The playoffs are getting closer and closer, every decision counts, and for those of us who are in contention in our fantasy leagues the decisions only get tougher and more important. Who to start, who to bench, any misstep from here on out could be the difference between a successful season and one that ends in flames. We are also getting closer to most fantasy leagues trade deadlines, so it is imperative that fantasy owners identify who has become a drag on their teams, and what possible deals they could make that would give them that last little push to get them through their leagues playoffs. As always, I am here to point out some players that are either potentially on the Start/Sit fence or even some that may be on the waiver wire that might help you as we navigate through the last bye weeks. Here are this week’s four players that should have a very productive week.
Deshaun Watson – Quarterback – Houston Texans
With the loss of receiver Will Fuller to a torn ACL, it looked like Deshaun Watson lost one of his most dependable offensive targets. Along comes the trade deadline on Tuesday in comes Demaryius Thomas, while probably not an upgrade over Will Fuller, he is someone that could capably provide a comparable offensive target for Watson for the rest of the season. It is also no coincidence, that Thomas arrive just in time for their matchup this week against, you guessed it, the Denver Broncos. Don’t be surprised if Thomas is able to provide a note or two about the Denver defense and what to expect. Watson is going to be going up against a Denver defense that is very strange, they rank 26th in total defense, 17th against the pass and are 10th in total fantasy points given up to opposing teams QBs this season; they are also ranked 29th in rush defense (that’s a hint Lamar Miller owners!). That rushing stat is important because while Watson began the season averaging 40 yards a game on the ground in his first five games, his rushing yards have tailed off these last 3, but that might swing back the other way with this week’s matchup. Although, you can hardly blame the man for not running last week since he was having too much fun carving up the Miami secondary with 5 TD passes. This week he will be keeping an eye out for Von Miller and Bradley Chubb who have combined for 15 sacks this season, so we know Watson will definitely be on the move pretty much all day. However, with the combination of a poor Denver rush defense and the inclusion of Thomas to the Texans wide receiver corps to go along with DeAndre Hopkins, look for Watson to rack up the yards both on the ground and through the air which makes him a very viable QB1 option this week.
Jordan Howard – Running Back – Chicago Bears
While everyone has gotten on the Tarik Cohen bandwagon as the Bears primary running back, with good reason, the fact that Jordan Howard still is, by a wide margin, receiving way more carries out of the Bears backfield this season than Cohen. Cohen is the obvious pass catching threat and will be on the field for many of the offensive snaps because he poses that threat, but Howard is the guy the Bears are going to use to grind out most of their yards on the ground. While Howard has been a fantasy disappointment for his owners this season, there was a glimmer of hope last week, as he rushed for a season high 82 yards and a touchdown against a pretty good Jets defense. If there is ever going to be a week where Howard is going to have his true break out game, it is going to be this week against a bad Buffalo Bills team. He had 22 carries last week against the Jets, and it is not a stretch to believe that he will be given the ball at least that many times this week, including potentially having numerous chances to carry the ball in the red zone and potential garbage time carries as the Bears are a strong favorite to beat the Bills by a considerable margin. Again, Jordan Howard has been an iffy proposition to start this season, but if he is on your fantasy roster, do not be afraid to go RB2 or in the flex position with him this week.
Devin Funchess – Wide Receiver – Carolina Panthers
Devin Funchess has had a very solid season this year as Cam Newton‘s primary target at wide receiver. While you can forgive his performance last week against a very tough Baltimore Ravens defense, Funchess has averaged 10.7 points per game this season (including last week against Baltimore) and this week he will be going up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who rank 31st in the NFL in fantasy points given up to wide receivers. At 39.4 points per game allowed to receivers, the Bucs are the antithesis to the Ravens with regards to stopping the passing game. With that in mind, look for Funchess to have a big day. He is averaging seven targets per game and 12.5 yards per reception. Those numbers should go up and for anyone who owns Funchess in a ½ PPR or PPR league, they should expect that Newton will be throwing the ball around a lot this weekend and Funchess looks to be one of his primary beneficiaries.
Jason Pierre-Paul – Defensive End – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Now please don’t look at my previous write up about Devin Funchess and his expected offensive bonanza against the Bucs defense and think that is a reason not to start Jason Pierre-Paul against the Carolina Panthers. On the contrary, this year is starting to look very good for the two-time Pro-Bowler as JPP has been a monster on the Bucs defensive front and looks to be on his way back to another Pro-Bowl selection. He currently ranks 10th among defensive linemen in total fantasy points (based off the Fantasy in Frames scoring rubric) and is on a six-game sack streak and is playing on a Bucs defensive line that ranks 8th in the NFL in total rushing yards allowed. The Bucs have only given up over 100 rushing yards to the opposing team once this season and that was last week to the Cincinnati Bengals and Pierre-Paul has been on the forefront of that attack. What this potentially tells us is that the Panthers will most definitely be throwing more against a weaker TB secondary, as well as the opportunity for JPP to increase both his sack and tackle total due to the fact that Newton is averaging just under 9 rushes per game.