Hot Pickups – Week Seven
Odell Beckham – Available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues Odell Beckham Jr. is now in line to be a starter following Victor Cruz’ torn patellar tendon on Sunday Night Football. Beckham now has sky high upside and may soon find himself in WR2 territory; he is that talented. Beckham is the team’s top playmaker and highlight reel shaker and should at a minimum provide WR3 value the rest of the way.
Isaiah Crowell – The reason I did not have Ben Tate as an RB1 this off-season was not Terrance West. The reason I was not high on Terrance West was not because on Ben Tate. The reason was Isaiah Crowell, a UDFA with some off-field issues that actually looked like one of the top two backs in this draft class. Fast forward to week six and Crowell has shown that he is on par with Ben Tate from a talent perspective and has pushed everyone elses sleeper rookie running back to third on the depth chart. Crowell finished week six with 77 yards and a touchdown off of 11 carries and seems to have the backup job sewn up as Terrance West was a healthy scratch in week six. Crowell needs to be owned in all leagues and is a higher upside backup than West ever was. Crowell is a solid flex play in standard leagues and is a weekly threat to find the end zone. Crowell is available in 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Davante Adams – Available in 94 percent of Yahoo! leagues; wait how is he available in 94 percent of Yahoo! leagues? Go pick him up now. Adams is essentially a starter in the Packers base three-wide formation and his quarterback is Aaron Rodgers. Adams has seen consistent red zone looks and would be a WR2 lock if Nelson or Cobb were to go down with an injury. Adams is an upside flex2 at the moment who trending towards flex value. Adams should be owned in all competitive formats.
Brandon LaFell – LaFell broke out for two touchdowns and 97 yards in week six and it has become evident that Tom Brady being a fantasy success this season will be largely dependent on their off-season additions chipping in. LaFell looks to have solidified an outside receiver role following his breakout and is on pace to set new career highs in both yardage and touchdowns. Lafell is available in 93 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is averaging close to seven targets per week which includes a zero target week two.
Andre Holmes – Andre Holmes broke out in week six with two touchdowns and 121 yards off of eight targets and four receptions. Holmes should already be owned in all leagues but is still available in a surprising 94 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Yes, if you play in a competitive format he is probably already owned but it is worth taking a look to see if someone dropped him during the Raiders bye week. Holmes should provide flex value going forward and if DereK Carr continues to get better he could see WR3 value in the near future.
Malcom Floyd – Jokes were made this offseason about fantasy owners mistakenly thinking they stole Michael Floyd in the later rounds only to realize they snagged Malcom Floyd. Nobody is laughing anymore as Malcolm Floyd has returned to fantasy relevance. To be fair Michael has only played in five games due to a bye week but Floyd has been a WR2 with his 362 yards and three touchdowns thus far on the season. Floyd is available in 77 percent of Yahoo! leagues but needs to be owned across the board.
Louis Murphy – Louis Murphy balled out in week six and despite the return of Mike Evans had his best game of the season. The 98 percent available Murphy posted a 72 yard and a touchdown game off of seven receptions and nine targets and has proved he will have a legit role going forward. Murphy looks like a solid bench stash in deeper leagues who you can plug in a bye week crunches. Murphy is no more than a WR5 but he is knocking on the door of WR4 territory.
Jarvis Landry – Impressive rookie Jarvis Landry finally broke out for the Dolphins in week six with 75 yards and a touchdown off of eight targets and six receptions. Landry was second on the team in targets and as the Dolphins second most talented receiver we expect this trend to continue going forward. Available in 98 percent of Yahoo! leagues Landry has flex appeal in deeper leagues and is an upside bench stash/bye week filler in PPR formats. There will be some inconsistency as we can expect with any rookie but Landry is a keeper and is someone who will rise in our rankings as the season wears on.
Tre Mason – Tre Mason was finally activated and all he did was manage more total rushing yards than Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham combined despite a third of their combined carries. We have been touting Mason as the reason not to draft Stacy this year and fantasy owners finally got a chance to see why. Mason is one of the most talented backs in this draft class and as said before Zac Stacy is a sub 4 yards per carry runner which is not good enough to hold off Mason on early downs.
Cecil Shorts – Available in 62 percent of Yahoo! leagues Shorts is worth owning at the current time as he is fresh off of a ten reception, 16 target performance in which he managed 103 yards. Always more of a garbage time hero than a legit number one for Jacksonville we do not trust Shorts down the stretch but he is an upside bench stash or flex2 in deeper 300+ player pool formats.
Allen Robinson – Available in 88 percent of Yahoo! leagues Robinson is a solid PPR add. Robinson will continue to deal with consistency issue as most rookie do but has averaged six receptions and nine targets over his past four games and he will only continue to improve as he gets acclimated to the speed of the NFL game. Robinson is a low floor WR4 going forward.
Jerick Mckinnon – Mckinnon has been unleashed. Mckinnon has been promoted to the staring lineup and managed 82 yards on 17 touches this past week and will have much better days ahead. We still expect Asiata to mix in on passing downs and in the red zone but this news buoys Mckinnon all the way to RB3 status with RB2 upside. Bridgewater’s scrambling ability will keep defenses honest and will give Mckinnon a bit more breathing room to work with. Mckinnon is still available in 63 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Darren McFadden – A starting running back should be owned in more than 40 percent of Yahoo! leagues, potential committee notwithstanding. McFadden had a solid week six with 84 total yards off of 16 touches and is currently the clear lead back in Oakland for what that is worth. There is some reason for optimism with Dennis Allen now on the street and McFadden could be the main beneficiary. McFadden is an upside flex play for now but still has top five talent which is why he should at the very least be on fantasy benches.
Storm Johnson – Fantasy owners can consider Storm Johnson the Jaguars new starting running back. Gerhart has not been officially demoted but they have seen enough from him and with the Jaguars season going nowhere it is time they take an extended look at rookie Storm Johnson. Johnson was one of the least impressive backs in this draft class but he is an all around back and has more talent than Toby Gerhart. With that said the Jags will be playing from behind often this season so Storm should only be a hot add in deeper leagues and for those who may have lost Stevan Ridley for the season.
James White – With Stevan Ridley lost for the season, Shane Vereen not capable of carrying a full workload and Brandon Bolden a core special teamer it appears that James White will finally get a chance to make due on the promise he showed this offseason. White should be added in all leagues as he may pace the Patriots backfield in touches week to week in short order. White is a flex option at running back for now until we see what the Pats plans are but has sure-fire RB3 upside if he will indeed be running ahead of Brandon Bolden. White is available in 97 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Jace Amaro – Jace is stepping up and now looks like the number two option we all thought he profiled as for the Jets. Essentially ‘a rocked up wideout’, Amaro is in the game for his pass catching skills as opposed to his blocking skills and it is apparent that he and Geno are developing some solid chemistry as can be evidenced by his ten receptions on 12 targets in week six. Amaro is worth a look in deeper leagues and should be a solid upside TE2 the rest of the way. Amaro is available in 99 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Ronnie Hillman – Hillman looked better against the formidable Jets run D than Montee Ball has looked all season and seems to have worked his way into a timeshare with his impressive week six performance. Hillman needs to be owned in all leagues until Ball returns and will be a RB2/RB3 until that time. Hillman is available in 55 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
