Fantasy Football

With one of the better fantasy matchups for an RB this week, David Montgomery is set to produce for the fantasy playoffs. Despite looking better recently, the Seahawks rush defense is among the worst in the league in fantasy points allowed to opposing RBs. They allow a lot of catches to RB/FBs, giving up 5 or more receptions to opposing backfields in each of their last eight games (not including Week 15’s Tuesday night game). Montgomery has three straight games with at least five targets and has an excellent opportunity to boom this week.

The Miami running back room looks murky. Myles Gaskin did play last week, but it was… Duke Johnson (!) who got the most touches out of the Dolphin RBs. Gaskin has been the lead back for the majority of the season and was coming off a COVID absence last week. However, the insertion of Johnson and a tough opponent in the Saints cloud Gaskins’ usage. Both player’s usages look clouded as of now, and they face a tough matchup for this week of the fantasy playoffs.

We’ve recommended Gabriel Davis for several weeks now, and he continues to come through with fantasy contributions. Davis had one of the best performance of his career with five receptions for 85 yards, and two TD catches. He now has four TD catches in his last three games and 15 targets over his previous two games. He looks to be part of the Bills weekly game plan down the stretch and he has the trust of Josh Allen. Davis can be treated as a WR3.

Amon-Ra St. Brown is almost assuredly rostered, but if he is somehow available, be aggressive as you can in adding him. He is the midwest version of Hunter Renfrow, and has become the focal point of Detroit’s offense. ARSB is heating up and is a player whose stock should rise this summer in dynasty. Craig Reynolds continues to be a Cinderella story for Detroit. The 25-year-old seemingly came out of nowhere in Week 14, and this past week saw a bell cow-like 26 carries for 101 yards as Detroit convincingly upset Arizona. This week, Reynolds has a plus matchup against Atlanta.

The Minnesota Vikings are still in the playoff hunt and need a win to stay alive. Kirk Cousins has been accurate and productive, leading the league in Money Throws. He has pushed Justin Jefferson past the 1200 receiving yard mark already, and now supports K.J. Osborn in place of Adam Thielen. As always, Dalvin Cook dominates backfield touches and continues to smash through defenses.

The Chicago Bears are still a dumpster-fire, but a prettier looking one. Justin Fields is improving and showing a Konami skillset, but the only receiver he has made fantasy relevant has been Darnell Mooney. Allen Robinson sees a healthy Target Share, but hasn’t been able to convert on the opportunities. On the ground, David Montgomery looks to repeat his fantasy performance of 2020.

Through 13 games, Ja’Marr Chase leads all rookie wideouts in total receiving yards (1,035) and receiving yards per game (79.6). His 17.2 (No. 8 among qualified wide receivers) Fantasy Points per Game tops all rookie WRs and is 0.1 point higher than the mark achieved by former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson in 2020. The fifth overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft accrues 15.58 Lifetime Value points (the most of any WR this update) to move up to WR2 in dynasty.

Battling a hamstring strain for multiple weeks, DeAndre Hopkins will now miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury. Unsurprisingly, Hopkins hasn’t been the top 5 WR option in 2021 that fantasy gamers have grown accustomed to. He has averaged 14.7 (No. 21) Fantasy Points per Game, finishing as a WR1 just three times this season (Weeks 1, 6, and 7). Turning 30-years-old next June, Hopkins loses 32.02 Lifetime Value points and a dozen spots to fall to WR37.

How to lose a Tony Pollard rookie card. Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson cannot co-exist.

D.K. Metcalf is better off with Russell Wilson under center. Amon-Ra St. Brown is dominating D’Wayne Eskridge, Josh Palmer, and Amari Rodgers.

Although the Cowboys have recently struggled with the passing game, I would fire up all your Cowboys pass catchers, but temper expectations because this game is shaping up to be a lower scoring match up. With the low point total projected for the Giants offense, and the matchup problems they will face against the Dallas defense, this has all the makings of a game dominated by the Dallas running backs.

So is there a DFS dart throw available for the Giants? Sterling Shepard makes a strong case! He has a 131.2 (90th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) Burst Score, which is comparable to former Cowboy Dez Bryant. New York may be in a setting where they need to pass the ball playing from behind, so if a desperation play at wide receiver is needed, there is enough evidence to use Shepard.

Everything is still chugging along on the Najee Harris bandwagon. Harris ranks first among all running backs in Snap Share (85.9-percent), Opportunity Share (87.9-percent), and Weighted Opportunities (260). He’s No. 3 in carries with 237 of them, and second in targets with 75 on the season. When looking up workhorse in the dictionary, a picture of Harris shows up. You’ve ridden him this far; why stop now?

He isn’t Derrick Henry, but D’Onta Foreman has passed the test of filling his shoes. For the second consecutive game, Foreman led the way for the run-heaviest team in the NFL. Not only is he getting the majority of the work, but he’s been heavily utilized in the red zone as well, which is what every fantasy gamer yearns for from their running back. Everything is set up for Foreman to smash this week.

Remember when the Chiefs stunk? It seems like forever ago, but now the re-juiced Kansas City defense is scorching hot. Patrick Mahomes is still struggling to put up fantasy points, but Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce have been revived. Finally, Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks to stay hot with his 4th straight top-24 RB performance.

The Chargers are surging and only one game back from the AFC West lead. Justin Herbert and Austin Ekeler are red hot and have become one of the league’s best QB-RB combos. Keenan Allen has been having a phenomenal year, and returns to action this week coming off of the COVID-list. Finally, Mike Williams continues to try to work back to his elite early season production level.

In three games since returning from injury, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has 44 touches and 3 rushing touchdowns. While he is still splitting snaps with Darrell Williams, CEH has double-digit fantasy points and top-24 RB finishes each of his games back from injury return. The Chargers have allowed at least 100 yards rushing to opposing backfields in seven of their last nine games and allowed at least 4 receptions to opposing backfields in four of their last five.

So far this season, Miles Sanders has been an underwhelming fantasy player. The Football Team has allowed opposing backfields to rush for 100 yards in just two of their last seven games and ranks top-5 in the league in yards per carry allowed. While Washington is susceptible to RB receptions, Sanders entered week 14 with a 9.7-percent (No. 26 among qualifying RBs before Week 14) Target Share.

Pete Carroll promised that Rashaad Penny would be a big part of the game plan, and he certainly kept his word. Penny ran wild against The Texans with 137 yards rushing and two TDs. He played his best game as a pro and looked like a former first round pick. The competition gets a lot stronger with the Los Angeles Rams on tap this week, but Penny will get every chance at another high volume day.

Gabriel Davis played very well this past weekend at Tampa Bay. He caught a TD pass and converted a huge first down with effort and athleticism. He has now scored TDs in back-to-back games and should see even more snaps with Emmanuel Sanders now injured. Davis is a WR3 for me this week and can be used as a Flex play (monitor the Josh Allen injury).