The Unsung Heroes

 

Week 11 provided us with a few player performances that certainly caught our attention:

• Kirk Cousins became the first quarterback to rally a team down 20 points at the half
• Kyler Murray continued his hot streak during the second half of the fantasy season with his 26.7 fantasy point performance against the 49ers
• Josh Jacobs racked 112 rushing yards on 23 carries, continuing to make his case for offensive rookie of the year
• John Brown had career-high 30.2 fantasy points versus the Dolphins

However, as we inch towards the fantasy playoffs it’s important to NOT forget about the unsung heroes in fantasy football. If you’re a regular listener to our weekly podcast you should recall Ken mentioning his devastating fantasy championship loss a few seasons ago when his opponent streamed Billy Volek as his quarterback. Yes, the backup quarterback for the Tennessee Titans back in the day. Volek had a career day posting some 300 yards passing and 4 touchdowns that game. And yes #4EYEDfans, Ken has still not gotten over it.

The moral of the story is to not be afraid of streaming players with a limited pedigree with great matchups down the stretch of the season. Sometimes you just have to not play scared and trust that matchup as well as recent performances by a particular player.

In this week’s 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS I’ll be discussing a few unsung heroes that are definitely worthy of starting consideration for your rosters going forward based on their performances this past weekend as well as the past couple of weeks.

**DISCLAIMER**

As always when discussing fantasy point production we’re referring to 0.5 PPR scoring.  IDP fantasy point scoring is solely based on our very own IDP scoring rubric which will be presented to you when we discuss IDPs later on in the article.

Here are my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 11!

Quarterback: Jeff Driskel is shaping up to be quite the fantasy gold mine

In week 11, Jeff Driskel was:

• 5th in fantasy points scored by a QB with 27.5
• 5th in QB rushing yards with 51
• 9th in passer rating with 109.3

The past two week’s Driskel has averaged 22.3 fantasy points per game this season and has done so against two pretty impressive defenses such as the Bears (10th best) and Cowboys (11th best). Going forward Driskel has a matchup in week 12 against the Washington Redskins which rank 23rd in overall defense, 24th in terms of pass rush, and are allowing 18.7 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. For fantasy managers needing a sure thing at the quarterback position in order to keep their fantasy playoff chances alive in week 12, Driskel is the guy you want.

Running Back: Kenyan Drake is taking over running back duties in Arizona

On the day Kenyan Drake posted 67 rushing yards, averaged 4.2 yards per carry, had 7 receptions, and scored 11 fantasy points against the 49ers on Sunday. For whatever reason Drake has become the lead back in Arizona and in week 13 (they have their bye in week 12) will face a Bears team that’s been allowing 19.7 fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. While his matchups after that aren’t great he should see plenty of volume going forward making him a definite flex candidate for your rest of season (ROS).

Wide Receiver: Deebo Samuel is becoming the GUY in San Fran

As mentioned in last week’s 4-EYED PREVIEWS, Deebo Samuel didn’t disappoint fantasy managers with his performance on Sunday:

• 9th in fantasy points among WRs with 17.4
• 5th in receiving yards with 134
• 9th in targets with 10
• 3rd in receptions with 8

It seemed like every time Jimmy G needed a completion he kept finding Deebo on every type of route imaginable on Sunday. Over the past two weeks, Samuel has been the top targeted wide receiver for the 49ers averaging 123 yards receiving and 8 receptions per game. Despite facing a Packers team that ranks 13th in pass coverage, Samuel should continue to see plenty of opportunities in the receiving game as long as either George Kittle or Emmanuel Sanders don’t play on Sunday. Stay tuned to the injury news, but if either of those players can’t go then safely plug Deebo into your lineup this week!

 

 

Defensive Back: Ricardo Allen is a must-start this week

With 6 total tackles, 3 passes defensed, and 1 interception on Sunday Ricardo Allen took advantage of a great matchup against a woeful Kyle Allen of the Carolina Panthers. In Week 12 the Falcons host the Buccanneers and Jameis Winston who has thrown 6 interceptions over the past two weeks. Look for Allen to be the beneficiary of a few of Winston’s performances this week.

Defensive Lineman: Maxx Crosby went OFF against the Bengals on Sunday

Maxx Crosby, on Sunday, posted 5 total tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 42 sack yards, 4 QB hits, 1 forced fumble, and 24.8 fantasy points. While this type of performance was more of an anomaly than the norm the fact is that with more and more playing time Crosby has been stepping up in fantasy production averaging 12.7 fantasy points per game the past month. In week 12 he’ll face a Jets offense that ranks 27th in pass blocking. For those needing some DL help insert “Mad Maxx” into your lineup this week.

Outside Linebacker: Dre Greenlaw followed up his MNF performance in week 10 with another steller one in week 11

On Sunday, Dre Greenlaw was tied with the 3rd most solo tackles in the NFL with 8 among all linebackers, was second on the team in total tackles with 10, scored 15.5 fantasy points, and now goes into Sunday’s matchup against a Green Bay Packers team that likes to get the ball to their running backs in open space making Greenlaw an excellent bye week stop-gap in week 12 due to tackling and pass defending skillset.

Those were my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 11

Be sure to read our 4-EYED PREVIEW for WEEK 12 on Wednesday, our 4-EYED ASSESSMENT on Thursday, and our HEROES & VILLAINS from the previous week’s action on Friday!

ALSO, our Week 12 Fantasy Preview podcast will be dropping this Friday morning as well!

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*Stats provided by FantasyData.com, ProFootballFocus.com, and FantasyPros.com