Believe it or not, we are a third of the way through the 2022/23 NFL season. And there is likely no more surprising division than the NFC East. They currently have the most teams in a division above .500. Bet you didn’t see that coming from the NFC “Least”.
Enzo Fernandez has recently become a hot topic after his consistent performances in the Primeira Liga and the Champions League for Benfica. Primeira Liga has become the home for up-and-coming talents, and the Argentine is the newest addition to the family.
Benfica currently sits at the top of the table in the league and is tied on points with PSG in their Champions League table. (They haven’t lost a Champions League match this season, having played PSG twice.)
In this article, we will be using data to evaluate Enzo’s performance in all departments and his impact on the Benfica side so far.
The Brazilian Maestro has started off the 2022-23 season on a very strong note. He has scored eight goals at a rate of 1.11 goals per 90 and also provided four assists at a rate of 0.56 per 90. The shot map below shows all the shots taken by the 31-year-old this season in the Premier League and the Champions League.
The Jacksonville Jaguars increased their place of play in Weeks 6 to 7 from 2.043 to 2.105. This was one of the biggest jumps in pace across the league last week. This usage seems to coincide with their turning their backfield over to Travis Etienne. Etienne played on 81.8-percent of the Jaguars’ snaps in their Week 7 loss to the Giants. He is the unquestionable lead back now with James Robinson now in New York as a member of the Jets.
After a scorching start to the season, Lamar Jackson’s production took a nosedive. To put his poor performance into the appropriate context, Jackson has averaged fewer Fantasy Points per Game than Marcus Mariota since Week 4 (14.68 to 14.80 FPPG, respectively). Talk about a spooky season. The advanced metrics will tell you he’s playing well, and he is, but the Raven’s offense has been uncharacteristically sluggish. After losing their second straight game, this team needs a spark, and they’ll find it tonight. Tampa Bay wields a near league-worst red zone defense, which will give Jackson ample opportunity to find the endzone.
Chris Olave, the Air Yards king, returns to the main slate this week. He impressively is the Air Yards triple crown leader currently ranked first in all major Air Yards related categories. He is a must play in all formats regardless of who is starting at quarterback for the Saints this week and whether Michael Thomas and/or Jarvis Landry are active.
Darnell Mooney’s fantasy’s relevance has been inextricably tied to Justin Fields passing attempts. With Fields passing the football at least 20 times a game from week four onward, Mooney has averaged 99 Air Yards per game, and seen at least five targets in each outing. He is an absolute cash game value this week against the Cowboys and has the chance to go off for over 100 Yards and a touchdown. Mooney needs to be roster in all formats.
With P.J. Walker at QB, D.J. Moore saw a renaissance, with the most receptions and yards he has had all season in Week 7. Prior to Week 7, Moore was already seeing a 100-percent (No. 1) Route Participation and 97.2-percent (No. 3) Snap Share. Now with a positive trend after getting a new QB throwing to him, Moore can convert that usage into fantasy points.
Taylor Heinicke isn’t that much better than Carson Wentz, with 44 (No. 2) interceptable passes and 6.9 (No. 21) Yards Per Attempt last season. The Commanders also ran the ball more than passing it last week with Heinicke starting, so don’t expect a high pass volume to help McLaurin. A TD-dependent play this week, it is best to avoid McLaurin if you have other options.
Gus Edwards returned to the Ravens lineup just as J.K. Dobbins exited. He immediately made his presence felt with an RB1 performance.
I would exercise caution in all directions here. On one hand, Edwards’ production was much better than his role. Edwards played just 36-percent of snaps and ceded a significant portion of work in all situations, including short yardage and goal line, to both Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake. He received a carry on 70-percent of his snaps.
Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs surprised many in the NFL and fantasy world this week, naming seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco as their starting running back. Thus, supplanting 2020 first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire. After fantasy managers spent the following days getting Pacheco onto rosters and starting lineups, on Sunday, despite the Chiefs putting up 44 points, Pacheco laid an egg: eight rushes for 43 yards, no scores, and no targets.
This is the Waiver Wire Week 8, and wow, yesterday was a tumultuous day for Breece Hall managers. Maybe you drafted him in dynasty as the 1.01 in all formats- even Superflex. Perhaps you drafted him in redraft as a fifth-round steal. Either way, you played it perfectly. You filtered out all of the noise, the “bad landing spot” narrative, and the hilarious “crowded backfield,” arguments. Through six weeks, and despite a mediocre Jets offense, Hall was RB7 overall and the focal point of a winning team. He had league winner written all over him. This past Sunday, he ripped off a 62-yard TD run on the road in Denver. Things were going great, and then disaster fell- a knee injury.
