Blog

by Rob Willette, Scott Fish

QUARTERBACKS

Sam Darnold  – Jets – 16% rostered

Sam Darnold and his world-famous spleen returned to action Sunday, and he was so sublime he made the New York Jets appear like a genuine, professional football franchise.  Darnold eviscerated a talented Dallas secondary, throwing for 332 yards and a pair of scores while averaging over 10 yards per attempt. It was a welcome sight for fantasy owners who have reacted to a battered quarterback landscape by streaming the likes of Devlin Hodges and Luke Falk.  Darnold on Sunday built off his strong finish to the 2018 season, which is hardly an indicative sample-size which portends future success, but is one which supports my argument so I’ll roll with it. Darnold has the pedigree, and the Jets spent the offseason beefing up their offensive line and adding competent if unspectacular weapons.  You’ll want to avoid him against the Patriots next Monday, but the schedule softens considerably after then, including four straight smash spots in tilts with Miami/New York Giants/Washington/Oakland

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 20% in Superflex leageus, 5% in 1QB leagues

RUNNING BACKS

Latavius Murray – Cardinals – 47% rostered

Murray hasn’t been the back people expected when drafting in the late single digit rounds. They expected some version of Mark Ingram’s role with the Saints. This led to him being dropped in half of leagues and now just available enough to be worthy of a pickup here. With Alvin Kamara leaving the game for a moment last week and the Saints kicking the tires on Travaris Cadet. Kamara was already banged up heading into the game and should he miss games, Murray should be picked up everywhere

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 15%

Chase Edmonds – Cardinals – 34% rostered

Edmonds was a popular add prior to Week 6 when news broke David Johnson was dealing with a fairly significant back issue.  While DJ ultimately ended up playing and playing well, it was still an encouraging outing for Edmonds. Edmonds touched the ball 7 times – including the all-valuable redzone touch which resulted in a score – and was sprinkled in heavily behind Johnson in a game which featured plenty of offense.  The combination of Arizona’s offensive pace (they run plays at the second-highest rate in football, behind the Rams) and the production Edmonds has piled up with limited work makes him one of fantasy football’s highest-ceiling handcuffs, with standalone value in a pinch during bye weeks

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 5%

Darrell Henderson – Rams- 28% rostered

Sometimes – as most men over 45 will tell you – it just takes a minute.  A preseason darling after the Rams invested a 3rd round pick in him amidst concerns over the health of Todd Gurley’s knee, Henderson quickly faded from view after a whopping 1 touch through 5 weeks.  Yet there he was on Sunday, knifing through the 49ers elite defense and adding an element to the Rams’ backfield we haven’t seen since Gurley was at full strength. Henderson totaled 48 yards on 7 touches and has put himself in a position where he demands more touches moving forward.  As sad as it is, Gurley has just not looked the same this season and is now dealing with a quad injury. Malcolm Brown is a capable if uninspiring fill-in. Henderson could operate as a change-of-pace option when Gurley returns and few adds at this point of the year have the potential to be difference-makers like the Memphis product

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 5%

Mark Walton – Dolphins – 5% rostered

A back mired in a committee on the league’s worst team?  Man, now we’re lighting up this column. But sometimes being bad can be good for fantasy players, especially when they’ve shown capable in the passing game.  Walton saw 6 targets on Sunday and turned them into a 5/43 line, a good sign for his usage moving forward given the Dolphins are likely to be behind for 59 minutes each week.  The touchdowns are going to be few and far between; it is a crapshoot as to how Miami divides up its 6 touchdowns over the rest of the season. But a young player earning work for a team who has no reason not to see what it has in Walton is at least worthy of a look.  

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 2%

Benny Snell- Steelers – 2% rostered

Pittsburgh’s spin on a generic high school offense has been surprisingly effective, and the main beneficiaries have been the running backs.  While Sunday’s game against the Chargers was the first time Pittsburgh ran for over 100 yards as a team, they’ve elected to heavily involved their running backs in the passing game, largely due to limitations under center following Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending injury.  James Conner was torching the Chargers prior to getting dinged late, and if were he to miss any time, Benny Snell is the next man up. Snell is hardly an exciting add; he’s a limited athlete who struggles to create on his own. But he was dominant at Kentucky, and has enough receiving chops to maintain value.  We’re getting to the point in the season – with heavy byes – where even single week plays can be pivotal to a season. Keep an eye on Conner’s status and keep Snell dialed-up in case he misses time.

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 1%

WIDE RECEIVERS

Auden Tate – Bengals – 23% rostered

For as much as a Cincinnati Bengal can have a breakout party, Auden Tate did on Sunday.  He earned 12 targets from Andy Dalton, which – when I put them into my Dalton translator – equate to about 5 targets from a real QB – but you simply cannot ignore that volume.  Tate demonstrated what a wingspan can do for inaccurate quarterbacks, routinely utilizing his length Stretch Armstrong-style to pluck the ball out of the abyss. The absence of John Ross and mysterious timeline for A.J. Green’s recovery only adds to Tate’s value, and this Bengal team figures to be chucking it around the yard all season as they’re in catch-up mode from the second quarter on.  Tate was a good player at Florida State whose draft stock was submarined by poor testing, but he has the goods to produce given this offense’s very-focused, Rams-style target tree

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 30%

Jakobi Meyers – Patriots – 1% rostered

Mere weeks ago, the Patriots were running a three-wide set of Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman, and Josh Gordon.  One release and one Josh Gordon injury later, and Tom Brady was throwing the rock downfield to Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski.  While Olszewski is the better name, it is Meyers who deserves attention on the wire. Meyers dazzled in the preseason – outshining first round pick N’Keal Harry – and looked like a natural against the Giants, hauling in 4 passes for 54 yards.  Gordon appears to have avoided major injury, and Phillip Dorsett is likely due back soon, but this offense has all of a sudden become bereft of weapons on the outside. Meyers has worked his way into the mix, and is a worthy speculative add with weekly starter potential if the Patriots continue to battle injuries at the position.

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 5%

Tavon Austin – Cowboys – 0% rostered

It feels like Tavon Austin should be in his mid-thirties by now, but he’s only 28, and got extended run within the Dallas offense after Amari Cooper left the game early.  Austin secured 5-of-6 targets and showed run after the catch ability, routinely shedding the first tackler to pick up key first downs. Austin’s ceiling is extremely limited given the nature of his routes and Michael Gallup’s status as alpha receiver (should Cooper miss time) but he’s a passable bye week fill-in in deeper leagues for as long as Cooper is sidelined.

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 2%

TIGHT ENDS

Ricky Seals-Jones – Browns – 3% rostered

Like the equinox, Ricky Seals-Jones happens twice a year.  He pops up with a random big game and gets fantasy owners excited about another option at the barren Tight End position before fading into obscurity.  But maybe, just maybe one of these times he sticks, and he’s fresh off a 6 target game in which he was one of Baker Mayfield’s more trusted weapons. Beyond OBJ and Jarvis Landry, the Browns have struggled to find a third option with Rashard Higgins struggling to stay healthy and Antonio Callaway struggling to play football.  There’s opportunity here, and RSJ is a large man with good speed for his size. At the Tight End position, “you could do worse” is often the best compliment you can pay a waiver add, and it applies to RSJ here.

Charch Blind Bidding Recommendation: 5%