Week 12 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 12 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 12 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. As we enter week 10, the playoffs are starting to close in. Some teams are finding themselves mathematically out of it, others need to make some aggressive moves to get into the playoffs. Others are positioning themselves for the playoffs. This week I’ll focus exclusively on the young receivers and review how they’ve performed using targets per route run and yards per route run metrics. Young Breakout Receivers The above table looks at all first and second-year WRs who have at least 15% targets per route run (TPRR) and 1.5 Yards per route run (YPRR) through ten weeks this year. Below are some comments on players who stood out in Week 11. Second Year Players Josh Downs: Downs continues to contribute even with the switch back to Anthony Richardson. This week, he caught all five of his targets for 84 yards and a touchdown. That equated to a 23% targets per route run (TPRR) and 3.8 yards per route run (YPRR) both numbers that demonstrate high efficiency for the sophomore receiver. On the year, which gives him a 32% TPRR and 2.5 YPRR efficiency. He’s the most reliable of the Colts receivers. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Smith-Njigba was the first receiver off the board in his rookie class. He underwhelmed last year, but he continues his breakout campaign. This week, he caught 10 of his 11 targets for 110 yards but no touchdowns. His 31% TPRR and 3.1 YPRR showed he could deliver even with DK Metcalf’s return. That moves his 2024 metrics to 23% TPRR and 1.9 YPRR Jordan Addison: Another first-round rookie in his class, Addison has been up and down a bit this year, but he did collect eight targets on 25 routes this week catching three balls for 61 yards and a TD. That gave him 32% TPRR and 2.4 YPRR on the week. For the year, he has 19% TPRR and 1.6 YPRR. He’s a potential flex play for owners each week hoping for one of his big weeks. Puka Nacua: Nacua just continues to deliver for his owners after a lengthy string of weeks missed due to injury. He recorded 33% TPRR and 1.5 YPRR this week. He caught seven balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. For the year, Nacua has recorded 34% TPRR and 3.2 YPRR over his five-game sample. Quentin Johnston: Johnston only caught two of eight targets, but did get 48 yards and a touchdown to salvage his fantasy day. He’s averaging 12 ppg which is a solid bounce back from a difficult rookie campaign. Johnston also collected a 21% TPRR and a 2.1 YPRR on the year. He appears to be a piece of the rebuilding receiving room for the Chargers. Rookies Ladd McConkey: McConkey continues with his breakout rookie season. He caught six of his nine targets for 123 scoreless yards. That amounted to a 28% TPRR and 3.8 YPRR on the week. That moves his year-to-date performance to 24% TPRR and 2.4 YPRR. He’s a bright rookie and the centerpiece of the Chargers’ passing attack. Devaughn Vele: Vele has been inconsistent but continues to be out there running routes for the Broncos. This week he caught four of five targets for 66 yards giving him a 22% TPRR and 2.9 YPRR for the week. For the year, he’s demonstrated target-earning ability in the seven games he’s played collecting a 21% TPRR and 1.9 YPRR. For him to be trusted, however, he’ll need to more consistently be out there running routes. Rome Odunze: Odunze flashes on and off this report. Once again, he delivered a playable week with ten targets and six receptions for 65 yards. The Bears’ offense leaves a lot to be desired, but Odunze should be a significant piece of the offense if they can get in sync. ENTER OUR WEEK 12 DRAFT CONTEST! How it Works: First, you draft your team using our On-Demand Simulator. Next, try to stack the team with players you think will do well this week. Finally, the highest Week 12 Score wins. (PLUS: You get to see the Thursday Night game and then draft!) Here’s our Week 12 Player Rankings to help. First, it’s a best-ball contest, so no need to submit a lineup. We’ll optimize the best one. Secondly, you just sit back and watch your team climb the leaderboard. Weekly Prizes and a Grand Prize at the end of the season! Finally, the Grand Prize Winner (highest individual week of the season) gets to choose from the amazing prizes below. If you don’t know just how awesome and amazing the Panini Flawless Football briefcase is, make sure and watch the video starting at the 8-minute mark! Trading cards are back! MEMBER PERK! Fulltime Members get 5 Free On-Demand Drafts each month in our contest! DRAFT YOUR WEEK 12 TEAM and enter your REDEMPTION CODE you received by email.
Week 11 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 11 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 11 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. As we enter Week 11, the playoffs are starting to close in. Some teams are finding themselves mathematically out of it, others need to make some aggressive moves to get into the playoffs. Others are positioning themselves for the playoffs. This week I’ll focus exclusively on the young receivers and review how they’ve performed using targets per route run and yards per route run metrics. Young Breakout Receivers The above table looks at all first and second-year WRs who have at least 15% targets per route run (TPRR) and 1.5 Yards per route run (YPRR) through ten weeks this year. Below are some comments on players who stood out in Week 10. Second Year Players Josh Downs: Downs continues to contribute as he delivered seven receptions on ten targets for 72 yards and 0 TDs. He registered a 36% targets per route run (TPRR) and a solid 2.6 yards per route run (YPRR). His only downside is he’s not playing a lot in 12 personnel, but still tends to get targeted enough to deliver for you as a flex or WR3 player. We’ll see how the switch back to Anthony Richardson impacts his play. Demario Douglas: Douglas isn’t in a great offense, but he’s certainly experienced an uptick with the QB change a few weeks ago. This week he delivered four receptions on 50 yards on five targets. He had a 29% TPRR and 2.9 YPRR. He’s more of a dart throw to get into your lineups, but in games where he gets enough volume his high catch percentage will deliver in PPR leagues. Tank Dell: Dell’s target share without Nico Collins for another week was strong with a 29% TPRR. He provided fantasy owners with five receptions for 39 yards on nine targets for a disappointing 1.3 YPRR. When Collins returns, he should get less focus from the defense; the question will be if that will compensate for being a lower priority in the passing attack? Rookies Ricky Pearsall: Pearsall continues to play well. His four receptions on six targets for 73 yards and one touchdown were playable for fantasy teams. His advanced metrics in week 10 of 21% TPRR and 2.6 YPRR were also solid. He’s starting to stack good games together taking advantage of Brandon Aiyuk’s absence from the lineup. Malik Nabers: Nabers was once again heavily involved in the Giants’ offense (again during the second half of the game). Nabers collected six receptions for 50 scoreless yards on ten targets. The advanced metrics were a bit muted with just 28% TPRR and another disappointing 1.4 YPRR but this season to date numbers of 32% TPRR and 2.1 YPRR are still very strong. Puka Nacua: The routes run data for Monday night’s game isn’t available at the time of this writing, but Nacua again dominated the receiving action for the Rams. Nacua led the team with 14 targets, nine receptions, and 98 yards. He failed to score a TD, but his 32% actual target share was very strong. Nacua is delivering 18.2 ppg in his two full games since his return looks like he’s a WR1 for the remainder of the season. Adonai Mitchell: Mitchell received an uncharacteristic 35 routes this week. He rewarded the Colts with catching all six of his targets for 71 yards and no touchdowns. That resulted in a 17% TPRR and 2.0 YPRR. He registered over 30% TPRR with limited usage. Mitchell has a chance to continue to prove himself in this crowded receiving score for a run-heavy offense. ENTER OUR WEEK 11 DRAFT CONTEST! How it Works: Firstly, draft your team using our On-Demand Simulator. Next, try to stack the team with players you think will do well this week. Finally, the highest Week 11 Score wins. (PLUS: You get to see the Thursday Night game and then draft!) Here’s our Week 11 Player Rankings to help. Firstly, it’s a best-ball contest, so no need to submit a lineup. We’ll optimize the best one. Secondly, you just sit back and watch your team climb the leaderboard. Weekly Prizes and a Grand Prize at the end of the season! Finally, the Grand Prize Winner (highest individual week of the season) gets to choose from the amazing prizes below. If you don’t know just how awesome and amazing the Panini Flawless Football briefcase is, make sure and watch the video starting at the 8-minute mark! Trading cards are back! MEMBER PERK! Fulltime Members get 5 Free On-Demand Drafts each month in our contest! DRAFT YOUR WEEK 11 TEAM and enter your REDEMPTION CODE you received by email.
Week 10 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 10 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 10 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. As we enter Week 10, the playoffs are starting to close in. Some teams are finding themselves mathematically out of it, others need to make some aggressive moves to get into the playoffs. Others are positioning themselves for the playoffs. This week I’ll focus exclusively on the young receivers and review how they’ve performed using targets per route run and yards per route run metrics. Young Breakout Receivers The above table looks at all first and second-year wideouts who have at least 15% targets per route run (TPRR) and 1.5 yards per route run (YPRR) through eight weeks this year. Below are some comments on players who stood out in Week 9. Second-Year Players Josh Downs: Downs delivered a seemingly floor game for him with 12 points on six receptions for 60 yards on nine targets. The nine targets represented an absurd 45% targets per route run performance. Downs is becoming an every-week WR2/3 for lineups. For at least Week 9, Downs gets Flacco under center. With a 31% TPRR and over 2.0 yards per route run, he’s a must-start this week. Tank Dell: Dell led the Texans without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins in the lineup. He had six receptions on nine targets for 126 yards and no touchdowns. His return to high yards/reception was a positive sign. For the week, he earned a 23% targets per route run and 3.2 yards per route run performance. On the year, which brings him up to 19% targets per route run and 1.4 yards per route run. hose numbers are just below what qualifies him for the table above. Cedric Tillman: Tillman didn’t have great underlying metrics this week, but did turn in a six reception 75 yard and one TD performance. He did that on the strength of 11 targets. That represented a 20% targets per route run and 1.4 yards per route run on the week bringing his season to 18% targets per route run and 1.3 yards per route run. He’s been a strong fantasy receiver the last three weeks and will likely continue to be going forward. Jayden Reed: Reed was highly productive this week collecting five receptions for 113 yards and no touchdowns. That represented 21% targets per route run and 3.9 yards per route run on the week bringing his season total to 21% targets per route run and 2.8 yards per route run. Your lineup needs to be deep to not include Reed each week. Zay Flowers: Flowers again delivered with five receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns. He did this with only six targets and earned 38% targets per route run and an astonishing 7.9 yards per route run. That brings his season to 26% targets per route run and 2.6 yards per route run. Quentin Johnston: Johnston returned to action this week. The Los Angeles Chargers are beginning to pass more now, and Johnston is involved. He collected four receptions with 137 yards and one touchdown. That was good for 21% targets per route run and 5.7 yards per route run. His season performance is now 21% targets per route run and 2.4 yards per route run. Johnston is having a strong bounce-back season averaging a respectable 12.1 ppg. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Smith-Njigba was the start of Week 9 with seven receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He did this on 13 targets. This represented a 31% targets per route run and 4.3 yards per route run. That brings his season to 22% targets per route run and 1.7 yards per route run. Rookies Brian Thomas: Thomas had a down week with only two receptions for 22 scoreless yards. He played on a questionable tag. But he still sports a very efficient 22% targets per route run and 2.5 yards per route run on the year. Malik Nabers: Nabers was once again heavily involved in the Giants offense (at least during the second half of the game). Nabers collected nine receptions for 59 scoreless yards. The advanced metrics were a bit muted with just 16% targets per route run and a disappointing 0.9 yards per route run but this season to date numbers of 33% targets per route run and 2.2 yards per route run are very strong. Ladd McConkey: McConkey followed up his strong Week 8 with a solid 5-reception, 70-yard performance this week. He recorded 23% targets per route run on the week and 2.3 yards per route run bringing his season total to 25% targets per route run and 2.1 yards per route run. Xavier Legette: Legette continued to play well post-Diontae Johnson trade. He recorded four receptions for 33 yards and one touchdown. That represented 27% targets per route run and 1.5 yards per route run. That brings his total to 21% targets per route run and 1.3 yards per route run. Rome Odunze: Odunze is quietly becoming the most productive of the Bears’ receivers, which isn’t saying a lot, of course. He turned in his second 100-yard effort collecting five receptions for 104 yards and no touchdowns. That represented a 15% targets per route run with a strong 2.3 yards per route run. For the year, Odunze has earned 17% targets per route run and 1.5 yards per route run. He needs to get in better sync with his rookie QB and connect on a few more deep targets to spike his metrics. ENTER
Week 9 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 9 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 9 Waiver Wire picks. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal with Week 9 Sleepers & Emerging Players is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. As we enter week 9, the playoffs are starting to close in. Some teams are finding themselves mathematically out of it, others need to make some aggressive moves to get into the playoffs. Others are positioning themselves for the playoffs. This week I’ll focus exclusively on the young receivers and review how they’ve performed using targets per route run and yards per route run metrics. Young Breakout Receivers The above table looks at all first and second-year WRs who have at least a 15% targets per route run (TPRR) and 1.5 Yards per route run (YPRR) through eight weeks this year. Below are some comments on players who stood out in Week 8. Second-Year Players Josh Downs: Downs is averaging 17.7 ppg without Anthony Richardson this year and 12.7 ppg with Richardson as his starting QB. For at least Week 9, Downs gets Joe Flacco under center. With a 31% TPRR and over 2.0 yards per route run, he’s a must-start this week. Tank Dell: Dell caught all four of his targets for 35 yards and a touchdown this week. Nico Collins is on track to return, by the latest reports, in Week 9. Stefon Diggs also suffered a torn ACL ending his season. Dell’s targets should pick up going forward, and he should be getting healthier coming off his off-season surgery. There’s hope we could see a return to his 2023 form and hopefully longer aDOT. But, for now, he’s a flex play in good matchups. Demario Douglas: Douglas played limited snaps in Week 7 due to his illness and followed that up with an unproductive Week 8 while having his starting quarterback be knocked out of the game. Douglas is a borderline waiting for more consistency to develop. Cedric Tillman: Tillman is coming onto the scene after the trade of Amari Cooper. Over the last two weeks, Tillman only trails Jerry Jeudy in route participation but leads all Browns pass catchers in targets, yards, and touchdowns. His targets per route run of 26% and Yards per route run of 2.22 would qualify him in the top category of the table above had he been able to perform to that level all season. But, with his new role, he projects to be a key piece in this offense with Jameis Winston at the helm. Rookies Jordan Whittington: Whittington has been productive in the brief stint without both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the lineup; however, they are both back so Whittington is only a stash play hoping for an opportunity. Ladd McConkey: McConkey had a huge game this past week with six receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. McConkey has had at least six targets in the last in all games but one this year. This is the first week he broke 67 yards receiving and found the end zone multiple times. He’s now averaging 13.1 points per game. He’s a flex consideration play going forward. Devaughn Vele: Vele’s targets have dropped to three targets in each of the last two games after collecting 14 in his first two games. He’s probably on the outside looking in with his declining participation combined with his low draft capital. Adonai Mitchell: Mitchell gets some recognition this week due to the change at quarterback. Mitchell’s impressive 36% targets per route run this year is impressive. His low catch percentage contributes to his sub-standard 1.4 yards per route run. For the year, Mitchell has only caught about 25% of his targets from Richardson. This increases to 55% under Flacco. He’s a risky start any given week, but his prospects increase with Flacco under center. Xavier Legette: With Diontae Johnson traded, each of the receivers on the team move up the pecking order. Legette, Carolina’s first-round draft in 2024, would seem to benefit. He is not likely to be a huge difference maker in the Panther’s offense, but his 21% targets per route run and catching touchdowns in successive weeks could lead to playable weeks for this rookie receiver. ENTER OUR WEEK 9 DRAFT CONTEST! How it Works: Firstly, draft your team using our On-Demand Simulator. Next, try to stack the team with players you think will do well this week. Finally, the highest Week 9 Score wins. (PLUS: You get to see the Thursday Night game and then draft!) Here’s our Week 9 Player Rankings to help. Firstly, it’s a best-ball contest, so no need to submit a lineup. We’ll optimize the best one. Secondly, you just sit back and watch your team climb the leaderboard. Weekly Prizes and a Grand Prize at the end of the season! Finally, the Grand Prize Winner (highest individual week of the season) gets to choose from the amazing prizes below. If you don’t know just how awesome and amazing the Panini Flawless Football briefcase is, make sure and watch the video starting at the 8-minute mark! Trading cards are back! MEMBER PERK! Fulltime Members get 5 Free On-Demand Drafts each month in our contest! DRAFT YOUR WEEK 9 TEAM and enter your REDEMPTION CODE you received by email.
Week 8 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 8 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 8 Waiver Wire lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal with Week 8 Sleepers is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. As we enter week 8, more young players are potentially emerging, but time is becoming critical for them to help your teams get into the fantasy playoffs. In many cases, decisions have to be made on who you continue to trust or who you need to shed for players who might have a near-term opportunity to contribute. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Chase Brown: Chase Brown is the clear 1A in this backfield at this point. He had 15 carries to Zach Moss’ 6 while gaining 44 yards to Moss’ 7. Moss did out-targeted Brown 3:2 in the receiving game, but Brown is consistently the better fantasy play at this point. Braelon Allen: With the recent coaching change, it’s clear that Breece Hall has been re-inserted as the workhorse running back. This change has benefited Hall, but the Jet’s backfield has also been more effective as well. Allen has fallen back into premium handcuff territory, unfortunately for his owners. Jaylen Wright: With the Dolphin’s top three running backs all healthy, Wright again slotted in as RB3. And again, led the team in yards per carry. Only Achane received a target out of the three. The good news is Tua Tagovailo returns in week 8. This could propel the offense back to being one of the elite offenses. I can’t give up on Wright yet; however, it gets late early in fantasy football. Tank Bigsby: The Jaguars met the Patriots in London last week. With Etienne injured and the game turning into a positive game script, Bigsby delivered a huge game. He recorded 118 yards and two rushing TDs. Unfortunately, he was quiet again in the passing game. It’s clear D’Ernest will be a solid backfield play in negative game scripts and Bigsby will optimize his skill set in positive game scripts. Bucky Irving: Similar to Jalen Wright, all three Buccaneer running backs were active this week. Sean Tucker did earn a piece of the running back rotation as the coach promised; however, it was the smallest share. Each of the running backs played fairly well against the tough Raven run defense. Tucker led the group with 5.8 yards per carry on five carries. White led the backfield with 6 receptions 71 yards and two TDs on 6 targets. Irving had a solid fantasy day catching all three of his targets for 54 yards while adding 23 yards and a touchdown on the ground in his nine attempts. This has turned into one of the better rushing attacks and may be leaned upon more with Chris Godwin now out for the year. Ray Davis: Ray Davis showed well in limited usage this week. He had 41 yards and a touchdown on five carries as well as catching his only target for six yards. Davis received significantly more opportunities than Ty Johnson and may have elbowed his way into the RB2 role for the Bills. That could lead to emergency flex consideration for fantasy teams. Young Breakout Receivers Second Year Players Jayden Reed: The Packers v Texans matchup did not yield the fantasy day Reed owners anticipated (two receptions for 10 scoreless yards). However, he still led the team with 86% route participation. Don’t give up on Reed. His role hasn’t changed. Dontayvion Wicks: After two disappointing weeks for Wicks, he bounced back with three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. However, with everyone healthy, he and Christian Watson split the WR3 role with each running 44% of the routes. Wicks turned in a strong 38% targets per route run and 3.00 yards per route run. They are encouraging efficiency numbers, but he’ll need to be on the field to contribute consistently. Zay Flowers: Flowers seemed to get injured early in the game. He only missed a handful of snaps before returning, however. But he put in a muted game effort. Was that due to being hobbled? It’s unclear. He should bounce back. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Smith-Njigba continues to run hot and hold. In a day that was supposed to be a fast-paced game, Smith-Njigba only managed three receptions for nine scoreless yards on six targets. Metcalf left this game injured. Smith-Njigba will need to step up if Metcalf misses time. Josh Downs: Downs’ is a strong fantasy start when Richardson doesn’t play it seems. But his game doesn’t seem to mesh with Richardson’s who prefers the downfield targets better. Downs ran as the WR3 on the team with 69% route participation behind Pittman and Pierce. It’s difficult to say when the young receiver and his young QB games will mesh and unlock them both. Demario Douglas: Douglas opened the game on fire with two receptions in the first three plays. However, he succumbed to his illness and played limited snaps after that encouraging start. Hunter Henry capitalized on his absence to take many of the looks afterward. This could have been a strong day for Douglas had he been able to remain on the field. Kayshon Boutte: Boutte repeated his starter-level snap share while leading the receivers with a 76% route participation rate. That didn’t translate to production this week with only a 6% targets per route run performance, however. It’ll be interesting to continue to monitor if Boutte keeps the role, he’s in right now or if Javon Baker or another receiver gets tried in this role. Drake Maye has the arm to
Week 7 Sleepers & Emerging Players
MiWeek 7 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 7 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players with my Week 7 Sleepers. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. 2024 has been a bit of a rollercoaster with all the injuries and enticing flashes of many rookies. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Chase Brown: Brown again out-performed Zach Moss on the ground in Week 6. Perhaps his higher usage was due to a Moss fumble; yet Brown also fumbled the ball. Brown had 10 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown in this game. Moss only logged six carries for 13 yards without finding the endzone. Brown also out-targeted Moss 2:1. Brown is separating himself from Moss in this offense. Braelon Allen: The Jets’ rushing attack looked better last night. However, one of the wrinkles to the changes the Jets made on offense was to increase Hall’s snaps compared with Allen. Allen only ended up with three carries and two targets without a catch. Allen did have a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty, unfortunately. Roschon Johnson: Johnson continued in his role as a third-down back and short-yardage back. Johnson did collect two catches on three targets this week for 25 yards. But no touchdowns on his five-carry eight-yard ground performance. His ceiling performances are low with Swift dominating the action on the ground and through the air. But, Johnson does have good contingent value as the likely lead RB if Swift were to miss time. Jaylen Wright: Miami returns from BYE in Week 7 with each of their running backs healthy. This will be a test to see if Wright has moved up the depth chart. He started the year as a healthy scratch, but he’s taken advantage of his opportunities over the last four weeks to turn in 29 carries for 139 scoreless yards. That’s a solid 4.79 yards per carry. If he can split the work with Achane and not cede too much work to Mostert, he could become playable and still have strong contingent value if Achane were to miss more time this year. Wright is one of the better backup running backs to own going forward. Tank Bigsby: Bigsby is playing great this year. Bigsby’s hot streak took a somewhat surprising step back in Week 6. Etienne went down with an injury, yet D’Ernest Johnson led the way in action from the running back position. As I alluded to a couple of weeks ago, this was likely game script-dependent. The Jaguars fall behind and Johnson picks up the passing down action with Etienne out of the game. Bigsby should lead in normal and positive game scripts while Etienne recovers from his injury. Bucky Irving: Irving stepped in for White in Week 6 matchup with the Saints. He continued to run well gaining 81 yards on 14 carries (5.8 yards/carry) including a touchdown. He also collected two catches for 24 yards. The surprise was that Sean Tucker, running as the RB2 for the week split carries and gained 136 yards on 14 carries (9.7 yards/carry) including a touchdown, and caught three balls for 56 yards and another touchdown. Tucker was a draft sleeper last season after falling out of the draft with a heart condition. He was eventually cleared and signed with Tampa Bay but failed to make a significant impact. Irving quickly supplanted him as the RB2 this year. But, Tucker put on a show and the coach has indicated he deserves a role in this offense. Let’s hope this doesn’t dissolve into a three-way committee once White returns. But there appear to be two young RBs who you could play in lineups in Week 7 vs Baltimore. Ray Davis: Monday night we saw a head fake with James Cook shifting from expected to play to OUT. It was then talked about how Ty Johnson would have some sort of revenge game vs the Jets who had previously cut him. Taylor even got the first carry, but Davis then picked up most of the action gaining 97 yards on 20 rushes, and led the Bills with 55 receiving yards on his three receptions. Davis showed he belongs in this offense, and it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a strong enough role once Cook returns. Young Breakout Receivers Second Year Players Jayden Reed: Week 6 saw Reed run 60% of the routes with Doubs’ and Watson’s return. He collected six receptions for 28 scoreless yards and a touchdown. This was somewhat of a muted output for Reed, but he continues to be the focal point of the offense. Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks did not deliver on his promise in Week 6. He only ran 17% of the routes before succumbing to injury. He did get a surprising 50% target per route run for a sub-optimal 1.50 yards per route run. Wicks is reportedly week to week so you may have to be a pit patient to see if he’ll re-emerge onto the fantasy landscape. Zay Flowers: Flowers was featured in Week 6 running 97% of the team’s routes and earning a 31% targets per route run metric while delivering 4.55 yards per route run. For the week, Flowers delivered nine catches for 132 scoreless yards. Another solid fantasy day for Flowers. Flowers is having a secondary breakout season in his sophomore campaign. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: JSN continues to float around the start line in dual flex leagues. He secured 21% targets per route run while running 81% of the routes. His 1.23 yards per route run was unencouraging. His fantasy day of five receptions for 53 yards and no touchdowns on nine targets gives fantasy managers an
Week 6 Sleepers & Emerging Players
Week 6 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 6 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. Now that we have five weeks in the books, I can start extrapolating on statistics more reliably. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Chase Brown: Brown again outperformed Zack Moss on the ground in week 5. Moss also got injured and is uncertain if he’ll play in week 6 right now. Brown’s opportunity is here to grow his market share of opportunities in the running game for the Bengals. Carson Steele: Steele received some short yardage work for the Chiefs in Week 5, but Hunt took over the rushing role with Samaje Perine mixed in on third downs and in the 2-minute offense. Braelon Allen: The Jets’ rushing attack has stalled the last two weeks. They need to figure out why these two elite running backs behind a seemingly improved offensive line can’t generate yards and the line can’t open up rushing lanes. Roschon Johnson: Johnson scored on two short-yardage rushing plays this week. He’s far behind D’Andre Swift in the offense which has shifted to using Swift in the passing game where his skill set is best used. Johnson could be a spot starter for you with his role but don’t expect huge fantasy days. Jaylen Wright: Raheem Mostert returned in Week 5, but Achane went out with an injury. Wright led the backfield in rushing with 86 yards. His numbers seem to improve each week and he had 6.6 yards per carry in week 5. We’ll see if Achane can return during week 6 and what role Wright will have in the backfield. I’m anxious to see how he’s used and how he performs when Tua returns to the QB position here. Tank Bigsby: Bigsby is playing great this year. He had 13 carries for 101 yards on the ground including 2 TDs. His 7.8 yards per carry is eye-opening. He also had one catch for 28 yards. There are rumors that the Jags have put Travis Etienne on the trade block. If Etienne were to be traded, Bigsby would get a huge usage lift. Young Breakout Receivers Second-Year Players Jayden Reed: Week 5 saw Reed run 75% of the routes and collect 4 receptions for 78 scoreless yards. He added two carries for 19 yards rushing. Reed’s six targets represented a 27% targets per route run performance which is what you want for your starting receivers. His 3.55 yards per route run was elite. Adding a touchdown to his performance would have been nicer, of course, but the advanced metrics continue to point to Reed being a player you want in re-draft and dynasty. Rashee Rice: We now have the results of the preliminary surgery, and it sounds like Rice has a six-month recovery ahead of him, but the prognosis for him to return to form is good. Unfortunately, it looks like we now are on suspension watch for 2025 with Rice as his 2024 time is done. Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks did not put in a fantasy day to remember to write home about, but his underlying metrics were strong. He didn’t get to the coveted 70% route participation rate; he came in at 62%. He did have a 33% targets per route run. Unfortunately, he only caught two of the targets as he leads the receivers in drops so far this year. That yielded a disappointing 1.11 yards per route run performance. He’s getting open, he needs to correct those drops to become a staple in people’s lineups. Zay Flowers: Flowers delivered in week 5 running 85% of the routes while earning a 30% targets per route run metric and 2.78 yards per route run. These are all solid numbers that contributed to his seven-catch, 111-yard day. Flowers is likely a matchup play based on expected game script. Against teams that the Ravens will likely attack with Derrick Henry and the running game, Flowers’ output might be muted. But, if they are likely to be more pass-heavy, Flowers is the focal point of the attack. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: JSN delivered four receptions for 31 yards and a TD vs the Giants in Week 5. He only achieved a 16% targets per route run and 0.72 yards per route run. The TD saved his fantasy day. There will be better matchups for JSN going forward. Jordan Addison: The Vikings struggled against the Jets in London. Addison only managed three receptions for 38 yards on eight targets. He participated in 91.6% of the routes and earned a 25% targets per route run rating. Unfortunately, the Jets held him to 1.06 yards per target. The Jets have potentially the top pair of cornerbacks in the league. Better days will come. Josh Downs: Downs flourished with Joe Flacco under center. He was third on the team with a 68% route participation and earned a 35% TPRR rating. He delivered a strong 2.03 yards per route run performance on nine receptions for 69 yards. Adonai Mitchell: Mitchell is a good dynasty asset, but is currently buried on the depth chart in Indy. With Anthony Richardson at QB, there isn’t the volume. But, Mitchell may eventually fight his way into a stronger share of routes and if QB play is more traditional, his underlying metrics are tough to ignore. In Week 5, he had 58% targets per route run and 3.18 yards per route run. Unfortunately, he only ran 24% of the routes. Demario Douglas: Douglas was second to Polk with a
Week 5 Sleepers & Emerging Players
AllenWeek 5 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 5 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunity could emerge and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try not to focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. Now that we have four weeks in the books, I can start extrapolating on statistics a bit more reliably. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Bucky Irving: The story with Irving continued into Week 4. Irving and Rachaad White both had 10 carries for 49 yards in this game. Irving had the lone RB TD. White out-targeted Irving 2:1 in the game. Irving is earning snaps and opportunities in this offense. White hasn’t gone away but he’s used far less than last season. Irving can be put into lineups during the byes. Chase Brown: Brown did get the 50/50 split with RB carries in Week 4 that has been indicated as the plan since the off-season. Brown’s fantasy day was much larger with 80 yards on 15 carries plus two rushing touchdowns to go along with two receptions for 12 yards. Brown might be the back to own in this offense going forward, but Zack Moss is still playing well. Brown’s speed does jump out at you and Moss seems to be the preferred back in passing situations. Moss received all snaps in the two-minute drill and 60% of the third down action. Carson Steele: This might have been a short-lived lead-back role for Steele. After a fumble in the first quarter, Kareem Hunt led the way from the 2nd quarter through the end of the game. He played well enough for the offense to operate. Samaje Perine was still the preferred third down and two-minute drill back. That didn’t leave a whole lot of action for Steele. You might hold him if you can afford to for another week to see if he can reprise his role or if the fumble gave way to an opportunity that Hunt seized. Ray Davis: Davis again received some garbage time action in week 4. He’s not in the rotation enough to trust in your lineups and is strictly a handcuff right now who could split time with Ty Johnson if an injury happens to James Cook. Braelon Allen: The Jets seem to have a problem, although a good problem. They have two good running backs. Breece Hall is struggling running the ball this year averaging only 3.11 yards per carry. Allen is averaging a robust 4.81 and seems to be getting used more each game. Allen is averaging 9.4 ppg and would be huge if Hall were to get injured. He’s useable during bye weeks and a premium handcuff for fantasy managers. Roschon Johnson: The Bears have shrunk their three-headed running back committee to two backs. Johnson has gone from the outside looking in at the crowded running back rotation to part of the two-person committee. He didn’t have the break-out day many were hoping for as signals were coming in saying he would be used more. Johnson did get the majority of third-down work, he got a goal-line carry. But he ceded most of the two-minute snaps to D’Andre Swift who had a huge fantasy day. Johnson’s usage was encouraging despite the modest fantasy output despite the touchdown. He appears to be the current backup to Swift as he took about 25% of the early down work plus got the majority of third-down activity and one of the two goal-line touches. Jaylen Wright: With both Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson OUT, Wright continued to earn opportunities. His usage excluded short yardage and goal line – all of those went to De’Von Achane, other than that he was used on early downs, third down, and even in the two-minute drill. He hasn’t yielded a fantasy day yet and the Dolphins offense is struggling without Tua. If he can carve out a role good things could happen once Tua Tagovaioa returns. However, he could also disappear once Mostert returns. Tank Bigsby: Bigsby played a fair number of snaps in week 4, but D’Ernest Johnson picked up 4 third-down snaps to Bigsby’s one. Bigsby again demonstrated his proficiency in running the ball with 90 yards on seven carries. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive any targets in the passing game, nor did he score a TD. He carries premium handcuff appeal as well as being usable during byes, but if Travis Etienne were to go down, the passing down work would like to go to Johnson. Breakout Wide Receivers Sophomore Wideouts Jayden Reed: Reed has continued with strong performances after his rookie breakout campaign. The crowded receiver room made many drafters nervous. But Reed’s talent has come to the forefront. He’s only run 72.6% of routes but is securing a decent, if underwhelming 18% target share. His yards per route run of 3.43 is elite. The Packers need to get him the ball more. Rashee Rice: Another rookie year breakout that looked to have a secondary breakout this year. Going into week 4, Rice was participating in 76.9% of routes and had an outstanding 31% target share from Mahomes. His yards per route run of 3.60 was looking to provide league-winning numbers for those who drafted him. However, in week 4 he looked to have suffered a significant knee injury. Many have speculated it was a season-ending torn ACL. At the time of this writing, however, they have yet to confirm that and provide any timeline. Hopefully, we will learn in the next day or two so fantasy managers can make appropriate lineup decisions. Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks got his QB back and, unfortunately, Watson
Week 4 Sleepers & Emerging Players
AllenWeek 4 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide week 4 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunities could be emerging and should be monitored. These are the Week 4 Sleepers and Emerging players to monitor moving forward. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Braelon Allen: Allen didn’t match his week 2 output, but his usage was again strong. Allen played 23 of the 73 snaps in the game and got 11 carries and 3 targets. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry to lead the team with 55 rushing yards. Also, Allen added three receptions for 13 yards and demonstrated his premium handcuff appeal if Breece Hall were to go down plus a playable emergency RB2 or flex alternative in leagues. Bucky Irving: The story with Irving continued into week 3. He is outperforming Rachaad White on the ground as he received nine carries to White’s six and gained 78 yards (7.8 yards/carry) to White’s 17 (2.8 yards/carry). White plays a lot more snaps and garners more targets. But the Bucs have to get Irving into the action more. His time is near. Roschon Johnson: A new edition to this list is the Bears 2nd year RB. Swift has disappointed fantasy managers. With Travis Homer’s injury, Johnson regained his third-down back role from last year and earned eight carries and five targets for the Bears. He also led Chicago’s backfield with 30 yards rushing and 32 yards receiving on 4 receptions. I wouldn’t look for Swift to disappear, but you have to like the passing game usage for Johnson. For him to be startable, however, the Bears will need to increase the output of the offense. Jaylen Wright: Another week without Raheem Mostert and another ho-hum day for Wright. This entire offense looks like a disaster until Tua Tagovailoa returns (likely after his 4-week IR stint). Tua is reportedly symptom-free, so I’d lean toward him returning when eligible. However, that’s still three weeks where the Dolphins will look to be run-heavy. But they need to figure out a way to be more efficient with the run. Wright’s looking like a disappointment so far as he’s had a few opportunities in the last two weeks but hasn’t flashed yet. Blake Corum: Corum has devolved into strictly a handcuff. He’s had no action and it’s somewhat inexplicable that they drafted him for someone who they could trust to relieve Kyren Williams and so as not to wear Williams down. Williams is handling a monster workload just like last year. He’s tough to hold in leagues right now, but the appeal of playing for the Rams’ fantasy juicy offense will probably keep fantasy managers loyal to their draft pick another week. Tank Bigsby: Bigsby played in week 3 on a questionable tag, but only received nine snaps, two carries and no targets in the blowout loss to the Bills. D’Ernest Johnson out-snapped Bigsby. Bigsby still appeared to be the primary backup before garbage time, but he’ll need better matchups or an injury to Étienne who is dominating snaps right now. Ray Davis: Davis chopped up the snaps behind James Cook with Ty Johnson then picked up the garbage time carries which yielded a TD. However, Davis doesn’t appear to be trusted on third downs, yet which is a disappointment that if Cook were to go down, Davis would likely be the between-the-tackles runner and Ty Johnson would get 3rd downs. Marshawn Lloyd: Lloyd is on IR, but the role behind Josh Jacobs is fruitful and Emanuel Wilson showed in Week 3. Wilson is playing well, and Lloyd may be able to secure the backup job if he can stay healthy when he returns. Lloyd is a player to keep in mind for a fresh-legged runner down the stretch but don’t sleep on Wilson in the meantime. Carson Steele: We didn’t get a lot of clarity this week on Steele. He did get the start and was used a bit in the passing game, however Samaje Perine was used more in the passing situations (3rd down and 2-minute drill). Plus, we might see Kareem Hunt enter the scene next week, so this is a fragile situation. Right now, Steele is probably the RB to own, but as soon as it sorts itself out, Pacheco could return. Breakout Wide Receivers Jalen McMillan: McMillan was quiet again, but the skillset is there. He’s behind solid veterans in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He’s out there consistently running routes. Hopefully, it won’t take an injury for him to get involved more. Adonai Mitchell: With Josh Down’s return, Mitchell’s snap share plummeted. For now, he seems behind Pierce, but Ashton Dulin also played twice as many snaps (14:7) as Mitchell. Mitchell is back in wait-and-see mode. Malik Washington: Washington’s opportunity will have to wait until Tua’s healthy. He’s likely on the waiver wire and should stay there until this offense gets on track. Alec Pierce: The Bears have a strong secondary and they essentially shut down the passing attack for the Colts, who relied on the running game to bulldoze the Bears in Week 3. Pierce’s one reception on two targets did lead the Colts with 44 receiving yards demonstrating his deep-threat role on the team. But this time he didn’t get in the end zone. Regardless, his skill set seems to match Richardson’s strong arm. He’s flexible against lesser secondaries and games that figure to be negative game scripts for the Colts. Ja’Lynn Polk: Polk’s role seemed to shrink in week 3 after getting only 26 snaps and was outtargeted by DeMario Douglas (9:2). Polk will likely be a fine wide receiver, but he’ll need this offense to perform better and open up. That might not happen until Drake Maye takes over. Jordan
Week 3 Sleepers
Week 3 Sleepers, Potential-Emergent Players, and Opportunistic Plays This article is contributed by Brad Kruse This column is NOT intended to provide Week 3 waiver claims lists. Instead, the purpose is to look at young players whose opportunities could be emerging and should be monitored. I will also look at potential injury replacement players, but I will try to not focus on the obvious choices for this week’s slate of games as that is covered elsewhere on the sight. My goal is to help look around corners for the season which might give some ideas for pre-emptive adds to your roster. Young Running Backs and Their Opportunity Status Braelon Allen: The big story of week 2 concerning these young RBs was Allen’s surprise opportunity. He carried the ball seven times for 33 yards and a TD and added two receptions for 23 yards and another TD. He’s graduated from premium handcuff to a flex or RB2 candidate. He’s officially emerged. Bucky Irving: Through two games, Irving has 16 rush attempts for 84 yards (5.3 yards/carry) and has caught two of his three targets for 14 yards. He will be worked in as White continues to disappoint on the ground (25 carries for 49 yards or 1.96 yards/carry). But Rachaad White continues to excel in the passing game with 7 receptions for 80 yards and a 14% target share). Irving could give you a non-zero number at RB2 right now if you went with a Zero RB strategy, but time will tell if he can eat into White’s passing game usage. Jaylen Wright: There was some hope to see what Wright could do with Mostert OUT in week 2 and Wright active. But it was mostly the Achane show. Wright’s potential emergence will be on HOLD for now. Blake Corum: Corum got some mop-up action this week, but the Rams’ offensive line has been decimated with injuries along with their two-star wide receivers. Barring an injury to Kyren Williams, Corum will be in a holding pattern as well. Tank Bigsby: Bigsby has looked better this year. He did suffer a shoulder injury although he officially returned to the game but didn’t see any action as D’Ernest Johnson took over the RB2 role. We’ll see if Bigsby is healthy enough for week 3. Marshawn Lloyd: Lloyd got on the field, but then injured his ankle and is now on IR. This will keep the door open for Emanuel Wilson who has 9 carries for 55 yards through two games. With the Packers playing run-heavy game scripts with Jordan Love on the mend, Wilson is a name that could be a stopgap for some lineups. Carson Steele: Pacheco is now on IR and talk is he may miss up to six weeks. Samaje Perine could be the better fantasy play as he has been used in passing downs by the Chiefs so far. The Chiefs also signed Kareem Hunt. It’s unclear how much he has in the tank. For now, consider Steele a short yardage back that will get some early down action. He’ll have the highest ceiling of the players that are in the RB room right now, just due to the fact it’s unknown, but it’s also hard to believe they fully trust him in pass protection and two-minute drill situations. Breakout Wide Receivers Jalen McMillan: McMillan was relatively quiet again, but the skillset is there. He’s behind solid veterans in Evans and Godwin and White is used a lot in the passing game so it may take some time for him to emerge, but the talent is there. Adonai Mitchell: Mitchell has a similar problem with McMillan. His offense isn’t generating enough targets for his role. He’ll likely have some boom games but will be tough to trust until Richardson becomes more efficient passing the ball. Malik Washington: Two of Tua’s interceptions seemed to be caused by miscues with WRs not named Hill or Waddle. This would seem to indicate that Washington will have an opportunity when healthy; however, Tua is on IR with a concussion so it’s uncertain when he will return. That will shrink the offense. Jaxon Smith-Njigba: JSN delivered in week 2 catching 12 of 16 targets for 117 yards. He should be a foundational piece of that offense. Alec Pierce: Pierce has been the beneficiary of Anthony Richardson’s tendency for the long passes and inaccuracy in the short range. Pierce as the field stretcher has caught 8 balls in two games resulting in 2 TDs. This trend could stick. Be careful with Josh Downs nearing a return to see how this wide receiver rotation evolves. Ja’Lynn Polk: Polk had a much better week 2 and seems firmly in the receiver rotation. It will probably take a Drake Maye entrance to unlock him as right now the Patriots are trying to win games with their defense and rushing attack. Jordan Whittington: Whittington started seeing more opportunities as Cooper Kupp exited the game injured. Week 3 could give us a sign of life from Whittington, but this Rams unit is banged up. He’s a decent stash to see if something is there. Dontayvion Wicks: He flashed great efficiency as a rookie, then put in a dud in week 1. He did catch a TD in week 2, but the offense is too run-heavy to trust. However, when Love returns Wicks will end up on rosters in every league. Young Tight Ends Brock Bowers: Bowers turned in a 9 rec 98-yard effort and is officially on overall TE1 watch. It is an uphill battle for him to get there. But he’s in everybody’s top-6 TEs right now and has been the most consistent TE scorer so far. Tucker Kraft: Like most Green Bay receiving weapons, Kraft will have to wait until Love returns before he is unlocked. However, he seems to have locked down the TE1 role in Green Bay ENTER OUR WEEK 3 DRAFT CONTEST! How it Works: Firstly, draft your team using our On-Demand Simulator.