Fantasy Football

Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with a thumb injury. Trey Lance would be an instant fantasy upgrade due to his rushing ability. A healthy trio of George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and “The Terminator” Deebo Samuel would provide him with great weapons. This week, Lance could help Superflex players win leagues with a great matchup against Houston.

With Buffalo decimated at WR, Isaiah McKenzie stepped right into a significant role and did not disappoint. He finished with 11 catches on 12 targets with 125 yards receiving and a TD. This week, expect another high Snap Share and potential for another useful fantasy performance.

The Miami Dolphins are on a six game winning streak and find themselves one win away from defying the impossible and joining the playoff picture. Tua Tagovailoa is on fire and has jumpstarted this offense. Jaylen Waddle looks to continue his impressive rookie season while DeVante Parker continues his career resurgence. Finally, Duke Johnson has finally been given the workhorse role he deserves.

The New Orleans Saints have been trending down week after week, and this matchup won’t get any easier for them as they are down to starting rookie Ian Book at quarterback. The rookie is unlikely to spark the passing game, making Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith very avoidable. On the flip side, Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram will be relied on heavily for offensive production, giving Kamara RB1 upside.

A fourth round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft (No. 112 overall), Amon-Ra St. Brown is hitting his stride of late. The 22-year-old, has seen 35 targets in the last three games – a team-leading 34.3-percent Target Share over this span. He finished last week with 23.5 fantasy points (WR6); a mark reached twice in the last three games. Trending up, St. Brown accrues 14.57 Lifetime Value points and jumps 10 spots to WR44 in the dynasty rankings.

Darnell Mooney finds himself in the midst of a late-season slump. He is still earning a healthy 24.9-percent (No. 16 among qualified wide receivers) Target Share, but he is delivering WR2/3-level production averaging 11.7 fantasy points (WR33) this season. Better days are ahead for the talented speedster out of Tulane, but for now he loses seven spots and 15.06 Lifetime Value points to fall to WR43.

Cleveland has no choice but to ride Nick Chubb down the stretch if they want to save their season. With all that ails their passing attack, Chubb is who the offense is built around and needs to be emphasized during the next three weeks. Even though his receiving work lags behind, he’s a lock for a heavy workload and gets the No. 25-ranked run defense according to Football Outsiders’ run defense DVOA metric. He is a locked and loaded RB1 this week.

What more is there to say about Davante Adams? His dominance is so overwhelming that the Baltimore Ravens and their depleted secondary resorted to having *two* defensive backs line up against him before the snap. He will likely see plenty of action against Cleveland’s Denzel Ward, who is PlayerProfiler’s No. 3-ranked cornerback. But as he’s proven time and time again, he is matchup-proof and will produce for fantasy gamers no matter the circumstance. Like Thanos, Adams is inevitable.

The San Francisco 49ers are rolling and looking to ride into the playoffs on a high note. Jimmy G has been playing solid football, leading George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel to fantasy success. Jeff Wilson showed he’s more than capable of filling in for Elijah Mitchell. They come into the day obvious favorites against the struggling Titans.

The Titans are depleted and falling apart. The team has been ravaged by injuries, forcing D’Onta Foreman and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to take on significant roles. A.J. Brown and Julio Jones both look to return tonight, but their upside is limited with how badly Ryan Tannehill has been playing. The Titans find themselves, rightfully, as home dogs in an uphill matchup.

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.