What a brutal week for injuries this week, it’s usually not good but when the number one player in fantasy football goes down there’s a HUGE hole that’s left in the wake of that with Derrick Henry officially scheduled to have foot surgery on Tuesday.
This week we’ve got four teams on a bye which makes working the waiver wire all that much more important.
Here are the teams who will be off this week: Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bucs, and Washington Football Team.
We’ll need to replace guys like D.K Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, D’Andre Swift, Tom Brady, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Terry McLaurin, and more.
Here’s how I see things this week for players to pick up.
As a rule of thumb, I won’t suggest any player who is over 50% rostered so you might have a realistic shot at actually acquiring them.
Quarterbacks
Taysom Hill, NO vs. ATL MNF (1% Rostered in ESPN Leagues)
With the news of Jameis Winston tearing his ACL last week against Tampa Bay Taysom Hill’s outlook for the remainder of the season skyrockets. Hill is working his way back from a concussion but it’s being reported that he’s on track to hopefully return this week against the rival Falcons. He offers rushing ability along with a strong but not always the most accurate arm.
Tua Tagovailoa, MIA vs. HOU (36% Rostered, ESPN)
It was a down week against a very stingy defense in the Buffalo Bills last week for Tua but this week offers a much more favorable match-up against the Houston Texans. The Texans rank 25th against opposing QB’s in fantasy points and you’re going to need to potentially replace a quarterback on a bye or someone with a tough match-up this week.
Running Backs
Alexander Mattison, MIN vs. DAL (43% Rostered, ESPN)
With as many teams that were on a bye last week, it seems like teams have had to make the difficult choice in dropping Mattison which may now be your gain. If he’s available in your league don’t walk, run to the waiver wire and grab him because as we’ve seen when Dalvin Cook misses time he’s an RB1 caliber option. He’s still available in more than 50% of leagues, GO GRAB HIM.
Jeremy McNichols/Adrian Peterson, TEN at LAR (2%/9% Rostered, ESPN)
With the news of Derrick Henry going down for perhaps the season the Titans need to pivot quick, fast, and in hurry. What should we expect from this young back and this former MVP back? It seems as though the 36 year-old will be the first and second down back with goal line upside and then McNichols will be the pass-catching third down back. I think Peterson will be the more valuable pick-up but at this point I’ll suggest both and we’ll see how things shake out.
Boston Scott PHI vs. LAC (5% Rostered, ESPN)
Welp, it looks like we were all wrong about Kenneth Gainwell last week as Boston Scott and the ghost of Jordan Howard was resurrected last week with both guys scoring two touchdowns each against the Lions last week. Boston Scott got the start last week and I think that should tell us what we need to know in terms of what we should expect out of the Philly backfield. In addition, he’s got a good match-up this week against the LA Chargers who rank 28th overall against opposing running backs.
Wide Receivers
Rashod Bateman, BAL vs. MIN (19% Rostered, ESPN)
If you missed out on Bateman last week when the Ravens were on a bye now you’re going to have fight with others in your league to acquire this talented young rookie wide-out. He’s still widely available and we’re not 100% just how good he’s going to be but as a high draft pick last season it seems the talent is there for a Baltimore offense that is always in need of talented pass catchers.
Van Jefferson, LAR vs. TEN (9% Rostered, ESPN)
The LA Rams have one of the most talented offenses in the entire NFL with a ton of talent across the board and while Van Jefferson isn’t one of the top options he’s still a talented option within one of the best offenses in the NFL. DeSean Jackson isn’t a thing anymore within the Rams offense and Jefferson is eating up targets over the past two weeks accounting for 13 while hauling in 7 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he’s got a great match-up this week facing the Titans who give up the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers all season.
Tight End
Dan Arnold, JAX vs. BUF (4% Rostered, ESPN)
I don’t love the match-up this week with the Bills but Dan Arnold has been a target hog as far as a tight end goes over the previous three games as he racked up 23 targets with 16 catches for 159 yards. However, he’s yet to score a touchdown this season which has limited his fantasy production but it seems as though the Jags want to involve him within the offense and I’ll take that over a more big boom/big bust tight end who we know can have terribly low floors.
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