To all of you who won your first playoff matchup, congratulations! Good luck in the semi-finals, and don’t be afraid to churn and burn those roster spots to give you the best chance to win.
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Running Backs
Lynn Bowden Jr., Miami Dolphins (3% rostership on Yahoo/1% on ESPN)
First off, I want to say that Lynn Bowden Jr. is only really interesting if he keeps the RB designation, as otherwise he’s just a decent PPR WR. However, with how shallow RB has been, he is a fantastic PPR option there, kind of like a Nyheim Hines or JD McKissic, given the injury woes that the Dolphins have had. They need all hands on deck with a lot of their top players hurt or sick, and Bowden Jr. has really stepped up to the plate. He’s had 13 targets and 120 yards receiving in the last two games, and that kind of workload is insanely helpful in PPR leagues at running back.
Jeff Wilson Jr., San Francisco 49ers (19%/14%)
The Dallas Cowboys are one of the worst teams in the league against the run, so while Jeff Wilson Jr. is indeed sharing the backfield with Raheem Mostert, they are about to play a team that can easily give up big days to two running backs at once. The 49ers have shown that they will split the workload, and Wilson Jr. does get high value touches near the goal line, so he’s definitely in line to score at least one touchdown. This is certainly a bit of a desperation play, but this is a high ceiling desperation play.
Wide Receivers
Nelson Agholor, Las Vegas Raiders (36% rostership on Yahoo/38%)
Early in the year, it was easy to discount what Nelson Agholor was doing because he had incredible touchdown luck. At one point this season, he had three touchdowns on 11 targets! But now, things have changed. Agholor’s involvement in the offense has skyrocketed, and he’s averaged 9 targets per game over the past four games, a period of time in which he has averaged 15 points per game. We have to take him seriously, and he has a pretty good matchup this week against the Chargers in what will likely be a shootout.
Other streamers I like this week are: Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy, against Buffalo, Marquez Valdes-Scantling against Carolina, Michael Pittman Jr. against Houston, and Danny Amendola against Tennessee. They are all pretty similar dart throws to me so go with whichever matchup you like best.
Tight Ends
Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team (58%/59%)
If I asked you to guess, where would you think Logan Thomas ranks so far in the season at TE in PPR leagues? If you said 8th, you would be right, and even more impressive, he’s only 5 points behind TE6 Mark Andrews. That’s because Thomas has averaged 12.1 points per game in PPR over his past 8 games, and has scored in double digits 6 times in that span. He has been incredibly reliable since his slow start to the season, and that isn’t going to change any time soon. There isn’t a single TE under 70% rostership who has his kind of consistency, so if you’ve been streaming tight end like me, go ahead and stop doing that and snag yourself a guy who very easily could finish the season as the TE5.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears (8%/7%)
If you are really desperate at tight end, then look no further than the guy who has had his snap share increase from 47% to 85% over the past five weeks, and who has received 7 targets in each of the last two weeks. Do I love this play? No, I’d much rather have a tight end that I can trust. But there’s only like three of those guys anyway, and Kmet has been solid enough at TE that he won’t lose you the week all by himself.
Quarterbacks
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (18%/14%)
We were all terrified of the Saints defense, and for good reason, but Jalen Hurts showed us all that he can be a successful quarterback in this league. He at least has a good rushing floor for fantasy purposes, making him an excellent streaming option the next two weeks against the Cardinals and the Cowboys. If you are streaming at QB, Hurts is a solid option.
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (38%/26%)
I have a feeling that Baker Mayfield is going to be a lot of people’s top waiver pickup after last night’s game of the year, and he has two nice matchups in weeks 15 and 16 against the two New York teams. While the Giants did just make Russell Wilson look mortal, that had more to do with the horrific offensive line that Seattle has, and Cleveland’s O-Line is much better than that. Mayfield has looked more like the QB we fell in love with during his rookie year, and I think as long as they aren’t playing in that terrible Cleveland wind, he’s got a good chance at being a Top-10 QB in weeks 15 and 16.
Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts (40%/25%)
If you need someone with a high floor, then Philip Rivers is your man. He’s scored 16+ points in 7 of his last 8 games, and above 19 points in 4 of the last 8. His one clunker was against the Ravens, who eat opposing QBs alive, and he’s got the Texans this week, who get eaten alive by QBs. This isn’t the sexiest play you could make, but sometimes you need to be able to pencil in points at QB so you can take your big shots elsewhere.
(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire)