Rizzla discusses the hottest pickups for week ten of the 2018 fantasy football season.
Welcome to our week ten edition of hot pickups. We will discuss the hottest pickups for week ten and as always limit our selections to players available in more than 55 percent of yahoo leagues. One name that just missed our cutoff that needs to be owned in all leagues is the 52 percent available Duke Johnson. Struggling enough that most of his fantasy owners cut bait, Duke roared back to fantasy relevance in week nine and should be a solid flex2 at the very minimum with Freddy Kitchens now calling the offensive shots in Cleveland. Make the add wherever possible.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling looks to have permanently ascended to a starting role for the Green Bay Packers. Fresh off a 101 receiving yard performance in week nine MVS is now averaging 100 yards receiving or a touchdown in each of his last four games. Available in 63 percent of Yahoo leagues MVS now looks like an upside WR4/flex who should muscle his way into the WR2 conversation by the time the season is over. Geronimo Allison also just popped up with a groin injury making MVS’ rest of season upside that much more palpable. ESB and MVS should both get extended run going forward but MVS has proven more reliable. Add MVS wherever available, this will likely be your last shot.
Josh Adams is still available in 90 percent of yahoo leagues. As mentioned last week, Adams looks like the best runner in the Philadelphia Eagles backfield and could find himself in an RBBC with Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement coming out of the bye. Adams has been pegged by various outlets to take over the old LeGarrette Blount role including NJ.com that had this to say:
“Perhaps the answer lies in Adams, a local kid from Warrington, Pa.
The numbers back it up.
Last season, Blount led the Eagles with 22 runs of nine yards or more.
This season, Corey Clement has five such runs on 50 carries. Smallwood has six on 60 carries. Ajayi had seven on 45 carries before suffering a torn ACL.
Adams already has five on his 20 carries.”
Philly.com also opined that the reason the Eagles did not trade for a back and instead focused on the receiver help they so badly needed, was because of the emergence of Adams. Add Adams where possible and let this backfield sort itself out. If the Eagles decide against a strict RBBC and want to install Adams in the weekly game plan, it will likely be Smallwood and Adams that share the load with Clement backing up them both. Adams is merely a upside bench stash for now but could emerge from week ten with weekly flex value.
Still available in 75 percent of yahoo leagues Christian Kirk should be owned in all leagues. As evidenced in week eight the move to Byron Leftwich as OC was a positive one for the entire offense and we should finally start to see Kirk truly shine across from Fitzgerald. With Fitzgerald back on track Kirk will be reduced to the number two option but should see much higher quality targets going forward. Josh Rosen’s protection is likely to remain a thematic issue for the entire 2018 campaign but Leftwich is smart enough to slide protections and design some quick hitters to his playmakers.
86 percent available Elijah Mcguire looked solid in his 2018 Jets debut and should be added in deeper PPR leagues. McGuire looks like an upside bench stash you can start during the byes and could turn himself into an RB3 by the time they are over. If you can recall last season, Elijah was pushing Bilal Powell to fantasy irrelevance. Now healthy and with Powell sidelined for the year, McGuire will look to permanently replace the middling running back. With Sam Darnold struggling and staying under six yards per attempt in five of his nine starts Powell could see a large role, especially in games the Jets are trailing in.
Available in 74 percent of yahoo leagues Nyheim Hines is worth a look in deeper ppr leagues. Likely to become a weekly fixture here because of his upside and the lack of depth in the leagues many yahoo fantasy owners play in, Hines should be owned in competitive leagues. He is an injury away from being a weekly starting option and as evidenced in week eight, can generate standalone fantasy value, even when he is not heavily involved in the passing game. Hines posted a career high in rushing yards as the number two back, yes, a lot of it had to do with their opponent, the disaster in silver and black, and even more had to do with the same Raiders playing pass whenever they saw receiving specialist Hines hit the field, but the fact remains Hines ran better than anyone thought he could. Hines is more of an upside bench stash with bye week filler value at this point, save except for the deepest of leagues, but is someone who belongs on rosters in all competitive leagues. Check your wire just in case.
The 99 percent available Adam Humphries exploded in week nine to the tune of eight receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Still more of a deeper league play Humphries is a viable bye week filler but remains more of a WR5 type in our rest of season rankings. What is interesting to note however is that Humphries saw 44 pass routes in week nine to Chris Godwin’s 25 and Desean Jackson’s 26 (Mike Evans saw 47). If this trend keeps up Humphries will leap into the WR3 conversation. Make the speculative add where possible.
Maurice Harris may have emerged from week nine as Alex Smith’s new favorite target. The 99 percent available Harris corralled ten of his twelve targets for an equally impressive 102 yards receiving. Granted the career day came against a decimated Atlanta Falcons defense but the target share is what we are zoning in on for fantasy value projection purposes. With Paul Richardson placed on IR and lost for the season, Jay Gruden and the coaching staff would do well to continue to see if Harris can become a focal part of the offense. Harris is looking at WR4 upside going forward.
Pierre Garçon may have found a new lease on his fantasy season with third stringer Nick Mullens as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Although he saw a modest five target, three reception, 56 yard game in week nine, he found the end zone and displayed a growing chemistry with his new signal caller. Mullens has not officially been named the new starter as of this writing so check on the status before finalizing your bids Tuesday night. Available in 76 percent of Yahoo leagues Garçon has flex2 upside going forward.
I’m going to have to start calling this the Willie Snead column as he is looking like he will reside here all season. Still available in 66 percent of Yahoo leagues, Snead yet again led the Ravens in targets, receptions and receiving yards and needs, I repeat needs, to be owned in ppr leagues. Perhaps 66 percent of Yahoo leagues are eight man leagues, if yours however is not, go ahead and make the add if available.
Tre’Quan Smith continues to be a massive disappointment in his expanded role sans Ted Ginn but at least put a dent in the fantasy box score with a trip to the end zone in week nine. Still available in 72 percent of Yahoo leagues Smith remains a high upside bench stash and should be added where needed.
Robby Anderson deserves to be owned based on his weekly role but with Sam Darnold continuing to look like a bust we can understand the low ownership numbers. Available in 66 percent of Yahoo leagues, despite missing a contest, Anderson leads the Jets in both receiving yards and air yards and his 16 percent target share is actually only seven targets from Quincy Enunwa’s 21 percent. Anderson is a boom or bust WR4 play who could quickly become a upside WR3 if Sam Darnold can start to put it all together as the season progresses. Make the stash where needed.
Deep league specials: 99 percent available gadget receiver Curtis Samuel found the end zone twice on three touches in week nine and is worth an add in the deepest of leagues; the 95 percent available Cordarelle Patterson proved on SNF that he is worth rostering as long as Sony Michel is sidelined; 89 percent available Anthony Miller continues to underwhelm but did see six targets in week nine; 87 percent available Antonio Callaway has been frustratingly inept this season but continues to have a role that could lead to fantasy relevance; Dez Bryant is said to be taking a workout with the Saints and is available in 93 percent of Yahoo leagues; available in 63 percent of yahoo league Devante Parker looked like himself again in week nine; tight ends Jack Doyle and Jeff Heuerman could fight for TE1 value the rest of the way, especially when their quarterbacks unhealthy affections for them are taken into account. Doyle is available in 60 percent of leagues while Heuerman is available in 99 percent of yahoo leagues.
