By MV November 9th 2015
I always start writing this article by reading the previous week’s article, sort of a where we were right and wrong. Well I said to use 100% of your remaining FAAB on DeAngelo Williams and I hope you got him. I said Bortles, Cutler and Carr at the QB position, nice. The only two I was “wrong” on was Vernon Davis and Malcolm Floyd. Vernon is learning the offense and is still on this week’s list while Malcolm Floyd suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of Monday Night Football.
The basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost of your pick-up beneath 20% of your total FAAB for any one player. There are always exceptions to this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.
Quarterbacks
Blake Bortles JAX – Blake had 2 interceptions, but who cares when you put up 381 yards and 2 touchdowns. He plays the Titans stingy pass defense twice over the next 2 weeks, but the Jets were supposed to be pretty good too. He sees a vanilla Baltimore next week and then San Diego in week 11. I’ll take that action.
Tyrod Taylor BUF – Somehow he managed to throw 168 yards to Sammy Watkins while only throwing for 181 total yards. He only had 13 yards combined passing to the rest of the team. That’s the Greg Roman I remember. Still when he is in at QB this team scores a lot. He rushed for 44 yards too. He is a good bet to play better in his next couple of starts at home against the Colts and Patriots. I love it.
Derek Carr OAK – C’mon is he still available? Carr and this offense is for real.
Running Backs
Christine Michael DAL – Same story as last week, Michael is worth a stash in deeper leagues. We love McFadden’s talent but we cannot keep total faith in him given his injury history.
David Cobb TEN – The Titans said that he showed up out of shape which is not great, but we still like his chances of taking the reins over Antonio Andrews. The Titans will want to get him involved when he comes back this week to see what he’s got.
Shaun Draughn SF – Shaun looks to be the lead back in San Francisco if Carlos Hyde does not return. Exciting right? But really, he had 16 carries for 58 and caught 4 of 5 targets for 38 yards.
Brandon Bolden NE – He is not startable yet, but if something were to happen to Blount, like say, Le’Veon Bell calls him over to play Madden or something and they get busted driving too fast leaving a Carl’s Jr. or an injury then he could be a decent spot start.
James White NE – James was a healthy scratch last week, but he will surely get a chance to be the best option to fill in pass-catching opportunities when the Patriots are running their fast tempo offense.
Karlos Williams BUF – Likely he was dropped in many leagues with missing the last number of weeks dealing with concussion recovery. This guy is perfect for this Roman offense, and if McCoy Thursday night then Karlos becomes a great start against the Jets. He is a decent emergency start even if Shady plays.
Marcel Reece OAK – Reece has been one of the best producing fullbacks in the league over the last several years. If Latavius Murray’s concussion holds him out ofr any length of time the Raiders will go to Reece to fill the void at RB. Taiwan Jones fumbled twice last week. Olawale is a big blocking back which makes Reece the most likely fill in. He would be a decent start in PPR leagues in this surprising high powered offense should Murray miss time.
Jordan Todman PIT – I will give you two words to believe in handcuffs in Pittsburgh: DeAngelo Williams.
Wide Receiver
Kamar Aiken BAL – Off the bye he still may be available. At this point Breshad Perriman was supposed to take over as the #1 wideout in Baltimore, but he still out indefinitely with a torn MCL. Harbaugh said that he hopes he can play week 13. Gulp.
Nate Washington HOU – Off the bye he may still be available.
Cecil Shorts HOU – Short pants may have lost his #2 WR title with the play of Washington, but he made the list as a speculative add now that he has resumed practice. He is a quick WR that has the ability to put together monster games quickly.
Dontrelle Inman SD – With Malcolm Floyd leaving MNF with a shoulder injury Dontrelle steps in as the #2 WR in San Diego. Not a bad place to be a wide receiver.
Cole Beasley DAL – The way it looked on Sunday is the way that I forecasted Cole Beasley for the year, but when Dez went down it forced Cole into a role that he cannot play. Now that Dez is back Cole becomes the dump off short yardage underneath guy. He should be a decent PPR start.
Dorial Green-Beckham TEN – Well he definitely has been eased in. He had 10 targets this week and caught half of them for 77 yards. I’m sure that this is a trend with the right trajectory.
Tight End
Vernon Davis DEN – OK, he scored zero in his first week with Denver, but give the guy a chance to read the playbook. We still like him as a #2 tight end down the stretch.
Garrett Celek SF – 2 catches for 12 yards, but with 2 big TD’s. Not terribly excited about this one, but in championship formats (1.5 ppr for TE’s) he could be a decent spot start as a flex.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB – ASJ should be rostered because of his opportunity to be a force during the fantasy playoffs. Excellent speculative add.