Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Week 16 fantasy football moves to make now


Fantasy Super Bowl week is here in many leagues so hopefully you are ready to roll with an impenetrable lineup for the title but there still could be a missing piece to fill in - here are the potential pickups heading into Week 16. 

The waiver wire pickup of the week has to be Joseph Randle (Dallas). It's still up in the air however if star DeMarco Murray will be able to play or not after fracturing a bone in his hand (non-carrying). The latest update is Murray will try to go and he can't make the injury worse. Either way, Randle is an important addition this week, particularly if you have Murray. 

C.J. Spiller (Buffalo) is cleared to return from the in-season Injured Reserve tag. Who knows how much he will be used - you would think he would get eased in - although at Oakland is tempting and Spiller will have fresh legs. If he's on the field, Spiller could be a flier and either way is worth adding this week. 

Toby Gerhart (Jacksonville) was a popular pick before the start of the season based on his opportunity. The season-ending injury to Denard Robinson has made Gerhart somewhat relevant again, and he could be a surprisingly decent play in Week 16 against the porous Titans' defense. 

Kerwynn Williams (Arizona) has shown some quickness his first two weeks in live NFL action, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He would be a desperation play though still this week against the Seahawks plus with the Cardinals down to Ryan Lindley at quarterback. 

The chances on hitting certainly aren't great, but Chris Polk (Philadelphia) is off a 2-TD game (and all he had was two carries). Polk could hit for a score again this week and maybe he gets some junk-time work if Philadelphia gets up big against Washington. 

Now with both Zach Mettenberger and Jake Locker done for the season in Tennessee, Charlie Whitehurst will be called into action. At Jacksonville might provide a fair fantasy day leaving Whitehurst to deliver some value in two-quarterback leagues. Whitehurst has been relatively efficient this season, passing for 967 yards with 5 TDs to just 2 INTs. 

Sticking with Tennessee, Nate Washington is likely undervalued this week and could be on waivers in your league. The Titans are down to Washington as their prime option at receiver (Washington had 10 targets last week) and over the last month, Washington has quietly been the 24th best fantasy receiver. 

Harry Douglas (Atlanta) is on the waiver-wire in some leagues and he will be a great option this week if Julio Jones is out again. This week's game will be a dome match-up at New Orleans in what should be a shoot-out. In what was a low-scoring Week 15, Douglas finished as the 4th best fantasy receiver. 

Andre Holmes (Oakland) has settled into a main role (although starting a Raiders' receiver in Week 16 is a different story, especially after seeing how Buffalo shut down Green Bay this past week). Holmes has 33 targets over the last four games. 

Rookie Paul Richardson (Seattle) scored his first NFL touchdown this week and should continue to see his involvement in the offense grow some. At Arizona this week, the Cardinals rank 29th against the pass while 6th against the run so perhaps Richardson sneaks in another touchdown. 

Albert Wilson (Kansas City) barley registered a blip on the radar through the first 14 weeks, receiving a total of four targets during that time. However, Wilson has started the last two weeks and received 13 targets. He's a low end option but Wilson made a couple of nice plays last week and is carving out a role in the slot for the Chiefs. 

I mentioned Nick Toon (New Orleans) last week and he continues to stay involved. Toon now has 13 receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown over the last three weeks. The Saints will go against Atlanta this week with the division on the line – and Atlanta is dead last in passing yards against this season. 

The Panthers Defense could be a sneaky add this week – and for local Panther fans who wouldn't want extra incentive to root for the Panthers defense this week. Getting to go against Johnny Manziel has to feel enticing at least after his debacle debut as a starter. I admit, I thought Manziel would generate some fantasy stats but that game was over before it got started. The Browns ran just 38 offensive plays, the fewest by any team this season and the fewest for a Browns team since 1999. Statistically it was the worst first career start for any quarterback in the last five years. 

Other fantasy notes 
Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati) delivered on his sleeper status last week with 152 total yards and 2 TDs. In the three games that the Bengals have featured Hill as their primary back, Hill has averaged 25.3 carries per game and delivered 151 rushing yards per game with 4 TDs. Hill needs 133 yards to crack 1,000 as a rookie and remains a must start (although against Denver this week who rank 2nd against the run is a tough draw). 

It will be hard to trust the Bears' passing game after the showing on Monday Night, but Alshon Jeffery has scored now in five straight games and has a new career high with 9 TDs on the season. 

Are we about to see the end of two legends at running back? Both Frank Gore (San Francisco) and Steven Jackson (St. Louis) will be 32 years old before next season. Gore is in the final year of his contract while Jackson has one year left (but he could be a cap casualty). Jackson is the NFL active leading rushing leader with 11,379 career rushing yards (16th all-time) while Gore is the 2nd active leading rusher with 10,771 rushing yards (21st best all-time). 

How will these remarkable rookie receivers end up will be an interesting sub-plot over the final two weeks. This week the Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. (972), Panthers' Kelvin Benjamin (952) and Bucs' Mike Evans (948) should all pass 1,000 receiving yards for their rookie season. In the last 20 years, only 8 receivers have reached the 1,000 mark in their first NFL season (most recently Keenan Allen last year and A.J. Green in 2011). There have never been two receivers to do it, let alone three (and there is an outside chance that the Bills' Sammy Watkins makes it four, although he needs 150 yards in two games). 

2 comments:

dukhomia said...

Wow it's an awesome blog. Unique ideas or tricks or strategies can make or help you to be a winner. So you should take care about your strategies with proper thinking. From any where and anytime you can visit my websites for taking right decisions. Just follow the website.
daily fantasy sports

Unknown said...

Hey fellas hope to see you at the game Saturday! Awesome article, really enjoyed it, though I am a Titans fan.. Btw if you wanna check this site http://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/ they've got a really nice podcast about football. GO TITANS!!!