LOOKING FOR GEMS
Fantasy playoffs: Blake me to my fantasy Super Bowl
The first week of the playoffs brought us headaches and heartaches as we saw the 3rd overall running back, and 2nd overall quarterback go down with injuries.
Headache of the Week
Rated top 3 overall for the week in various rankings, the rookie breakout running back went down in the first quarter with a concussion. Just how much has he produced the entire year? In the first 13 weeks of the season (excluding Thursday), Kamara had 86 rushes for 606 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. As a pass catcher, he is just as lethal where he has 60 catches for 614 yards and four touchdowns, averaging an absurd 10.9 yards per reception. With the extra days off to rest, Kamara owners hope for the ball carrier to return quick, fast and in a hurry.
Heartache of the week
Through three quarters, Wentz was on fire lighting up the Rams defense for 291 yards and four scores, good for 27.2 points (ESPN standard). Melodrama unfolds, and the rest is history, or can we say history is to be made if the Eagles plan to hoist their first Vince Lombardi Trophy. What do owners lose? The second-ranked quarterback in fantasy scoring that had a subpar schedule remaining. Left on Philadelphia's schedule, Giants(20th), Cowboys(28th), Raiders(13th).
You made it this far so there's no need to get cute now. But if you find yourself looking to fill a spot due to injury or have doubts due to matchups, here are a few players who you should keep on your radar.
Quarterbacks
Blake Bortles - Don't look now, but Blake Bortles is quietly working his way up on QB rankings. He sits 13th overall, ahead of the likes of Matt Ryan, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota. He leads all these household names by more than 19 total points. Another reason to look at Bortles is his remaining schedule; he will be against vulnerable defenses vs. quarterbacks the remaining of the year facing the Texans (29th), 49ers (31st) and the Titans (15th).
If you're looking for someone who won't win you this week but won't lose it either, look no further. Flacco is averaging 269 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games. This week Baltimore gets a favorable matchup vs. Cleveland who surrenders the 5th most points to quarterbacks. Historically, Flacco has had success vs. the Browns against whom he holds a 16-2 overall record. Over 18 games, he possesses a 26-12 touchdown to interception ratio and carries a 90.5 passer rating. In the previous meeting this year, he tossed two scores while throwing for 217 yards. Flacco carries a high floor but a low ceiling in week 15.
Honorable Mentions
Nick Foles- competent quarterback vs. the 32nd ranked defense in points allowed to quarterbacks. Giants have allowed five quarterbacks to eclipse 25+ points in 2017.
Tyrod Taylor- Practiced with the first team Wednesday. Taylor has torched the Dolphins in his career where he holds a 121.2 passer rating with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Running Backs
Last weeks injury seems to be minor, and he looks to be a go this week. When facing the Rams, the way to hurt them is on the ground where they give up the 31st most points to the position. In the first half, Davis had nine carries for 56 yards. He would leave the game in the third quarter but averaged 4.4 yards per rush on the day. In week 13, he had 20 total touches, last week he left the game with 16 touches in the 3rd. Look for him to get into the twenties in touches this week as he is clearly the lead back on early downs in Seattle.
Adrian Peterson's return is again in question, leaving the majority of the backfield duties all to Williams. In week 13 vs. the Rams, he totaled 97 yards and last week he added another 88. In week 14, he touched the ball 20 times. Look for him to continue the same vs. an opponent who in 18th overall in points surrendered to running backs (24.4) and has given up ten total scores to the position.
Coming off an unexpected three-touchdown performance, Stewart has now scored in 3 consecutive weeks totaling five touchdowns. The return of Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil might have something to do with the numbers in week 14 where the running back also tacked on 103 yards. This weeks match up and game script leads us to believe that the Panthers will lean on the ground game to control the clock and the keep the ball out of Aaron Rodgers hands. The Packers, surrender the 8th most points to running backs (25.6) as a unit, look for Stewart to get in the Endzone once again.
Wide Receivers
Opportunity is what we're looking for when trying to fill a spot this late in the season and Westbrook has seen just that with 27 targets in the last three games. He has caught 17 of those targets while scoring double digits in all three weeks. His schedule has two favorable matchups vs. the Texans who are the ninth worse team surrendering 33.7 points a game as a unit allowing 13 scores to the position on the year. Next week he gets the 49ers, a group that concedes 33.1 points a game to wide receivers.
Willaims ended Sunday's game with 23.2 fantasy points, 132 receiving yards, and a touchdown. But the underlier here has to be he did it only on four catches. This has been an issue with Williams all year long as he has failed to surpass 2 receptions since week 6. A true boom or bust play, I think he gets on the scoreboard again. Marcus Peter's will be shadowing teammate Keenan Allen, leaving Williams to see a ton of veteran Darrelle Revis. Kansas City has been terrible vs. wide receivers giving up the 2nd most points to the position at 37.7 a game.
Randall Cobb- The return of Aaron Rodgers should boost his numbers. If the Packers choose to be somewhat safe with Rodgers' arm and limit throwing the deep ball, look for Cobb to be the beneficiary with intermediate routes.
Tight Ends
After two dud weeks, Davis saw his most targets in 2017 with seven. He was only able to secure two but still managed to score a touchdown. The Chargers have been good vs. tight ends all year long but the last three weeks have seen them give up 11.4, 22.7 and 13.1. points to the position. With the volume he see's and no other weapons in Washington, use him as a streamer.
Hate to chase last week's performance, but he is coming off career highs in both receptions and yards. The Bears have been good limiting tight ends the last two weeks but also gave up a huge performance to the Eagles Zach Ertz 3 weeks ago where he had ten receptions and 103 yards. Not a must play by any means, but if you need a tight end, Ebron has had at least four receptions since week 11.
Defenses
Saints- Playing Bryce Petty, enough said
Cardinals- Washington has numerous offensive line injuries, and the Cardinals have had 3+ sacks in four game this season. The Arizona defense also has had at least one interception in 11 games this season (lead the NFL), and five interceptions in the last four games.
All scoring ESPN standard
For any questions or comments reach me at @JerryBoKnowz on twitter.
