Fantasy Football

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.

Despite an in-season coaching change, Calvin Ridley’s role in Atlanta’s offense remained unchanged. He ran 38 routes last week, which was the second-most he has run in a game this season, and finished as WR10 despite teammate Julio Jones receiving more targets and finishing as WR2 on the week. Jeff Okudah is the equivalent of an open door to wide receivers he covers. On the season, he has allowed 294 receiving yards on 138 Routes Defended.

Matt Rhule, the former Temple coach, has unlocked his former Temple player Robby Anderson, who has excelled in his high-volume role this season. Wide receivers have had their way against Patrick Robinson in his two games with New Orleans. Last week, he struggled to contain Jalen Guyton and his 4.44 (83rd-percentile among qualified wide receivers) 40-Yard Dash speed. Good luck stopping Anderson and his 4.41 (91st-percentile) 40-Yard Dash speed.

Mixon is a true bellcow back in a league that has few. He had no scores and three targets per game through three weeks. Giovani Bernard was seeing more opportunities in the passing game and it looked like Mixon would be relegated to a grinder role once again. In the following three weeks, Mixon has scored four times and been targeted 17 times. He’s top-10 in running back targets over that span.

T.Y. Hilton’s inefficiency is brutal and it’s only compounded by his lack volume. Both his Target Share and Air Yards Share rank outside the top-30 receivers. He was out-targeted by Marcus Johnson and Zach Pascal last week. Hilton is on bye this week, so it might be worth waiting to sell low because his market will get a slight bump once he’s back in action. Look to move him for anyone with a pulse including Travis Fulgham, Preston Williams, and Randall Cobb.

The opportunity has always been there for Logan Thomas. The former quarterback has recorded a 92.5-percent (No. 4 among qualified tight ends) Snap Share, a 17.1-percent (No. 11) Target Share on a team averaging 40.3 (No. 7) Team Pass Plays Per Game, a 95.4-percent (No. 2) Route Participation mark, and a 17.3-percent (No. 68) Target Rate. Adding Thomas is a bet on Kyle Allen to consistently target him with catchable passes. If you need a tight end, you can do worse than Thomas against the Cowboys.

Through three games, Trey Burton has totaled 16 (No. 30) targets on 58 (No. 43) Routes Run, good for a 27.6-percent (No. 25) Target Rate. While the Colts average 34.7 (No. 27) Team Pass Plays Per Game, the team ranks No. 16 in tight end targets. That isn’t an elite allocation of targets to the position, but it’s enough to keep Burton fantasy relevant if his usage remains comparable after his bye.

Well, it took a few weeks, but D’Andre Swift arrived in a big way in Week 6. In the tilt against the Jaguars, Swift saw the field on 37.1-percent of the snaps, touching the ball a total of 17 times. He turned this into 123 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. With four targets, he was once again the RB target leader for the Lions. While Adrian Peterson may cap the rookie’s ceiling in the short-term, Swift looks the part of a cornerstone piece of dynasty teams for years to come.

The days of Zach Ertz being a locked-in set-it-and-forget-it TE1 have abruptly come to an end. To make matters worse, he’s now sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. Ertz is without a contract extension, and despite a lack of competition in the passing game, his performance on the season has underwhelmed. For fantasy purposes, an output of 8.0 (No. 25 among qualified tight ends) Fantasy Points per Game is not what managers expected from a player ranked on the edge of the elite TE tier.

Boston Scott is walking into at least one week of pseudo-starter responsibilities. Scott is the next man up, and a short week against the New York Giants ensures that Miles Sanders will sit and that scoring opportunity will be abundant. Doug Pederson has a history of using a committee when no true workhorse is available to carry the load. Still, one week RB2 upside makes Scott a worthy Flex play for those looking to fill bye weeks.

J.D. McKissic has forced himself onto the fantasy radar with at least six receptions in each game since Dwayne Haskins was relinquished to the bench. Kyle Allen is a checkdown machine that helped fuel Christian McCaffrey’s historic 2019 run. McKissic is AFC James White with PPR flex value completely supported by targets. He’s a high-floor PPR Flex option perfect for bye week fill-ins.

The Falcons responded in a big way after axing their head coach and general manager this week. Both moves were long overdue for a team stuck in a years-long Super Bowl hangover. In interim HC Raheem Morris’ first day in charge, Atlanta leaned on what’s been the strength of the team for years: Matt Ryan and Julio Jones soul-reaving opposing defenses. Only this time, they even have top-12 talent Calvin Ridley on the other side.

The Colts are top 10 in rushing plays per game and Jonathan Taylor had seen 19 (No. 9 among qualified running backs) Red Zone Touches heading into this game, converting three of them for scores. We’ve got to keep betting on this athletic phenom and hope the Colts eventually realize they’ve got a blue chip asset on their hands and use him accordingly.

The Cowboys average 49.4 (No. 1) Team Pass Plays Per Game with a leaky defense. In fact, they’ve trailed in every game except their most recent entering the fourth quarter. That’s good (or not so good) for a -7.91 (No. 29) Game Script mark, indicating they have to pass and score to keep up. Dak Prescott’s Supporting Cast Efficiency – now supporting Andy Dalton – is a sturdy +5.6 (No. 16), while he graded out with a 90.0 (No. 6) Protection Rate.

Although the Panthers average 37.2 (No. 18) Team Pass Plays Per Game, Teddy Bridgewater has attempted 178 (No. 11) passes. With 1,461 (No. 6) passing yards, Bridgewater may be due for slight positive touchdown regression. He’s thrown only six (No. 22) touchdown passes thus far. The Panthers offense sit No. 9 in DVOA, including No. 10 in pass DVOA, highlighting Bridgewater’s touchdown misfortune.

Henry Ruggs’ explosive game last week has likely closed any buy-low window, but there may still be a chance to acquire him at value. His 12.0-percent Target Share ranks No. 86 among qualified wide receivers and he’s drawn only 11 (No. 99) targets, but he averages 2.80 (No. 8) Fantasy Points per Target and 3.00 (No. 2) yards of Target Separation. With his blazing speed, big gains tend to happen when the ball is thrown his way. An uptick in targets can result in a real explosion for the Las Vegas Raider.

Through five games, Kenyan Drake has a 63.2-percent (No. 16) Snap Share. He has 85 (No. 5) carries and 16 (No. 14) Red Zone Touches. All this volume has resulted in a frustrating 10.3 (No. 35) Fantasy Points per Game; a far cry from his expected RB1 outcome. As a result, Arizona’s lead rusher has fallen to RB23 on PlayerProfiler’s Dynasty Rankings, dropping over 17 Lifetime Value points. His stock is trending down and he is a risky buy-low option. He is more of a sell.