Will we ever have a normal, “expected” Sunday worth of football this season?
The Titans, after looking great against the Colts, had to eek out a win in overtime against the Browns. The Jaguars shutout the Colts, 27-0. The Rams shutout the Cardinals, 33-0. The freaking Chargers shutout the Broncos 21-0. If it weren’t for a garbage time touchdown to Julio Jones (thank the Fantasy Gods), the Patriots would have shutout the Falcons. There could have been FOUR shutouts this week.
My goodness.
What’s up is down and what’s down is up, just in time for Stranger Things season two. ARE YOU AS PUMPED ABOUT THAT AS I AM?? Because you should be. Stranger Things is amazing.
We all must try and survive in this crazy, mixed up world we call football, so here you are: the guys you should be instantly trying to add to your fantasy team (percent owned in Yahoo leagues).
QB Josh McCown, New York Jets (12 percent owned)
Am I crazy or is Josh McCown a good quarterback? He just put together his fourth multi-touchdown game and it was by far his best, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for one. McCown isn’t going to blow you away with his stats but he has been extremely consistent in recent weeks and with the quarterback injuries piling up, he’s a great name that’s still out there. I can’t believe I just said that. But, it’s true. Stash him. Or even start him. I don’t know what to expect from this NFL season anymore.
RB Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings (40 percent owned)
Of course it’s once I let down my guard and buy into the Jerick McKinnon hype that he does nothing and Murray reminds us all that actually he’s a pretty good running back. He put in work against the Ravens, rushing for 113 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. While maybe the production was helped by playing against a bad rush defense, don’t think the carries were a fluke. Murray’s carries have been steadily increasing over the past five weeks (2, 7, 12, 15, 18). He has a role and it’s here to stay.
RB Jalen Richards/DeAndre Washington, Oakland Raiders (11/3 percent owned)
It’s easy to forget that the Raiders and Chiefs played Thursday night and that in that game Marshawn Lynch was ejected for pushing a ref. He then watched the game from the stands and took a BART home in which he led a “F*ck the Chiefs” chant. We don’t deserve Marshawn Lynch. Anyways, as a result of his ejection, the league will suspend him next week against the Bills. Time to snag his backups. Both backs saw a much bigger workload Thursday after Lynch was ejected—13 carries for Richard, 10 for Washington—and it can be expected they’ll have significant roles in Week 8. If you need to pick between the two, Washington will likely be the early down/red zone back while Richards will have a role as a third down back/passing back. Take your pick.
RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers (1 percent owned)
You know it’s a weird season when some guy named Austin Ekeler is outscoring the likes of Devonta Freeman, Carlos Hyde and Doug Martin this week. But here we are. Ekeler has seen hints of action throughout the season, but this was by far his biggest day with seven carries for 38 yards and four catches for six yards and a receiving touchdown. Melvin Gordon has been dealing with nagging injuries and if he misses time, looks like Ekeler might be the guy who’d be starting in his stead.
WR Ted Ginn Jr, New Orleans Saints (51 percent owned)
Remember when I thought Michael Thomas was going to rip this league apart this season? Clearly I meant Ted Ginn Jr. Since the Saints’ bye in Week 5, Ginn has been on fire, hauling in 11 catches for 207 yards and a touchdown. He’s coming off a game against the Packers where he recorded a season high in receptions (7) and yards (141). Even with Willie Snead returning at some point, Ginn is quickly making the case for being Drew Brees’ second favorite target.
WR Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins (20 percent owned)
Who knew Kenny Stills just needed a little Moore, Matt in his life to score a bunch of points (see what I did there?). Once Jay Cutler left the game with a chest injury, Stills became Matt Moore’s favorite target, catching six balls for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The Dolphins are on a short week as they take on the Ravens Thursday night so a) it might be too soon to see Devante Parker back and b) we might not even see Cutler. But I can assure you Stills won’t mind that.
TE Tyler Kroft, Cincinnati Bengals (15 percent owned)
Kroft is back to remind you guys that all he does is catch touchdowns and score fantasy points. After an underwhelming performance against the Bills, Kroft came back to catch four balls for 23 yards and a touchdown this week against the Steelers. Next the Bengals face the Colts who (SHOCKER!) have a bad defense. So he’s likely to score many points in that game as well. He’s worth the add.
TE O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12 percent owned)
UNLEASH THE HOWARD! Finally we saw the dominate performance out of Howard that we’ve been waiting for. He was targeted season high six times, caught every single one of them for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Jameis Winston was whipping the ball around the field and Howard was reeling them in. If you’re tight end needy, I’d put my money on Howard’s role continuing to develop in Tampa. Don’t forget that he’s arguably the best tight end talent to come out since Gronk and the Bucs spent a first round pick on him. They want to get him the ball. Good things are coming.