Fantasy Football

The Rams come in with one of the league’s heaviest hitting offenses. Matthew Stafford leads the league in passing yards, Cooper Kupp is having a career year, and Darrell Henderson has been an efficient replacement for Cam Akers. Overall, the Rams are the better team in this matchup and should win the game.

Jimmy Garoppolo looks to continue his hot steak, as he gets George Kittle and the revamped Brandon Aiyuk back for the second time. In addition, Deebo Samuel is having a breakout season. The 49ers can move the ball through the air, but will first look to establish the run with Elijah Mitchell.

Guess who leads the league at Running Back in EPA? That’s right, it’s your soon-to-be new King, Jonathan Taylor. He has a whopping +29.93 EPA. It bears repeating that Taylor’s EPA is literally double that of McCaffrey’s. The importance of this is to be the best running back in football you need to be more than a fantasy points compiler. This points to Taylor being not only the best fantasy football running back, but also the best running back in “real” football.

After digging in, we saw Taylor was the number one fantasy producer down the stretch last year. He is creating the most yards out of any running back this season. He is the most valuable running back in terms of adding points to his team’s success this season. Lastly, he has the most YAC out of any running back this season. I would say that makes him the best running back in the league. King Jonathan, First of his name.

Over 600 days have gone by since Cam Newton was released from the Carolina Panthers organization. Earlier this week, the 2015 NFL MVP returned home to Charlotte. The one-year deal revives Newton’s dynasty value adding 6.91 Lifetime Value points (the most of any QB this update) to climb 20 spots to QB36 on PlayerProfiler’s dynasty rankings.

Without D.J. Chark in the lineup over the past four games, most fantasy gamers would have expected an increase in Laviska Shenault stock. Instead, it’s been an exercise in frustration with three of four weekly performances of WR57 or worse. He still has not posted a 100 receiving yard game in his NFL career and is scoreless this season.Averaging 8.6 (No. 59) Fantasy Points Per Game thus far in 2021 (2.6 per game fewer than his rookie year), Shenault drops seven spots to fall to WR42.

The Ravens are coming in fresh off of a rebound victory. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense have had their struggles, but have lit up the field and produced three elite scorers at their position. Expect the offense to stay hot versus an average Dolphins defense.

The Dolphins are a mess. The offense has been consistently missing key playmakers. This has forced targets to Myles Gaskin, Jaylen Waddle, and Mike Gesicki. The fins will look to turn things around against a beatable Ravens defense.

David Montgomery and D’Andre Swift are both workhorse running backs who are involved in the passing game, but play at two very different levels. Montgomery is an RB2 with RB1 upside, while Swift is an elite bell-cow and a league winner.

The Brandon Aiyuk comeback game has finally arrived. He ran a route on all of Jimmy Garoppolo’s 40 pass attempts, and set season highs in all of PlayerProfiler’s listed box score stats. Aiyuk is returning to normal usage, out of Shanahan’s dog house, and this week’s buy of the week.

He’s still splitting time with Melvin Gordon, but Javonte Williams has a good matchup to produce for fantasy purposes this week. The Eagles have allowed 100-plus rushing yards to opposing backfields in seven games this season. Philadelphia has also been a bad matchup for opposing WR corps this season, so expect the Broncos to pound the rock. The Eagles are a good matchup for Williams to produce above his normal output this week.

Seemingly playing through injury this season, Antonio Gibson’s value has not nearly been as high as fantasy community consensus had him at the beginning of the season. He is averaging 3.9 (No. 41 among qualifying RBs entering Week 9) True Yards Per Carry this season, despite 47 (No. 5) Evaded Tackles. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is one of the more difficult matchups for opposing RBs. Gibson will be in for a rough day with smaller rush opportunity this week.

We talked about Elijah Moore last week in this column as a player trending up. He did not disappoint with a massive game against Indianapolis catching seven passes for 84 yards and two TDs. If he is somehow available, be aggressive and go get him. Moore could end the year with a strong finish and shoot up redraft boards heading into 2022. He is the most explosive player on The Jets and has big-time potential. 

James Conner was one of the stars of Week 9, but Eno Benjamin should be an exciting add this week. Chase Edmonds went down with an ankle injury, and Benjamin stepped in behind Conner. With Edmonds set to miss, look for Benjamin to see the field for about a third of snaps. Conner has dealt with injuries in the past, so expect the Cardinals not to overload him. Benjamin is a strong add, especially in deeper formats.

The Chicago Bears have disappointed yet again, but look to continue to improve. Justin Fields looks to advance on his breakout performance. Darnell Mooney continues to dominate opportunity, while Allen Robinson continues to disappear. Look for the Bears to have a decent night against the Steelers.

Big Ben is dust, but has been able to support Diontae Johnson to a WR1 statusl. Najee Harris has been given an insane amount of opportunity, and has been one of the most reliable fantasy options of 2021. The Steelers overall have a better team than Chicago, but have been known to fade offensively.

Justin Fields has experienced growing pains in the early part of his NFL career. However, last weekend versus the 49ers, the first-round signal caller provided Bears fans a glimpse of what he is capable of. Following his 26.3 (QB5) fantasy day, Fields gains 11.91 Lifetime Value points and climbs four spots to QB10 on PlayerProfiler’s dynasty rankings.

After a torrid start to 2021, Mike Williams’ stock is trending down of late. He loses three spots to land at WR28 on PlayerProfiler’s dynasty rankings. Over the last four games, Williams has failed to top 30 receiving yards three times. This is more reminiscent of the boom or bust output that fantasy gamers have been accustomed to from the fifth year wideout.

The Jets pulled off a miracle last week, but are not a good team. Mike White looks to be serviceable, but will rely on Michael Carter and Ty Johnson heavily to move the chains. Jamison Crowder is the only Jets receiver who will see enough opportunity to be relevant.

The Colts are going to handily win this game, and Jonathan Taylor is going to put the offense on his back yet again. He’s totaled over 200 yards in 5 straight games. Carson Wentz remains a middle-of-the-road option, and Michael Pittman is the Colts’ alpha.