I try to always keep an open mind and my wits about me. Other than that, anything goes! Makes for some unpredictable adventures out there in the real world. I've worked in the publishing industry for 10+ years and have been a member of the FSWA for 5+ years. Go Steelers!
Website URL: http://www.drinkfive.com
It's here, championship week. Good luck to all of you that have games left in your fantasy football leagues. Check out our Week 16 rankings, injury reports, waiver wire picks and more on the website. This week on the podcast we dive in to the best plays going forward into Week 16 and are joined by Jessica Robertson.
(Listen to the Fantasy Football Podcast: 12/22/15, Week 16 Preview)
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes to get notifications whenever we release a new episode. We also broadcast the shows live at http://www.mixlr.com/drinkfive on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm CT. Feel free to browse over and join in the discussion in the chat room!
That's right, in most fantasy football leagues Week 16 brings us to the championship game, and if you're lucky enough to be involved in your league's final match-up you'll likely need to do some fishing on the waiver wire. If the injuries we've seen in the past few weeks are any indication, a lot of squads are hobbling in to this final fantasy confrontation and it could be these last few waiver picks that determine who brings home the trophy. This week we'll look at two picks for each major offensive position (QB, WR, RB & TE) - one well-known guy (owned in 30% or less Yahoo leagues) and one under-the-radar guy (10% or less).
Kirk Cousins (QB, WAS) 25% Owned, @PHI - Cousins and the Washington Redskins' offense have really stepped it up in recent weeks and it shows in Cousins' fantasy production. He has steadily increased his passing yardage over the past 3 games (219, 200, 319) and just threw 4 TDs against the Bills last week. During that time he has only thrown 1 interception. Going up against an Eagles defense that gives up 18+ fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, Cousins is a great play if he's available.
SLEEPER Blaine Gabbert (QB, SF) 3% Owned, @DET - Gabbert is a tough start, but if you're scraping the bottom of the QB barrel, here's what you have to work with! Based on his starts this season, he has a floor of about 13 points, but there is some upside there when playing against defenses susceptible to the pass such as the Bears. The Lions defense is only slightly better on the year against QBs, which bodes well for Gabbert this week. I'm predicting 15 points here.
Dorial Green-Beckham (WR, TEN) 23% Owned, vs. HOU - Green-Beckham has improved this season, and is being rewarded with a steady increase of targets culminating in 9 just last week against New England's stingy secondary. Based on his heavy usage we're looking at a guy who will get enough opportunities to be fantasy relevant this week, but still has a floor of just 4 or 5 points. A risky start that could pay off big dividends.
SLEEPER Dontrelle Inman (WR, SD) 8% Owned, @OAK - Inman has shown sporadic bursts of production this year, but it's definitely tough to trust an inconsistent 2nd year receiver on a wounded team that has already given up on the season. Thankfully, the Chargers pulled together a win last week over the Dolphins, and Inman will have another good match-up against the Raiders who are allowing almost 20 points to opposing WRs. At this point, Inman, Gates and Woodhead are the only healthy options on the offense, expect them all to have at least serviceable outings.
Bilal Powell (RB, NYJ) 21% Owned, vs. NE - Powell has been impressive over the past few weeks, doing well on the limited carries that he is given but capitalizing on his utilization as a passing down back. Especially against an opponent like the Patriots, Powell should be called upon often as a checkdown target and should have ample opportunities to get in for a touchdown. A better play in PPR leagues, but still very relevant down the stretch in standard scoring leagues.
SLEEPER Steven Jackson (RB, NE) 2% Owned, @NYJ - I know, I know.. he was just signed by the Patriots - could Jackson possibly be a viable fantasy option at this most crucial of times during the fantasy season? Well, short answer is yes. Bolden was not running the football well last week and it's more than likely that Jackson's signing was an indication that there needed to be a veteran presence at the position, and one that could see immediate time on the field. So, are you feeling lucky?
Will Tye (TE, NYG) 10% Owned, @MIN - For some reason, no one seems interested in picking up Tye and playing them on a weekly basis. Not sure why, because he really has performed well over the past few weeks including 2 TDs in the last 2 match-ups. He averages about 6 targets per game since Larry Donnell was injured! I'm considering him a borderline TE1 yet again against the Vikings in Week 16 and would have absolutely no hesitation starting him if I didn't have one of the top weekly options already.
SLEEPER Vance McDonald (TE, SF) 6% Owned, @DET - McDonald had two big weeks earlier this season, but a concussion forced him off the field in Week 13 against the Bears. His first game back was just last week against the Bengals, which proved to be a disappointing effort, but it was also a bad week for the 49ers offense in general. Talk about under the radar, nobody is expecting a big performance from McDonald this week but I think he'll have a few receptions and a TD which makes him a great play! (Interesting tidbit: The Lions defense has given up a league-leading 11 TDs to tight ends so far in 2015).
So you've gotten all the way here. You fought through the gauntlet that is the regular season of your fantasy football league and made it to the playoffs. Well, there's no time to lick your wounds and admire your battle scars just yet because the tough stuff is just getting started! And after another injury-ridden week just wrapped up, we're here to provide you with a few plays in Week 15 that might just help you get to the next round and to that all-important Fantasy Football Championship. Listen up!
Owned in only 1% of Yahoo fantasy leagues, Yates should be available in all but the deepest and darkest leagues out there and his game in Week 11 against the Jets was a little worrisome (due to his 47.1% completion average) but he has not had any issue connecting with the outstanding DeAndre Hopkins (5 receptions for 118 and 2 TDs in that same game). Up against the Colts in Week 15's match-up, Yates should have a little easier of a time against their 7th worst passing defense which is allowing an average of 18.5 fantasy points to opposing QBs. It's virtually a lock that Brian Hoyer is out at this point having sustained 2 concussions in the past month and I like this garbage time dice roll.
When do you pick up and immediately start a player with 0 fantasy points total in 2015 that is only 3% owned in Yahoo fantasy leagues? This week, that's when. It's completely true that Brown is susceptible to fumbles and is not the smartest player on the block by a long shot. In fact, he was long since waived from the Seahawks (twice) when they had thought their RB situation was in order. In a surprising move, Seattle just recently waived fill-in starter DuJuan Harris (who plodded along last week when Thomas Rawls was injured) and so it looks like Bryce Brown will be given the work in Week 15. He's an explosive player who has gone off before, and he has a tasty match-up this week against the Browns' 10th worst rushing defense in the league (averaging 17.4 points per game to opposing RBs).
A lot of fantasy player have been dropping the 29% owned Wheaton, after he failed to follow up his 26+ point performance against Seattle in Week 12 with similarly large numbers going forward (11 in Week 13, 6.5 in Week 14). To me, this is just not how it works with Wheaton. We shouldn't expect big numbers from him on a regular basis, but he does tend to shine when the other, more targeted receivers on the Steelers (Antonio Brown & Martavis Bryant) are being shadowed in good coverage. The Broncos are easily the league's best passing defense in 2015, but it's not hard for me to see an uptick in Wheaton's fantasy production this week when Roethlisberger has some issues getting the ball out.
Tye is owned in just 9% of leagues and he has been consistently good since Larry Donnell sustained a neck injury. Now with Donnell officially out for the rest of the season on IR, Tye should be feeling even more confident in his role on the offense. Seems like every season there is some other Giants' tight end that excels in the last few weeks of the year. Looks like it's Tye's chance to shine! Yeah, the Panthers' defense is fantastic but I expect a serviceable game at least from Tye in Week 15 as Manning's dump-off target when he is being blitzed. And he will be blitzed. Good chance he slips into the top 10 TE's this week.
I also like: Albert Wilson (WR, KC), and Zach Miller (TE, CHI) as great pickups this week with the opportunity to score - Wilson in much deeper leagues.
Week 14 is officially the first week of the playoffs in most leagues and that means some really important match-ups for some (and watching quietly with a bye for others). Regardless of your situation, everyone will need to tread carefully on the waiver wire this week and make some important lineup decisions. Listen in to the Week 14 Preview podcast to get our take on the best plays for the coming weeks.
(Listen to the Fantasy Football Podcast: 12/8/15, Week 14 Preview)
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes to get notifications whenever we release a new episode. We also broadcast the shows live at http://www.mixlr.com/drinkfive on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm CT. Feel free to browse over and join in the discussion in the chat room!