It should go without saying that roster construction is probably the most important goal of any fantasy football team. It starts when you draft your team and it continues all throughout the season as you should be constantly monitoring the waiver wires to find those guys who were not thought much of before the season start to reveal themselves throughout the season. Another aspect of roster construction is having a good sense of the bye weeks and what depth on your bench can mean when those bye weeks hit. Often times a hero one week can be just that, a hero for one week and then back on your bench. Very few things in a fantasy football season are as satisfying as seeing your depth guys hit their season highs when you have them starting due to starters being on byes. Particularly as we get closer to playoff time, winning weeks because of your depth players could be the difference between going for the championship or languishing in the consolation bracket.
(As always, all scores discussed in this article use a ½ PPR scoring structure)
Heroes:
A-Aron Was A-OK
When your average draft position puts you at QB3, there are some lofty QB numbers that you will have to live up to, and throughout his career, Aaron Rodgers has been able to not only meet those expectations, he has often been able to exceed them. This season has been a tough one for Rodgers when it comes to his fantasy value. Going into Week 7, Rodgers was ranked as low as QB10 in most leagues, but then came the Raiders and their 31st ranked pass defense and all became right with the world in Green Bay. In one of the greatest performances of his future-Hall of Fame career Rodgers tortured the Raiders defense, throwing for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also rushing for one more, and this was all without his top wide receiver Davante Adams who is still nursing a toe injury. It was the first time in his career that he had a game with a perfect passer rating and the fifth time that he has passed for 5 or more TDs in a single game. The Packers head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs and their 27th ranked defense this Sunday, could we be seeing the resurgence of Aaron Rodgers…QB3?
The Chase Was On…And the Giants Couldn’t Catch Him
With David Johnson on the bench for precautionary reasons, the Cardinals went to second year running back Chase Edmonds to fill the hole left by Johnson. Not only did Edmonds fill that hole, he burst through it and produced the best game of his young career. Averaging 4.7 yards per carry, the New York Giants defense could not stop Edmonds on his way to 126 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 34 point game was just shy of his total point output for the season combined, although in the two weeks prior to last Sunday, Edmonds combined for 30 total points on the strength of his ability to find the endzone, one rushing and one receiving. He has been seen as David Johnson’s handcuff, but Edmonds showed this week that not only might he be in line for an increased work load in the Cardinals offense, but he is definitely someone who should be looked at if Johnson is a no-go this week at home against the New Orleans Saints.
Marvin Ain’t Starvin’ for Touchdowns
If you started Marvin Jones Jr. this week (as some of us did), the smile on your face as the Lions game against the Vikings progressed got larger and larger. While you may not have been in the coaches’ room devising the game plan for this week, your letters to them must have gotten through as they really tried to make Jones their #1 receiving target this week. With Kenny Golloday having a rough day separating himself, Jones took up the mantle and had one of the best games of his career. Jones was targeted 13 times catching 10 balls for 93 yards and a staggering 4 touchdowns. His 38 fantasy points was by far the top score of all wide receivers in Week 7 and with the woeful New York Giants defense up next on the schedule, Jones might be seeing another game of high-volume usage.
Jones on Jones Crimes All Over East Rutherford
More often than not, a defensive player will have good weeks in fantasy football and provide some good points for you in your league that have IDPs, their contributions are probably in line with what you often expect from your kickers. However, there are those times when a player just has the game of his life and you are lucky enough to catch that player when he has it. Case in point is Linebacker Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals, who became a permanent fixture in Daniel Jones’ nightmares for the foreseeable future. In Arizona’s win over the New York Giants, it seemed that Jones was in the Giants backfield almost as much as Saquon Barkley was, finishing the game with 5 total tackles, 4 of those being sacks with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. This is his second game this season posting 20 or more fantasy points and he has proven to be a reliable week-to-week start as an IDP player, particularly due to his ability to slide between the defensive end position and the linebacker position.
Honorable Heroes:
Matthew Stafford (QB) – Detroit Lions – 30/45 364 yards, 4 TDs (see Marvin Jones), 1 Interception, 28.6 Fantasy Points
Latavius Murray (RB) – New Orleans Saints – 37 carries 119 yards, 2 TDs; 5 Receptions 31 Yards, 29.5 Fantasy Points
Sony Michel (RB) – New England Patriots – 19 carries 42 yards, 3 TDs, 21.9 Fantasy Points
Zach Pascal (WR) – Indianapolis Colts – 7 targets, 6 receptions 106 yards, 2 TDs, 31.1 Fantasy Points
Dante Fowler Jr. (DE) – Los Angeles Rams – 7 total tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 27 Fantasy Points
Deion Jones (LB) – Atlanta Falcons – 11 total tackles, 21 Fantasy Points
Villains:
Remember Wentz he was Good
It is safe to say that it has not been a very good season for Eagles Quarterback Carson Wentz. His inconsistent performances this season have led many to wonder if the Eagles letting Nick Foles leave in free agency was a smart idea. In his fourth season, Wentz has shown that he is a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback, but what he also has shown is that he often has trouble staying on the field due to various health issues. So, it is fair to question whether the injuries that have cut short his last two seasons might be catching up to him. This was never more evident than his terrible performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday night; Wentz completed only 16 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. He also threw one interception and fumbled the ball twice. His 6 fantasy points was by far his lowest output of the season and with Buffalo and Chicago the next two teams on the Eagles schedule, the defenses are not going to get any easier, so Mr. Wentz is going to have to put in some work to get himself off the Villains list.
Jimmy G Where Art Thee??
Look we all can understand that the weather conditions in last Sundays 49’ers-Redskins game was not ideal in terms of putting up prolific offensive numbers. A 9-0 game is not the prettiest thing to watch unless you enjoy games played in the mud, however, the performance of 49’ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo was especially concerning as it continues to further the narrative that not only is he having a sub-par season on the field, but his fantasy football statistics makes him virtually unrosterable (yes I made up a word). Garoppolo passing for 151 yards and one interception against a mediocre, at best Redskins defense is most assuredly not going to get the job done. Thankfully week seven’s byes did not feature any QB’s of note that were off (Sorry Jameis), so no one should have been tempted to start Garoppolo. However, with the 49’ers racing out to an undefeated 6-0 record this season, mostly on the strength of the best defense in the NFL west of the New England Patriots, it should be of the highest priority to get the offense, and especially their high priced QB straight as the season wears on or else a crash is sure come.
Evan the Best Have Bad Days
The last month of the season has not been the best of times for New York Giants Tight End Evan Engram, an MCL sprain that kept him out of the Giants Week 6 game against the Patriots was sandwiched by a mediocre performance against the Vikings and a vanishing act last Sunday vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Targeted 5 times with just 1 reception, Engram was a non-factor last week as the Giants could not put together anything consistent against the Cardinals. While fantasy points-wise Engram is still ranked sixth in the NFL among tight ends, so panic should not set in for owners of Engram just yet but there are ominous signs out there that one should be wary of, particularly a knee condition that is clearly something that should be monitored on a week-to-week basis.
Freeman is Making Fantasy Owners Pay
Devonta Freeman came into this season with the hopes that not only is his past injury history behind him, but also a clear look at his role in the Atlanta Falcons offense with the free agency departure of Tevin Coleman, who went to the San Francisco 49’ers. However, from a rushing standpoint, Freeman has been largely a bust this year, not only has he not scored a rushing touchdown yet, he has rushed for more than 30 yards only twice this season. His three receiving TDs are the only times he has scored and those three came two and three weeks ago, so he has been largely shut out for most of the season. This all came to a head last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, where Freeman only rushed 7 times for 19 yards and caught 2 passes for 6 yards. At first glance, Freeman’s numbers might have made you think he caught another injury, but no, he was in fact ejected from the game because he threw a punch at Aaron Donald. Now I am not saying that a running back could not hold his own against someone of the stature of Donald, but a quick look at the video shows that after the punch that got him ejected, Donald grabbed Freeman and picked him up like he was a child and while I perhaps can applaud Freeman for his bravery, his fantasy owners may want to do the same thing to him based off his performances this season and thrown him to the side.
Dishonorable Villains:
Chris Carson (RB) – Seattle Seahawks – 21 carries 65 yards, 8.9 Fantasy Points
Kenny Golloday (WR) – Detroit Lions – 2 Targets, 1 Reception 21 yards, 2.6 Fantasy Points
Calvin Ridley (WR) – Atlanta Falcons – 6 targets, 4 receptions 30 yards, 5 Fantasy Points
George Kittle (TE) – San Francisco 49’ers – 5 targets, 3 receptions 38 yards, 5.3 Fantasy Points
Zach Ertz (TE) – Philadelphia Eagles – 5 targets, 2 receptions 38 yards, 4.8 Fantasy Points