Hot Pickups – Week Four
Karlos Williams – Despite strong showings through the first two weeks of the season rookie running back Karlos Williams sits 88 percent available in Yahoo! leagues, that is sure to change after Lesean McCoy sat out most of Sundays contest nursing his hammy and Karlos Williams went off for 110 yards and a score off of 12 rushes. Williams was one of our very favourite rookie running backs coming out of the draft but landed in an unenviable position at the time which caused him to fly under many people’s radars with all pro Lesean McCoy and reliable vet Fred Jackson both ahead of him on the Bills depth chat. With Jackson in Seattle Williams is now the number two and seems to have carved out a change of pace role for himself even when McCoy returns to full health. Dynasty league owners will want to buy sooner than later and stash him as McCoy is not getting any younger and Williams possesses RB1 upside with a starting job in this offense.
Antonio Gates – Available in 54 percent of Yahoo! leagues Gates figures to step right into the TE1 picture once his suspension is over. Make the add now if he is somehow still available in your league.
Tyrod Taylor – Available in 51 percent of Yahoo! leagues Tyrod Taylor has continued to impress and has managed to put up QB1 performance without generating fantasy points from his legs which suggests that the Bills and fantasy owners may have a gem on their hands. Taylor silenced his critics with a three touchdown, 277 passing yard game in a blowout win and he continues to throw at a more than 70 percent completion rate and boasts a top five QBR thus far on the season. Taylor should continue to push for QB1 status week to week and is someone those who lost Tony Romo, Jay Cutler or Big Ben may want to strongly consider spending a chunk of their FAAB on this week.
Thomas Rawls – Rawls showed the fantasy world why the Seattle brass were high enough n him to trade Christine Michael and waive Robert Turbin. Rawls rumbled his way to 104 rushing yards on 14 carries in week three and may be in line for a similar workload if Marshawn Lynch cannot go for week four or is limited. Available in 99 percent of Yahoo! leagues Rawls has emerged as Lynch’s handcuff for fantasy purposes as it appears he will be the one getting the call on early downs if Lynch were ever to miss any more time with his hamstring or other ailments. Rawls is a flex2 deep league option during the byes and is a high upside handcuff otherwise. I would not suggest starting him in any but the deepest leagues unless Marshawn is out but he is the type of deep league gem that can carry you to the promised land if Lynch cannot get healthy.
Rishard Matthews – Available in 69 percent of Yahoo! leagues Rishard Matthews is a deep league and DFS special until DaVante Parker earns himself a bigger role in this offense. Rishard Matthews led the Dolphins with 116 receiving yards off of six receptions and hauled in two touchdowns in week three after going off for seven receptions and 115 yards in week two. What is evident here is that despite a plethora of new weapons that Ryan Tannehill trusts Matthews and will continue to feed him and Landry until someone else emerges from this depth chart and that until that time Matthews is going to have some WR4 PPR upside with a WR2 ceiling in games the Dolphins are trailing. Pick him up for the bye week crunch if possible.
Marvin Jones – Marvin Jones remains third on the Bengals depth chart despite his rock solid week three in which he mustered five receptions, 94 receiving yards and a score on eight targets while Tyler Eifert put up a bagel on three targets. Andy Dalton has been hot to start the season so deep leaguers will want to add Jones as a bye week filler who has upside to become a permanent flex option if Andy Dalton continues to pay over his head or proves that he actually has become a better quarterback and can continue his high level of play. Jones who is available in 81 percent of Yahoo! leagues was draft worthy in deeper leagues but may have been dropped by antsy owners who opted to explore other avenues following Jones’ slow start to the season. Add Jones in deeper formats noting that he has higher value in standard leagues due to his weekly touchdown upside.
Chris Johnson – Available in 58 percent of Yahoo! leagues Chris Johnson is likely to be relegated back to second string in week four with Andre Ellington looking close to return but he has definitely carved himself out a permanent role that should garner him enough touches to be at least flex2 worthy in deeper leagues. The concern here is David Johnson who will also be getting touches out of this backfield and may get more than Chris on any given week due to gameflow. Johnson is a worthwhile bye week filler who showed his obvious upside should Andre Ellington miss anymore time this season.
Lance Dunbar – Dunbar is still available in 82 percent of Yahoo! leagues and figures to continue to be a PPR dynamo with Tony Romo out of the lineup. Brandon Weeden is a dumpoff king and while Terrance Williams was held catchless in week three Dunbar piled up ten receptions on ten targets highlighting his upside playing next to a bad quarterback. Dunbar is a flex option for the bye weeks in PPR leagues but possesses a bench floor, however as long as Weeden is in the lineup he should push for at least five receptions a game giving him value in deeper leagues.
Kenny Britt – A deep league special Kenny Britt is still available in 93 percent of Yahoo! leagues and could be a solid bye week filler depending on when Brian Quick is finally activated. Quick is presumably the number one receiver when he returns but his time out of the lineup has forced Nick Foles to rely on Britt and he has responded with seven reception, 102 yard effort against the Steelers a week after finding the end zone versus Washington. Britt is an WR5 with mammoth upside but should find himself ranked as a WR4 option with the bye weeks now upon us. Add Britt where possible.
Devin Smith – Targeted nine times in week three it is evident Devin Smith will be playing a large role in this offense even upon Eric Decker’s return. Devin Smith has elite deep threat tools and skills and should have some big weeks once he gets his timing down with Ryan Fitzpatrick and/or Geno Smith. The speedster is available in 99 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Ty Montgomery – With DaVante Adams exiting Monday Night’s contest with an injury we are all reminded how close Montgomery was from big time fantasy value this season. With that said regardless of the health of Adams Montgomery is someone to scoop up on the waiver wire as he is consistently one injury away from being a weekly flex option in all league sizes. We will not go as far as to say Montgomery will steal the job from Adams as the two possess very different skill sets but the Packers may start to scheme t utilize Montgomery’s open field gifts to its potential sooner rather than later. Ty is available in 94 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Deep league radar: Jeremy Kerley, Ty Montgomery, Brian Hartline, Jamison Crowder, Bennie Fowler, Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, Leonard Hankerson, Dorial Green-Beckham, DeVante Parker.
