Hello, friends. Welcome back into another weekly roundup! We are approaching the fantasy playoffs, in this "cold open", I thought I would give you a rundown of how my leagues are going. I am in 12 leagues this year: 7 redraft (season long), 5 dynasty (2 standard startups, 1 experimental startup).
Miraculously, I am currently in playoff contention in 11 out of my 12 leagues. In the one league I am not in playoff contention, I am right on the bubble. On the other hand, there are a few of my leagues where I am right on the bubble of being OUT as well. Somehow, my biggest money league that I joined with a group of friends from Fantasy Football Twitter, I am in 1st place (9-1). I say "somehow" because that was by far my least favorite team that I drafted, but as the season plays out some of the picks I wasn't super fond of have really panned out, and I have been able to bounce back from some bad picks with key waiver wire acquisitions throughout the season.
Hopefully you are have a few playoff spots of your own locked down! The fantasy football playoffs will be here before you know it. Let's hop into this week's roundup!
Injuries:
DNP Week 10:
- Christian McCaffery - Shoulder *
- Joe Mixon - Foot
- David Johnson - Concussion (IR)
- Irv Smith Jr. - Groin
- JaMycal Hasty - Shoulder
- Chris Carson - Foot
Injured in Week 10:
- Drew Brees - Ribs *
- Teddy Bridgewater - Knee
- Matthew Stafford - Thumb
- Nick Foles - Hip
Returning from Injury:
- Austin Ekeler - Ankle *
- Bryan Edwards - Foot
After returning from a sprained ankle, Christian McCaffery swiftly returned to the injury report after injuring his shoulder late in the game vs. the Chiefs. It was initially thought that CMC might be back in week 11, but recent reports indicate that CMC is doubtful to play vs. the Lions this coming week.
The story of week 10 was injuries to starting QB's. The biggest name obviously being Drew Brees, who suffered multiple fractured ribs which led to a collapsed lung. Brees will miss significant time right in the heart of the playoff push for fantasy football.
Some videos have surfaced online showing Austin Ekeler running in a straight line at what appears to be full speed. Ekeler has missed the majority of the season with a serious hamstring injury, and boy have the Chargers (2-7) missed him. It is great to see Ekeler regaining straight line speed, but as a RB it will be important to see how his lateral agility is progressing after a soft tissue injury. I am not certain of exactly when Ekeler will be back in action, but this is an encouraging update nonetheless.
What I Learned From Week:
- The Miami Dolphins are going to ruin someone's season
The Dolphins are good. After the Bills loss to the Cardinals, the Fins are just one game out of the top spot in the AFC East. One year after 'Tank for Tua', Tua is 3-0 as a starter and the Dolphins boast one of the most opportunistic defense & special teams units in the NFL. Under the new CBA there is an additional playoff team per conference. If the season ended today, the Dolphins are the 6 seed in the AFC, and they are not a team I would want to face off against in a win or go home scenario. Also. the Fins's throwback unis are elite.
Photo: dolphinswire.com
- Hail Murray: amazing throw, miraculous catch
This will likely end up winning an ESPY, but who should it go to? Nuk has my vote. Not to sell Kyler short... he was scrambling for his life when he uncorked a BOMB. DeAndre Hopkins bested 3 Bills defenders who were all in great position to defend this pass. Hopkins just beat them all. This was one of the best plays that I have seen in recent memory.
Photo: sportingnews.com
- Diontae Johnson records first career 100+ yard game
I am a HUGE Diontae guy. This offseason I was able to snag a signed jersey, putting my money where my mouth was on a player that I had been hyping for months. I was somewhat shocked to find out that Diontae had not yet recorded a 100+ yard game in his young career. DJ has 5 games this season with double digit targets, and boy is he electric with the ball in his hands. In week 10 it took just one half for Diontae to rack up 6 catches for 116 yards and a TD, propelling the Steelers to another win, now 9-0. Sadly, Diontae was held without a catch in the second half of play, but still... huge shoutout to one of my favorite players, Diontae Johnson for his first 100 yard day.
Photo: steelerswire.usatoday.com
- Has Seattle been figured out?
On last week's podcast I mentioned Seattle as an enticing Super Bowl bound team, but not a team I was willing to put my chips on. Over the past few weeks we have seen why. Seattle has dropped 3 of their last 4 games, two of those losses coming to divisional rivals. Seattle has now slipped all the way down the 3rd in the NFC West. Just to contextualize how good this division is, the top 3 teams in this division are all 6-3. Russell Wilson has had a bad case of the turnovers (7 INTs in the last 4 games). If Seattle's offense is not firing on all cylinders, the Seahawks defense cannot be counted on to win them any games.
Drew Lock, not a lock, pt. 2
Since returning in week 6, Drew Lock has thrown 10 INT's... A 5 game span with 6 TD's vs. 10 INT's. The Broncos are 2-3 since Lock returned to action, that could easily be 1-4 or even 0-5. Lock remains on the hot seat as the Broncos, now 3-6, need to start thinking about future QB decisions ahead of a QB friendly 2021 NFL draft class.
- How many W's is Jameis going to eat?
Jameis Winston prioritized humility and growth when he signed with the Saints. Now with Brees expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks, the Jameis redemption train is gearing up to leave the station. The Saints are on the brink of the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Jameis Winston is hungry to prove his doubters wrong as he takes over an uber talented offense... we should all be excited to see how this plays out. Flashback: one of the first pieces I wrote upon the launch of A-Z FFB came shortly after Jameis Winston signed with the Saints, check out that article: Jameis Winston to he Saints, here is why it matters.
Photo: thespun.com
- Packers win ugly
The Jaguars stuck around much, much longer than I would have liked. This has been a trend with the Packers, especially when they encounter a physical football team. I think the Packers defense is talented, but they are not always physical. That MUST change as we approach the playoffs, because right now it is not a secret what you need to do to beat the Packers... just be more physical. That being said, the Pack currently hold the coveted No. 1 seed in the NFC. Under the new CBA, only the No. 1 seed will earn a playoff bye, so this is right where they want to be. The problem is teams like the Saints, Bucs and Cardinals are nipping at their heels.
- Bucs bounce back
A nearly 7 hour delay on the tarmac did not matter to the Bucs. After a margarita & a brewski, I saw the news that the Bucs were stuck on the airplane and somewhat sarcastically tweeted out that the Bucs would lose because of this nuisance of a delay. The fact that Twitter does not digest sarcasm well does not bode well for me, especially when I am in a position of giving advice... so just know that ahead of reading my tweets. Okay, business.. The Bucs beat the Panthers 46-23. Rojo had a 98 yard run. All 3 of the Bucs WR's had nice days. That is all.
Report Card:
Que the sad trombone. Let's go.
Starts:
- QB - Aaron Rodgers: It was a sloppy game by the Packers, but Aaron Rodgers came through with a QB 5 finish on the week. Rodgers threw for 325 yards & 2 TD's. He also added a rushing TD.
Photo: cheeseheadtv.com
- RB - Nick Chubb: On the podcast I said start Chubb with confidence as he made his return from the MCL injury. Chubb amassed 126 yards on 19 carries. Chubb scored the game's only TD, he should have easily scored a 2nd but he oh so nobly stepped out of bounds at the 1 yard line following a break away run of 50+ yards. Chubb finished as the RB 9 on the week, could have (and should have) been in the top 5.
- WR - Cooper Kupp: This was a trap, I fell right into it. OBVIOUSLY we should have been hype on Josh Reynolds. Kupp just missed WR 3 territory in one of the best 'on paper' matchups of the weekend. 5 catches for 50 yards was not what the doctor ordered, but that is what we got.
- TE - Dallas Goedert: The Eagles are entering Jets territory (with the exception of Miles Sanders). Carson Wentz is making the Eagles players un-startable in fantasy football. I don't want to deem all of these guys as un-startable YET, but that is the path they are on. Goedert caught 4 passes for just 34 yards. TE 15. Yikes.
Sits:
- QB - Kirk Cousins: Cousins put together one of his best games of the season on MNF vs. the Bears. Prior to week 10, in games where Cousins had 25+ passing attempts, the Vikings had lost all of those games. On MNF vs. the Bears, Cousins attempted 36 passes, completing 25 of those passes for 292 yards and 2 TD's. QB 11 on the week. Solid, not a sit.
- RB - Kalen Ballage: In true 2020 fashion, Kalen Ballage looked "good" for the second straight week. Ballage recorded 102 scrimmage yards, good enough for a RB 17 finish on the week.
- WR - Marvin Jones Jr.: This one was not thought through. I said "wow, the WFT is great vs. opposing WR's on the season". Then I stopped. Context would have told me that this defense has not played very many good opposing WR's this season. Jones balled out. 10 catches / 80 yards / 1 TD. WR 7 on the week. Whoops... lesson learned.
Photo: thefantasyauthority.com
- TE - N/A
My Score:
I have mentioned "my process" a few times throughout the season. Part of building out this process is learning to contextualize the matchups for players that I wouldn't be thinking about. Most of the players that I deem as starts & sits, I don't actually have on any of my own rosters. I am not invested, so I rely on statistics & analytics. We all know that can be a good or a bad thing. Stats and analytics have led me to some fantastic calls this season. Other times they have proved to be a lazy way out of actually digging for context. Caveat, that stuff takes time that I simply don't have right now, so my apologies for that!
Grade: C-
Popped Off | Dropped Off:
Popped Off:
- QB - Tom Brady - QB 1 | 31.85 pts.
28/39 passing / 341 yds. / 3 TD | 2 rush att. / 2 yds. / 1 TD
- QB - Kyler Murray - QB 2 | 29.9 pts.
22/32 passing / 245 yds. / 2 TD / 1 INT | 11 rush att. / 61 yds. / 2 TD
- RB - Alvin Kamara - RB 1 | 31.3 pts.
Rushing - 8 att. / 15 yds. / 2 TD | Receiving - 7 rec. / 83 yds. / 1 TD
- RB - Ronald Jones - RB 4 | 24.3 pts.
Rushing - 23 att. / 192 yds. / 1 TD | Receiving - 1 rec. / 6 yds.
- WR - Marquez Valdes-Scantling - WR 1 | 22.9 pts.
6 tgt. / 4 rec. / 149 yds. / 1 TD
- WR - Diontae Johnson - WR 5 | 20.6 pts.
11 tgt. / 5 rec. / 116 yds. / 1 TD
- WR - Tee Higgins - WR 9 | 19 pts.
9 tgt. / 7 rec. / 115 yds. / 1 TD
- TE - Rob Gronkowski - TE 1 | 12.1 pts.
3 tgt. / 2 rec. / 51 yds. / 1 TD
***
Dropped Off:
- QB - Russell Wilson - QB 21| 9.9 pts.
22/37 passing / 248 yds. / 0 TD / 2 INT | 8 rush att. / 60 yds.
- QB - Carson Wentz - QB 23 | 8.7 pts.
21/37 passing / 208 yds. / 0 TD | 2 rush att. / 4 yds.
- RB - Mike Davis - RB 32 | 6.4 pts.
Rushing - 7 att. / 32 yds. / 0 TD | Receiving - 4 rec. / 12 yds.
- RB - Leonard Fournette - RB 41 | 4 pts.
Rushing - 8 att. / 19 yds. / 0 TD | Receiving - 2 rec. / 11 yds.
- WR - Allen Robinson - WR 39 | 7.3 pts.
9 tgt. / 6 rec. / 43 yds. / 0 TD
- WR - Will Fuller - WR 46 | 6.3 pts.
8 tgt. / 5 rec. / 38 yds. / 0 TD
- WR - Michael Thomas - WR 70 | 3.7 pts.
7 tgt. / 2 rec. / 27 yds. / 0 TD
- TE - Noah Fant - TE 24 | 3.3 pts.
7 tgt. / 3 rec. / 18 yds. / 0 TD
- TE - Evan Engram - TE 27 | 2.5 pts.
3 tgt. / 2 rec. / 15 yds. / 0 TD
The Waiver Wire:
Quarterback:
Jameis Winston - 3% Rostered
Jameis gets his opportunity at redemption as he is expected to assume starting duties in Brees's absence. I do expect Taysom Hill to continue to be involved in a similar capacity, but I do think Winston is the QB you want while Brees is on the mend.
Kirk Cousins - 29% Rostered
Cousins has been efficient. It also helps that he has some of the best weapons in the game. Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen & rookie sensation Justin Jefferson are able to make Cousins look good. They also have Dallas next week... so Cousins should be in streaming consideration.
Running Back:
Damien Harris - 60% Rostered
Damien Harris is a name I mentioned a few weeks ago as one of the few relevant Patriots that I would be interested in. Last week Harris saw a true workhorse workload, 22 carries for 121 yards. The Patriots have reported that Sony Michel might be on his way back from IR, but Harris has looked pretty darn good over the past few weeks.
Salvon Ahmed - 8% Rostered
With the Dolphins waiving veteran RB, Jordan Howard, and Matt Breida battling a hamstring issue, Salvon Ahmed is in for a good amount of work in the coming weeks. Starting RB Myles Gaskin is still nursing a MCL injury. Last week Salvon Ahmed handled 21 carries for 85 yards and also found the end zone. He will play second fiddle to Gaskin when he returns, but as of right now Gaskin remains on IR.
Photo: nfl.com
Kalen Ballage - 21% Rostered
Kalen Ballage in a waiver wire section is about as 2020 as it can get. Ballage has maximized his opportunity with the Chargers and he does deserve to be talked about as a viable FLEX option until Justin Jackson and/or Austin Ekeler return to action.
Wide Receiver:
Jakobi Meyers - 48% Rostered
Meyers is my top WR add of the week. He has compiled back-to-back impressive games where he has been heavily involved. Last week vs. the Raves he even showed off his QB skills from his high school days. Meyers is Cam's favorite target, this will be your last opportunity to add him to your squad.
Photo: thecapitalsportsreport.com
Michael Pittman Jr. - 10% Rostered
Pittman had his breakout game last Thursday vs. the Titans. 7 receptions for 101 yards. He looked explosive and reliable, something the Colts have been dying for out of this WR core.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling - 18% Rostered
MVS has now stacked up two consecutive games that really impressed. This is exactly the kind of momentum that Green Bay has been looking for out of their young WR's while Allen Lazard is on the mend. MVS has the opportunity to build off of this momentum and really gain the trust of Aaron Rodgers, which certainly goes a long way.
Keelan Cole - 23% Rostered
Keelan Cole looked to be a favorite read for rookie Jake Luton who made his second start vs. Green Bay. Cole saw 7 targets, catching 5 of them for 47 yards and a score. Cole also added an impressive punt return TD.
Denzel Mims - 5% Rostered
Mims has amassed 18 targets in his first 3 starts of his rookie campaign. Joe Flacco is expected to get another start in week 11, but Same Darnold will be back soon. If Mims can be relevant with the ghost of Joe Flacco, Darnold should be a nice upgrade for the talented rookie. If you are in need of a WR Mims is at least worth a look.
Photo: msn.com
Tight End:
Logan Thomas - 36%
Thomas may have been the beneficiary of a passing game script, but he certainly made the most of it. He saw 6 targets for the second consecutive week and was able to turn that into 4 catches for 66 yards. Is that amazing? No, but in yet another year of TE being a baron wasteland, I'll take the super athletic guy who is getting targets.
Hopefully you enjoyed this article! If you did please consider giving me a follow on Twitter. You can find me @ZackFFB & @AtoZffb. We have some exciting projects coming up, you want want to miss out! Some announcements should be coming soon. Good luck in week 11! Be on the lookout for the Week 11 Preview podcast later this week. Check out all of our content here: https://linktr.ee/AtoZffb
Peace!
Zack Housholder