Fantasy Football

Corey Davis has largely struggled in the NFL, but he hasn’t been Josh Doctson or Laquon Treadwell-level bad. He posted 955 yards from scrimmage in his second NFL season. That came on a Titans offense that ranked No. 25 in total yards per game. Davis is a volatile WR3 and has a non-zero chance of continuing to outproduce A.J. Brown in the coming weeks.

Marquise Brown’s usage has been supreme. He has a 23.8-percent (No. 15 among qualified wide receivers) Target Share and a 38.9-percent (No. 7) Air Yards Share. The problem has been his quarterback’s accuracy. Unless Lamar Jackson miraculously turns his season around, Brown should be viewed as a boom/bust WR3. As the top-target of the reigning MVP, Brown may have more value in trades than he’s actually worth.

DeeJay Dallas was a top 5 running back in Week 8 with the Seattle backfield ravaged by injuries. There is no guarantee that Chris Carson or Carlos Hyde come back this week, and an every-week role is possible for Dallas regardless. Any running back can thrive when playing in the same backfield as Russell Wilson.

Kendrick Bourne is one of the few last men standing in San Francisco. Bourne caught eight-of-ten targets in Week 8 for 81 yards following Deebo Samuel and George Kittle injuries. Nick Mullens has shown an ability to generate fantasy-viable wide receivers. It is also possible that this offense struggles to put up points in general. Bourne is a fair consolation prize if you fail to acquire anyone else this week.

Jordan Wilkins was explosive and shifty in Week 8, while Jonathan Taylor was anything but. He simply can’t get in gear against NFL talent yet. It’s more trouble that Nyheim Hines is such an effective receiver for Philip Rivers’ game. It’s getting harder and harder to project Taylor to take over the backfield when he’s getting cannibalized so violently.

J.K. Dobbins turned 15 carries into 113 scoreless yards in Week 8. The rookie was patient and exhibited great vision against a sturdy Pittsburgh front, once again showing great efficiency on the work he was given. That’s been a theme of Dobbins’ play all year, no matter how limited his role. He’s top 5 among qualified running backs in True Yards per Carry, Breakaway Runs, and Yards per Touch.

Since Dak Prescott’s devastating injury, Amari Cooper has not topped 62 Air Yards in a game, and now third-string rookie Ben DiNucci is the starting quarterback. With DiNucci under center, the Cowboys have the second-fewest Implied Vegas Points (18.00) this week. Darius Slay ranks in the top-10 with 9.4 (No. 5 among qualified cornerbacks) Yards Per Reception Allowed and 5.8 (No. 8) Yards Per Target Allowed.

Volume is key to fantasy production, but Keenan Allen’s -29.2-percent (No. 97) Target Premium, 7.27 (No. 48) Target Accuracy, and 81.6 (No. 81) QB Rating When Targeted reveal that he benefits more once he has the ball in his hands rather than catching longer passes that defenses fear. While he may see the same target volume he’s become accustomed to, Bryce Callahan’s 1.20 (No. 5) Fantasy Points Allowed Per Target will make it a disappointing performance.

Coming off a No. 4 finish at his position on a Bengals team averaging 46.0 (No. 2) Team Pass Plays Per Game, and with a league-leading 293 pass attempts, Joe Burrow is a suitable bye-week replacement for Deshaun Watson or Kyler Murray. Tennessee’s defense ranks No. 17 in DVOA and has allowed at least two passing touchdowns to signal-callers in every game since Week 2. You can do worse than Burrow.

A bet on Denzel Mims this week is a bet on talent. Mims finally made his pro debut last week, totaling a 97.8-percent Snap Share, seven targets on 26 routes run (26.9-percent Target Rate), and four receptions for 42 yards. The Jets average 37.7 (No. 12) Team Pass Plays Per Game, while the Jets-Chiefs implied point total sits at 49 AND the Jets are 19.5-point underdogs. This indicates the potential for a decent amount of scoring and that the Jets will have to pass to keep up.

While Davante Adams’ offense ranks in the bottom-half of the league with a 36 (No. 22) Team Pass Plays Per Game average, he outpaces every other receiver in the top-12 with a dominant 33.8-percent (No. 1 among qualified wide receivers) Target Share. Averaging 11.5 (No. 1) targets per game, even in a low-volume pass offense, it’s clear Adams will remain a top-3 receiver for the rest of the season.

In response to the #LetRussCook movement, Tyler Lockett has led the charge among Seattle pass-catchers. While he and D.K. Metcalf are one of two duos to enter the top-12, Lockett commands the higher Target Share. This receiving corps is a consolidated passing tree, with Lockett and Metcalf accounting for nearly 50-percent of Russell Wilson’s pass attempts. Combined, the duo also accounts for nearly 70-percent of the team’s Air Yards Share.

Despite some spotty quarterback play, Brandon Aiyuk is third amongst rookie WRs with 2.28 (No. 17 among qualified wide receivers) Fantasy Points per Target. Through six career games, he has also outperformed Deebo Samuel from a fantasy perspective on both a total and game-by-game basis. With Deebo out for at least the next couple of games due to a hamstring injury, look for Air Aiyuk’s dynasty stock to hit new heights.

Before activating any panic buttons, let’s refresh ourselves on Cam Akers’ prospect profile. At 5-10, 217-pounds, he owns a 39.8-percent (89th-percentile) College Dominator Rating, 10.4-percent (78th-percentile) College Target Share, and a 108.7 (89th-percentile) Speed Score. Yes, he has a three-down profile. At this point, he’s a hold for those who have him in dynasty. Those presented with the opportunity to buy this talented profile at value may be wise to take advantage.

Ezekiel Elliott will get loaded with carries and targets going forward, but his upside as the primary running back for a Ben DiNucci-led offense is basement-level. A running back will only be as good as their offense lets them be, and Elliott may be playing for one of the worst offenses in the league for the rest of the season. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if he performs like Le’Veon Bell did with the Jets last year.

JuJu Smith-Schuster finally came back to life in Week 7 with 15 targets, but those did not come at Diontae Johnson’s expense. Chase Claypool was the odd man out with only one look in the passing game. Johnson produced as a rookie in the NFL with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges as his quarterbacks. Unsurprisingly, the upgrade to Ben Roethlisberger has been a godsend for him. The No. 1 receiver on a competent passing offense, he has WR1 potential if he can stay healthy.

When given the opportunity in 2019, Wayne Gallman did have an RB1 week with 23.8 half PPR points. He has a brutal Week 8 matchup against a lights-out Tampa Bay run defense, but needs to be acquired since he has shown the most upside of the Giants RBs to this point and may be the starter for the foreseeable future. The severity of Devonta Freeman’s ankle injury is unknown, but Gallman has RB2 upside if Freeman is out.

In his first action since Week 2, Sterling Shepard logged a season-high 78.8-percent Snap Share, while also recording season-highs with eight targets, three red zone targets, 59 receiving yards, 60 Air Yards and 17.9 (No. 16 among qualified wide receivers) fantasy points. He’s the de facto WR1 for the Giants and has low-end WR3 upside so long as he stays healthy. The offense overall is lackluster, but Shepard will maintain fantasy relevance in PPR formats.

Antonio Gibson got a bump with the axing of Derrius Guice, and he finally saw a full slate of work against the laughable Cowboys on Sunday. The rookie turned 20 carries into 128 yards and a touchdown, with one carry going for 40 yards. Gibson profiles as a three-down workhorse with the requisite size at 6-0, 228-pounds and it’s only a matter of time until the receiving work and rushing share synthesize into the role he’s capable of.

Travis Fulgham has risen into the top 50 of wide receivers on PlayerProfiler.com’s dynasty rankings and for good reason. The former sixth-rounder has flat out been the best offensive player for the Eagles this season, and the loss of Zach Ertz to IR will only increase the Old Dominion product’s Target Share, which was already top-12 in the league. He is a premier buy in dynasty leagues as half the teams in your league are likely starting to sell pieces to improve their rookie draft stock.