Welcome to our week six edition of hot pickups. As always we will only be recommending names owned in less than 45 percent of yahoo leagues with an eye on sticking to names that could actually still be available in competitive leagues. Alfred Blue just missed our cut this week due to the fact that Lamar Miller was active for Sunday Night Football in case he was needed in emergency and that D’onta Foreman is due back in week seven.
Jameis Winston – Jameis Winston needs to be owned in all leagues but is somehow still available 79 percent of yahoo leagues. There is no need to exhaust you with tales of his salivation worthy upside, just go add him, now. And shame on you if you didn’t make the add last week when he was our featured add.
Wendell Smallwood/Corey Clement – With Jay Ajayi surprisingly placed on IR Monday afternoon Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement both become immediate must adds in all formats. Clement is practicing already and should be available for Thursday Night Football behind Wendell Smallwood and if the latter goes off he could secure the lead position in this committee. There are some things to note here however when deciding what portion of your FAAB budget to use on either of these players. Darren Sproles will inevitably be involved in the passing game and should see a handful of carries per game once he is healthy. Undrafted rookie free agent Josh Adams figures to get a shot to carve out a role in this backfield as well, further muddying issues. Furthermore the Eagles could plausibly look to make a move for Le’Veon Bell if the Steelers lower their asking price, especially with news that they have created $6.7 million worth of cap space for this season and $11.7 for next year by restructuring Fletcher Cox’s contract (the $6.7 creates the necessary space to absorb Bell’s prorated franchise tag amount). Barring any additions however Corey Clement looks like the best bet for touchdowns while Wendell Smallwood appears to be the ppr play. With that said if Clement were available in any of the leagues I am in I would bid equal amounts on both players with Clement taking the priority bearing in mind of course some of the possible scenarios listed above. Smallwood is available in 92 percent of yahoo leagues while Corey Clement is available in 75 percent of leagues.
D’onta Foreman – D’onta Foreman is due back in week seven and with the current state of the Houston Texans backfield he will be afforded every chance to wrestle the starting job from current starter Lamar Miller. If Foreman did not land on the PUP list this year we would have had him ranked over Miller for the duration of the offseason. Foreman is more of a volume back with RB2 upside but he gives the Texans a much better dynamic in their run game if he is the starter handling 15 plus carries with two to three targets while Lamar Miller plays the CoP role to the tune of 10 carries and five plus targets. Foreman is a solid ‘stash and laugh’ target in the 80 percent of yahoo leagues he is available in and could provide RB3 value with RB2 upside down the stretch.
Ronald Jones – It would surprise absolutely no one if Ronald Jones emerged as the Tampa Bay buccaneers top running back for the rest of the season coming out of their week five bye. Jones is easily the most talented back on the roster and should get a chance to shine following Peyton Barber’s disastrous performance to open the season as the starting running back. Currently available in 73 percent of yahoo leagues Ronald Jones should be added as a stash and laugh in deeper custom formats.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Somehow still available in 91 percent of yahoo leagues despite both Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison being ruled out for week five, MVS had himself an Aa-Rod endearing performance against the Detroit Lions hauling in seven of his ten targets for 68 yards and a score. MVS had a second touchdown overturned as he was ruled down at the half yard line; a score that would have likely ascended him past Randall Cobb on the Packers depth chart. As things stand now popular belief is that MVS will slot back in as the fourth receiver and special teams gunner once Randall Cobb is healthy but due to the latters ineffectiveness in recent years we could be witnessing a changing of the guard here, especially when considering both play out of the slot. Add MVS as a ‘stash and laugh’ with bye week filler upside.
Christian Kirk – Though he saw an uninspiring four targets in week five Kirk managed to pull out 83 yards and a score off of three receptions. Still available in 91 percent of yahoo leagues Kirk will be an inconsistent weekly option but remains a solid bye week filler for deeper custom leagues. Kirk should continue to see his role and target count grow as the season wears on and his on field rapport grows with fellow rookie Josh Rosen.
Robby Anderson – Available in 66 percent of yahoo leagues the New York Jets air yards leader finally converted some of them to the tune of 123 yards and two touchdowns off of three receptions on a day when number one target Quincy Enunwa failed to haul in any of his targets. Anderson still profiles as a boom or bust weekly option but the air yards he continues to see suggests there will be a few more booms over the course of the season. Anderson projects as a solid bye week filler who should be added in deeper custom leagues.
Donte Moncrief – Available in 87 percent of yahoo leagues Moncrief saw a monster 15 targets in week five managing to haul in six of them for 78 yards receiving. Moncrief looks to have ascended to the clear cut number two role and has put up 185 yards and a touchdown off of eleven receptions over his past two contests (he saw 20 targets). Moncrief profiles and has been paid like the number one receiver and over the past two weeks leads Jaguar receivers with a 21 percent target share and a weighted opportunity rating of .54 (which ranks him top-25 in the NFL over that period of time). His 232 air yards over that period is almost double that of Keelan Cole’s and he also sports a superior receiver air conversion ratio (RACR) sitting at .80 to.70. Think what you will but Moncrief’s usage ensure that he is worthy of an add in deeper custom leagues.
Keke Coutee – Keke Coutee followed up his scintillating eleven reception, 111 yard debut with a great seven target, six reception, 51 yard performance that included his first trip to paydirt. Through two games this season Coutee is sporting a massive 26.2 percent target share a number that is as indicative of his ability to read defenses and get open as it is his true standing on the teams target totem pole. While his target percentage is bound to decrease it looks like Coutee will continue to be a solid PPR asset for the foreseeable future. Coutee is available in 66 percent of Yahoo leagues and should be added where available as a bye week filler who could be a standalone flex/flex2 option by the end of the byes.
Courtland Sutton – Despite hauling in only two of his six targets this past sunday Courtland Sutton found the end zone once and was inches away from a second score. Keenum seemed to have a strong affinity for his big bodied receiver in the end zone this week and this is a trend that could very well continue going forward. Sutton is now up to five targets a game and while Case Keenum’s struggles make him nothing more than a bye week filler for now the fantasy arrow is pointing up for the talented rookie, especially with cries for Chad Kelly set to start any day now. Sutton is available in 94 percent of yahoo leagues.
Alfred Morris – With Matt Breida on the shelf for at least this week Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram or Kerryon Johnson owners in need of a solid upside bye week running back may found their man in Alfred Morris. Morris should operate as the clear lead back with Kyle Juszczyk seeing work on passing downs and should push for at least 85 yards from scrimmage this week against the Green Bay Packers after seeing 91 yfs (including three receptions) last week versus the Arizona Cardinals. Morris has become available in 58 percent of yahoo leagues and should be added in deeper custom formats.
David Moore – Available in 99 percent of yahoo leagues David Moore went off against the Rams of all teams for two touchdowns and 38 yards off of three receptions. While Moore will be no more than the number three receiver going forward he could remain heavily involved in the wide receiver rotation due to Russell Wilson’s burgeoning trust in Moore as a playmaker.
Deep league specials: The 68 percent available Mohamed Sanu probably belongs in the list above but we cant write about the same receiver every week can we? He remains a solid bye week filler as the Falcons possession receiver; the 99 percent available Rishard Matthews could find his way onto a receiver needy team this week and is a solid ‘stash and laugh’ add; Rashard Higgins who is currently available in 99 percent of yahoo leagues had a solid 3-66-1 day in week five and should see his role expand with Hue Jackson losing faith in rookie Antonio Callaway as far as feeding him a heavy workload; it was the 95 percent available Chester Rogers who had the big game against the Patriots and not Ryan Grant; the 81 percent available DJ Moore saw more targets in week five then he had seen all season and remains a solid ‘stash and laugh’ add; Martavis Bryant though on suspension watch is available in 96 percent of yahoo leagues and looks like a solid ocean deep league add after a three reception, 93 yard effort in week five; available in 94 percent of yahoo leagues Willie Snead continues to see a fantasy relevant number of targets and should be added in deeper leagues as bye week filler; both sitting at 99 percent available Terrelle Pryor and Cordarelle Patterson found the end zone in week five; if ASJ misses time Niles Paul could be an interesting add in the fantasy wasteland that is tight end as after coming on in relief of ASJ he managed to haul in more receptions and yards (7-65) than ASJ has seen in any single game this season; speaking of tight ends the 99 percent available Ryan Griffin and 97 percent available Geoff Swaim are worth looks as bye week fillers in deeper custom formats; deep leaguers in need of a running back could look to the wire to LaGarette Blount and Mike Davis both found the end zone in week five and come in at 88 and 81 percent availability respectively. The 99 percent available Kyle Juszczyk is a solid ppr add who will see increased value for as long as Matt Breida in on the shelf.
