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This is the time of year when fantasy owners tend to get desperate, so make some trade offers. You might get a steal from an owner that has to win this week.
Alright, let's see which free agents are still available. Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN leagues. Some of these players below are good for the short-term, while others have more long-term value. You have to make the call on what your team needs. Immediate help to start this week, or a player to stash on your bench and hope he breaks out. Let's get started.
QB
Josh Allen: Last week I advised anyone that needed a QB to stash Josh Allen. If you didn't do that, now is the time. He gets the Dolphins this week. FIRE HIM UP! He's available in about 50% of 10-team leagues.
Gardner Minshew: He had a tough game last week, but gets the Bengals in his next matchup. He's rostered in about 54% of leagues.
Matthew Stafford: This week's matchup against the Vikings is tough, but he gets the Giants and Raiders after that. He's coming off a bad game, but overall he's been pretty good this year. He's also rostered in about 50% of ESPN standard leagues.
Kirk Cousins: If you're in a deeper league, Cousins looks like a good bet with the Vikings throwing the ball more. He plays the Lions this week, and he's 26% owned in 10-team leagues.
RB
Jamaal Williams: He rushed for over 100 yards against the Lions, and the Packers will continue to use him and Aaron Jones. Finding a RB off waivers is tough, so he's probably the best option out there. At least he plays in an offense with Aaron Rodgers.
Darrell Henderson: He won't do much when Gurley returns, but Gurley is no lock to stay healthy. He's out there in almost 98% of standard leagues and Malcolm Brown didn't do much with his opportunities.
Mark Walton: He's on the Dolphins so you can't feel very good about him, especially with Kenyan Drake taking touches away from him. If you're desperate, he is getting touches and the Dolphins have never fully committed to Drake. He does have a tough matchup against the Bills this week.
Alexander Mattison: He's more of a handcuff, but he could be a league winner if Dalvin Cook goes down. He's available in 85% of leagues.
WR
Phillip Dorsett: Josh Gordon is banged up and Dorsett's hamstring injury shouldn't keep him out of the lineup much longer. He's the best long-term option at WR, and he's only rostered in 27% of standard ESPN leagues.
Jamison Crowder: With Sam Darnold back Crowder is very usable for fantasy. He almost had 100 yards last week against a Cowboy defense that's been stout for most of the season. I'd rather have Robbie Anderson, but Crowder should be solid in PPR.
Auden Tate: Tate also had almost 100 yards receiving this week, so he could continue to be a decent starter until A.J. Green returns. Hell, Green may never play for the Bengals this year, so Tate could be good long-term as well. He's only rostered in 21% of ESPN leagues.
TE
Hunter Henry: He's actually available in almost half of ESPN standard leagues. Grab him immediately if he's out there. All his production came in garbage time, but who cares? He could be a league winner with TE being so terrible for fantasy this year.
T.J. Hockenson: He might have been dropped so you may be able to get him. He's rostered in 56% of ESPN leagues. He wasn't very good against the Packers, but he did drop a TD, so he's in the mix.
Chris Herndon: We he gets healthy, he could come in handy. He's available in about 80% of leagues. Darnold is giving this offense some life.
DEFENSE
The 49ers and the Bills have great matchups this week. There's a good chance the 49ers are owned, but the Bills are coming off a bye and were likely dropped.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
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Winning consecutive series over last place teams does not mean all is well again in Astroworld, but taking five of seven games from the Orioles and Rockies stopped the bleeding which saw the Astros stumble through an awful 14-23 stretch. The regular season is now in its final month, the Astros are in the middle of three different playoff races. The high-end goal is finishing with one of the two best records in the American League to secure a bye past the two out of three lightning round Major League Baseball calls the Wild Card Series. Entering the holiday weekend the Astros sit four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, three and a half back of the Detroit Tigers. If the Astros can’t overtake either the Jays or Tigers, they at least want to hold off Seattle to win the American League West. Winning the division for an eighth consecutive full season would be its own accomplishment, for the postseason it would at least assure the Astros of homefield advantage in a best-of-three. The race the Astros hope to need to pay little attention to is holding off Kansas City for the final wild card spot. That would be necessary should the Astros lose out on the division title to the Mariners, and finish behind both the second and third place finishers in the AL East in the wild card race, presently the Red Sox and Yankees. The M’s, Bosox, and Yanks all finishing ahead of the Astros is a clear possibility. The good news on that front is the Astros holding a five game lead over the Royals with 28 games to go, though Kansas City does win the tiebreaker should it come to that. The Astros have a significantly easier closing schedule than do the Royals. The Astros have just six games left against teams that would currently qualify for the postseason. The Royals have 12. So to miss the playoffs entirely the Astros basically have to fold, and/or the Royals need to play four weeks of spectacular baseball.
Yordan Alvarez’s looooong awaited return is a big boost to the lineup. Even if he isn't peak Yordan, his presence matters. His missile of a home run to centerfield was the wow moment of his return series, but Alvarez drawing five walks in nine plate appearances speaks to what opponents think of him. Still, offense remains an Astro struggle all too often. The Rockies have the worst pitching staff in MLB. The Astros managed nine runs in three games against it. At least that was enough to win two out of three. 67 times this season the Astros have scored three or fewer runs, equaling their three or fewer total of the entire 2024 season. For a good while this year the Astros were winning an amazing percentage of their games where the offense did little. At one point the Astros were 19-27 when scoring three or fewer, which was stunning success and as I wrote at the time, wholly unsustainable. Since then, the Astros have lost 20 of the last 21 games in which they failed to score four.
Christian Walker’s power surge has been a boon, of late helping offset Jose Altuve’s slump (just 10 hits in his last 60 at bats heading into the Angels series) and Carlos Correa’s lack of thump (just two extra base hits and a sub-.700 OPS over his last 15 games). Over 46 games played from July 1 through Thursday, Walker has been very good hitting .279 with an .859 OPS. That doesn't undo his being wretched through June, but credit where credit is due.
Alvarez is the big bopper (remember the ex-Astro who had that nickname?) addition to Joe Espada's lineup cards, but Jake Meyers could be a lower key big return as well next week. To call Chas McCormick and Jacob Melton poor offensive players this season would be an understatement along the lines of saying Yao Ming is above average in height. When Meyers blew out his right calf it short-circuited what was his breakout big league season. Even if Meyers can't regain that form, by accident he'll still be better than what McCormick and Melton have provided.
After finishing up with the Angels on Labor Day, the Astros get the Yankees for three big games at Daikin Park starting Tuesday. Hunter Brown starting Sunday means he will not pitch against the Yankees. That's not a mistake, it's just how the rotation falls. It will be a mistake if the Astros' brain trust doesn't properly map out starting pitching ahead of the massive matchups against the Mariners September 19, 20, 21 and make sure both Brown and Framber Valdez start games in that series. After this homestand wraps, the Astro have only six home games remaining versus 15 on the road.
Oh yeah. Glenn Davis was "The Big Bopper."
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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