Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Week 9 has arrived and we're still square in the middle of bye-week hell. I hope that you can utilize these rankings to bolster your bench and make some smart decisions about fill-in players during these tough times toward the end of the fantasy season. Remember, we're going for the championship here! Fight through the tough stuff.

Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck this season and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

It's championship week, and we've got rankings for you to mull over while deciding on your final lineups.. this week is an interesting one, as players like James Conner, and Austin Hooper find themselves firmly back within starting territory on fantasy squads while we also say goodbye to some of those studs at their positions that got you there in the first place - namely Chris Godwin and Dalvin Cook (watch the news closely, he may be on the sidelines for Weeks 16 &17). There are also some huge questions marks on players like T.Y. Hilton and Adam Thielen. Check out this week's Fantasy Finish Line podcast for the lowdown on the story so far this week and how it may develop leading into the final weekend of most fantasy leagues. Best of luck in the big game!

Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck this season and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

Welcome to Statistically (in)Significant, the place to find great stats that probably only matter at the water cooler (or bar). Each week I'll dig through the stats of the week gone by and deliver you some choice conversation starters. All fantasy stats are standard Yahoo scoring unless otherwise noted.

158.3 Passer Rating

The NFL’s all-time leader in passer rating, Aaron Rodgers (with 103.2 for his career) finally posted his very first game with a perfect passer rating on Sunday. Rodgers went 25/31 for 429 yards and 5 TDs, adding another TD on the ground in perhaps the best game of his career. This was good for 43.76 fantasy points, which is 10 more than the next closest player this week. Perhaps Rodgers has finally figured out the new system that has been implemented in Green Bay this year. While they have done fantastic in the win-loss column, they definitely have not looked like the juggernaut offense that we all expected from a team led by Aaron Rodgers, until this week. This game was domination from start to finish, with Rodgers throwing for a TD in every quarter, and also spreading the love. All 5 TDs went to 5 different players. Honorable mention goes to Marquez Valdes-Scanting, who averaged 66.5 yards per reception (2 catches for 133 yards and 1 TD).

576 Rushing Yards

Lamar Jackson, after fooling us all with only 6 rushing yards in Week 1, just posted his third game out of the last 6 where we went over 100 rushing yards. This is a historic pace and projects to 1,316 yards over 16 games. If Jackson can keep this up, he will crush the single-season record by Mike Vick, which is 1,039 yards back in 2006. Jackson also continued his fantasy dominance, leading the league with 180.6 total fantasy points in 7 games. When you consider that he has not thrown for a TD in the last two games, this is just amazing. Not bad for a guy who was drafted 106^th overall on average (QB14). He’s the kind of player that allows for league dominance when you can find that kind of value. To further put Jackson’s rushing dominance in perspective, he’s on pace to break Vick’s career total of 6,109 rushing yards in only 111 games, versus Vick’s career 143 games. That’s two full seasons worth of games.

9% of Yahoo Leagues

This week’s leading RB scorer was Chase Edmonds, who was started in only 9% of Yahoo leagues on Sunday. Currently, he’s owned in 48% of leagues, which includes a 14% jump from yesterday. To me, this means that 14% of Yahoo leagues probably do not operate with a waiver system, which is bizarre to me, but I digress. Edmonds was able to dominate the Giants non-existent rushing defense, scoring 3 TDs all from at least 20 yards or more. Edmonds will definitely be the #1 waiver wire pickup this week, and deservedly so. It looks like David Johnson might wind up sitting a week or two, considering he spent almost all of Week 7 on the sideline and the Cardinals were able to win with only 104 passing yards. Edmonds’ 33 points basically doubled up the rest of his entire team combined, which was led by Kyler Murray’s whopping 6.96 points. On a side note, Murray joined Patrick Mahomes and Matt Ryan in the formerly high-floor group falling back to earth. At least Murray doesn’t have an injury he’s nursing.

1 of the Top 10 Fantasy Performers

Only one of the top 10 fantasy performances turned in this week was by a player owned in 100% of Yahoo leagues. To give some context, there are 23 players owned in 100% of leagues and another 15 owned in 99% of leagues. This is usually a stat that I like to track early in the season to find out who’s performing that we weren’t expecting. To see this kind of disparity halfway in the fantasy season means that we’re probably flat out ignoring some players. And I think we are – guys like Matt Stafford (58% owned) who is the QB8 in points per game, Jacoby Brissett (48% owned) who is QB10 in the same category and Kirk Cousins (64% owned), who is averaging 26 points per game the last 3 weeks. Throw in big performances by Latavius Murray and Marvin Jones and you have an average ownership of just 75% across the top 10 fantasy performers in Week 7. This is probably just a fluky week, but I think it’s time to take notice of a few of the QBs that fantasy players seem to insist on not rolling out there.

104 Rush Yards Per Game

The NFL’s rushing yards leader is currently Dalvin Cook, with 725 yards across 7 games. There’s only been one 200+ yard performance this season (Leonard Fournette, 225 yards, Week 4), so we’re lacking the gaudy totals that we have seen in previous years. But, none of that really matters to fantasy players as long as your guys are finding the end zone as well, which is what Cook is doing. Cook has scored 8 TDs on the season, which is tied with Aaron Jones for the league lead. Cook has also managed to have an amazing points floor, never scoring below 11.4 points on the season. Only Ezekiel Elliott can claim such a double-digit elite status. Even super fantasy RB Christian McCaffrey (who still leads Cook in points despite having his bye week already) cannot claim such a floor. Cook and McCaffrey sit alone in tier 1, about 30 points above the tier two guys, who all have 107-111 points. Cook’s ADP of RB10 this season makes him one of the few second round “steals” that are pretty rare any year.

QUARTERBACK

Matthew Stafford (fractured back) – Just checking in, Matt. It’s been 4 weeks since he’s been out there and since then the over-performing Jeff Driskel was sent to IR. The Lions are 3-8-1 and eliminated from the playoffs, so what’s the reason that Stafford is still around? Really, I feel like the Lions are just afraid to slap an IR tag on Stafford because that officially means that they are done. Does anyone think that Stafford will make more starts this year? I don’t.

Daniel Jones(moderate high-ankle sprain) – While you can recover from a more common lateral ankle sprain in less than a week, the usual recovery time for a high-ankle sprain can take as long as 6 weeks. A milder variety may take a couple of weeks if everything is going well and it seems like that’s what Jones has been diagnosed with here. As the Giants are currently 2-10, they are certainly in no danger of making the playoffs and the organization will want to take it easy with their future QB. All of this means that for the next few weeks, the man under center for the Giants will be none other than Eli Manning. What will the reintroduction of Manning do for the offense? It will likely bring with it more check downs to Barkley, lots of shorter passes, and a veteran presence that is able to mitigate some of the turnovers that the Giants were experiencing with Jones. That said, Manning was also turning over the ball at the beginning of the year, throwing 2 passing TDs but also 2 interceptions and responsible for 2 fumbles, all in just 2 games. Ultimately, I’m looking at Barkley and Engram as slightly upgraded and the rest as being an unpredictable mess. Best of luck with it!

Baker Mayfield (hand) – Mayfield smashed his throwing hand against Pittsburgh pass rusher Bud Dupree’s facemask on a long bomb downfield against the Steelers in Week 13. He went for X-Rays (which came back negative) and returned to finish the game with a glove on. As of Wednesday’s practice, his hand was heavily taped and he did not throw any passes. When he spoke to the media he revealed that he hasn’t thrown a pass since last Sunday, after the game. While it doesn’t yet seem like Mayfield will miss Week 14’s matchup against the Bengals – keep an eye out to make sure that Mayfield is a full participant in practice later this week.

RUNNING BACKS

Dalvin Cook (Shoulder) – Cook was forced to leave Monday Night Football after suffering an injury to his shoulder. This is an extremely high-profile injury because Cook was second in points among all running backs, to only Christian McCaffrey. We’re hearing a few things here. First, this was apparently not a shoulder injury at all, but rather an aggravation oh his pre-existing chest injury and a possible issue with his clavicle. Cook says, “I’ll be out there on Sunday”, and that may be true – but there is a strong possibility that he is either held out or limited, with rookie Alexander Mattison absorbing more snaps in Cook’s absence. The Vikings’ upcoming opponents Detroit (Week 14) and Green Bay (Week 16) both have bottom of the barrel defenses against the run. Whoever leads the backfield on Minnesota will certainly be a RB1/2. Watch this situation closely and I hope you were able to land Mattison if you are also a Cook owner. If for some reason he is still available out there on the wire, scoop him up!

Matt Breida (ankle) – Breida is practicing Wednesday and should play against New Orleans this weekend. Raheem Mostert was a monster against the Ravens last week, putting up 146 yards on 19 carries. With Tevin Coleman’s usage waning, this could mean a shakeup in the depth chart with Breida and Mostert on top for the rest of the season. Maybe. We need more time to flesh out this situation, but one thing is for sure – Mostert will continue to be utilized in this 3-headed run game after that performance.

Jordan Howard (shoulder) – The Eagles play on Monday Night Football this week, so Howard has a little extra time to get right. He hasn’t yet been cleared for contact but is expected to practice this week. In the meantime, Miles Sanders has taken over the bellcow role on the Eagles and gets a lot of work in the passing game, making him a solid RB2 for as long as this kind of volume stays consistent. If Howard was to come back, both would simply be FLEX plays and hard to count on.

James Conner(shoulder) – Pittsburgh has won 6 of their last 7 games heading into this weekend and will be doing everything they can to try and get their lead running back on the field against Arizona. For the first time in weeks, Conner put in a limited practice on Wednesday which raises hopes for him to practice in full Thursday or Friday and resume his normal role in the offense. That would be great for Conner owners, but if he is unable overcome his current limitations, Benny Snell Jr. will be a great RB2/3 in a matchup against the Cardinals, who have allowed the 10^th most fantasy points to RBs this season, at 23. Snell is averaging about 18 attempts for 80 yards and .5 TDs in relief of Conner. He does not have a role in the passing game, however, that will belong almost completely to Jaylen Samuel.

Damien/Darrel Williams (ribs/hamstring) – Looks like Damien has a better shot at suiting up for this week’s dance with the Patriots than Darrel does, but both have yet to practice so far this week. The Chiefs backfield is getting pretty messy lately, with rookie Darwin Thompson putting up 44 yards and 1 TD on 11 carries, and former Chief Spencer Ware also getting signed (likely as a direct answer to the injuries that we’re seeing weekly). Darwin is an interesting play if neither of the Williams’ boys end up healthy this weekend, but it’s just as likely that a rotation of backs removes predictable fantasy value from any of these guys.

Kalen Ballage (leg) – With Ballage off to IR, the Dolphins claimed Zach Zenner off waivers and they also have 2^nd year Patrick Laird and rookie Myles Gaskin. It may seem tempting to bet on a horse here, but my suggestion is to avoid the situation entirely.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Julio Jones (shoulder) – Jones was a game-time decision last week but did not end up suiting up to close out the Thanksgiving football games. Instead, 2^nd year WR Russell Gage filled in and ended up with 5 receptions for 52 yards and 1 TD. He has been involved in the passing game even before Julio’s injury, ever since Sanu was traded to the Patriots. An interesting flex play or bench stash, he may not factor in heavily this week as Jones is already practicing in a limited fashion. Coach Dan Quinn expects him to play with no issues against the Panthers… who, by the way, have been giving up huge game to opposing WRs lately.

John Ross (clavicle) – Ross is back, and with Dalton under center. The Bengals are showing signs of life, believe it or not. It’s been an interesting story for him this year, as the injury he suffered in Week 4’s loss against the Steelers was almost life-threatening. Apparently, the sternoclavicular joint in Ross’ chest was just an inch away from puncturing an artery. He has made a full recovery, though, and the field-spreading speedster will most likely be back out there against the Browns on Sunday. As to whether it’s a smart move or not to start him in his first game back after being on IR for most of the season? Nah. Probably not. But hey, sometimes we don’t have the luxury of very many choices, and this is definitely a choice.

T.Y. Hilton (calf) – Hilton’s calf injury is lingering and at this point even he is thinking about shutting it down for the season. “If I can, I can.” He said. “If I can’t, then might just shut it down.” Rough stuff for the Colts, who are in desperate need of playmakers after losing Ebron (IR) and Mack (hand) recently as well. Marlon Mack is back at practice this week, though, and is aiming to play in Week 14’s game against the Bucs. I don’t see Hilton suiting up this week, or anytime soon, and in the meantime, there is always Zach Pascal, who will be a boom or bust replacement for Hilton. Last week against the Titans he exploded for 109 yards on 7 receptions. There just aren’t that many targets out there on the offense. Pretty much Pascal, Doyle, and whatever RB may be hanging around the line of scrimmage.

Adam Thielen (hamstring) – Bad news for Thielen: it looks like his injured (and then aggravated) hamstring is not getting any better. There are whispers of this being related to the same hamstring injury that he had several years ago, as well. He was practicing last week before being ruled out for the game, and this week he is not practicing so far. I think it’s likely that some sort of regression occurred, and he may be shut down for a few weeks. If that’s the case, there’s not a very good substitute on this team for Thielen’s production. Bisi Johnson hasn’t had a game above 43 yards all year and there is no one else to speak of in their WR corps. Those targets usually end up being absorbed by Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., and the RBs.

Taylor Gabriel (concussion) – Gabriel remains in the league’s concussion protocol, and since he’s been out Anthony Miller has seen a resurgence since his poor early performance in the season. With over 6 receptions in each of the last 3 games, and a great performance which included 9 receptions for 140 yards against Detroit on Thanksgiving Day, Miller is due for a TD. Remember last year? He’s looking like that same guy finally. Quite an interesting play this week against Dallas. Allen Robinson has also been performing well for the Bears… is this Trubisky late-season magic? Or just some talented receivers hitting their stride? Who cares, I’m taking the points.

TIGHT ENDS

TJ Hockenson (ankle) – Moved to IR, Hockensen started off the year with a bang, but quickly regressed to mediocre TE status when he realized that he was just a rookie tight end and they usually take a few years to develop to that level in the NFL. The Lions are now left at the position with former Steeler Jesse James catching passes from the 3^rd string QB, David Blough. Yikes.

Austin Hooper (knee) – Hooper has been out since Nov. 10 against the Saints, but he practiced on Wednesday in a limited capacity and has a chance to suit up in Week 14 against the Panthers. Hopefully you kept Hooper on your roster because the TE position is thin this year, and Hooper is an immediate top-5 start if he’s healthy, regardless of matchup. Another one to watch this week.

Greg Olsen (concussion)–Suffering a gnarly concussion in the Panthers Week 13 loss to the Redskins, Olsen may be out for a week or two. His backup, Ian Thomas, is a very talented 2^nd year TE that can put up numbers in fantasy. Filling in for Olsen, he quickly had 4 receptions for 24 yards. Does your TE depth have you down? Thomas may just be the answer to your prayers!