAL)

As noted above, Smith's target share isn't much different than Henry. That said, the tight end tandem hasn't been much of a dynamic duo.

Smith has parlayed his 23 targets into a 15/115/1 stat line. His 7.7 Y/R is the lowest of his career. The Cowboys offer a good matchup to opposing tight ends, but I'd much rather start Henry over Smith if given the choice.

Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns (vs. ARI)

The Browns scored 42 points in their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week, but outside of a two-point conversion, Hooper wasn't targeted despite logging 52 snaps (72%) in Week 5. Over the past three weeks, Hooper has eight targets, three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.

At this point, I'd actually prefer David Njoku over Hooper. That said, the Arizona Cardinals have allowed a league-low 4.04 fantasy points per game to the position this season.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content:

Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)