Click Here to:

crystal ball week 7 2016

By Evan Tarracciano

Typically, by the end of Week 6 in the Fantasy Football season owners have a pretty good idea if they are fielding a competitive enough team to vie for a playoff spot. This isn’t to suggest that savvy moves and smart trades can’t vault a team into contention that initially struggled, far from it. Being active on the waiver wire is a smart place for many to start, especially after an injury-riddled weekend such as the one we all experienced. So what are some topics that you should be well-versed in entering Week 7, and players to keep an eye on?

Read below!

If you haven’t already joined me for my video Q&A sessions each Tuesday evening at 8 PM EST, I’d highly encourage you to do so! I’ve received a lot of positive feedback as to my thoughts and the layout – hopefully listeners are enjoying it as much as I am running it! This article serves as a supplementary piece to what I covered in this week’s chat, expanding on some of the more “hot button” topics that I received a lot of traffic on. Check out all of my prior videos and meet me for each new one here:

https://www.facebook.com/FootballDieHards/

Q: Is Hunter Henry for real? I’ve been holding onto Antonio Gates, do you think that that it is about time to let him go? How will things shake out in San Diego?

A: I spoke about this topic during my “7 at 7” segment with Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey on Sirius XM, but I wanted to review it here, since I’ve received a multitude of questions regarding Henry’s upside, and what to do with Gates moving forward. Despite having just one catch through the first two weeks of the regular season, Henry currently ranks as the 6th top scoring tight end in PPR formats, just behind Dennis Pitta. The best attribute Henry possesses (other than the fact that he is both young and healthy, two things which Antonio Gates isn’t) is that he has a solid floor of 14-15 points, something which puts him in rather elite company, given the state of the position. Henry has really been coming on lately too, scoring touchdowns in each of his past three games, while catching 13 balls for 218 yards. “Old Man” Gates is still recovering from a hamstring strain, and admitted that he is little more than a decoy in this offense currently. As I mentioned on-air, it wouldn’t surprise me if Gates still catches three or four touchdowns before the end of the season (especially after the team’s bye week), but holds little value otherwise. He’s safe to cut.

Q: It now sounds like Ben Roethlisberger is going to miss at least 2-3 weeks with this torn meniscus in his knee. How does that effect the value of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell?

A: Without question, the drop-off from Roethlisberger to Landry Jones is a rather significant one that makes owners cringe. During limited action last season, Landry barely eclipsed the 58 percent completion mark, and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. Not exactly inspiring numbers. So what happens with this offense? First and foremost, expect the team to heavily rely upon Bell, and have a decreased reliance upon airing the ball out. Secondary receiving options such as Markus Wheaton and Eli Rodgers who were fringe FLEX plays in most formats are now relegated to bench duty – I can’t advise in good conscience starting them until Big Ben comes back. Brown should still eclipse the double-digit target mark each week, and is still a threat in the open field. I’d drop him from a no-brainer top receiver on my board to a lower end WR1. All that said, if I was an owner who had a 5-1 or 4-2 record, I’d make a low-ball offer for Brown if he puts up subpar numbers in the next two weeks.

Q: What the heck is going on with this Green Bay Packers backfield and who is the best player to target in the short and long term?

A: Reports initially surfaced from ESPN’s Ed Werder that Eddie Lacy was very sore following the Packers defeat this past Sunday, and as the week has progressed, the news has only gotten worse. Although his injury was described as a sprained ankle at first, all reports sound like the injury is much more significant, and could cost Lacy several weeks, if not the rest of the season. In his absence, the team will rely upon former Kansas City Chief Knile Davis and practice squad back Don Jackson. I’ll be upfront when I say that I (much like many other experts) isn’t particularly high on Davis. He’s a fumble-prone back who averages less than three and a half yards per attempt, and is uninspiring at best. I’d also be lying if I said that I knew much about Jackson, other than the fact that he was a standout player while at Nevada, and reports have come through that the team is enamored with his upside. Also factoring into the mix is Ty Montgomery, who saw action in the backfield against the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend. Montgomery is more of the James Starks role – a solid blocker who can catch passes in the flat when necessary. I’d expect Jackson to receive the lion’s share of early-down work, while Montgomery sees limited action in the backfield on passing down situations. Both are worth adding in twelve team or larger formats.

Q: Just how good is Cameron Meredith? He has been on fire since Kevin White went out with his injury.

A: Funny how things can change with a fresh coat of paint and a new quarterback, eh? Meredith led the Chicago Bears with 15 targets this past weekend and now has 27 over the past two weeks. He’s been the direct beneficiary of so many players being injured on the Bears, and since defenses are still opting to double-cover Alshon Jeffery. If he hasn’t already been added in your league, do so now. He is a low end WR2 given the pass-heavy nature of this offense, and if nothing else than from a volume-based perspective, he will put up a minimum of 12-15 points in a PPR format each week.

Q: Who is the real Stefon Diggs? The player we saw the first two weeks of the season? Or the last two before the Minnesota Vikings bye week?

A: I’ll sit on the fence here and say that Diggs isn’t as good as the numbers that he was putting up during the first two weeks of the season when he caught 16 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, but he also isn’t as inept as the following two weeks when he caught 9 passes for 87 yards. When healthy he is the first read for Sam Bradford, and despite not having a large frame, is able to outmuscle and break away from defenders. Entering the season, I had Diggs as an upside WR3 option in 12 team formats, and I still feel that is about right. We all know that this isn’t a pass-first team that slings it all over the field, so Diggs will only have a limited number of targets to produce Fantasy worthy numbers. All that said, I still think he’s capable of posting a 6-80 line most weeks, with a chance for a TD.

Waiver-Wire choices

Quarterback:

Brian Hoyer (Chicago Bears) – How the hell is this guy still owned in less than 20 percent of leagues? What else does he need to do to get everyone’s attention? Hoyer has passed for over 300 yards in four straight games, during which time he’s thrown six touchdowns. The Bears will be playing from behind constantly, leading to Hoyer posting Blake Bortles-esque garbage time numbers. Especially now that we are in the midst of the bye weeks, he needs to be owned.

Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – I’m kidding. Just making sure you’re paying attention.

Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs) – I’m not the biggest fan of Smith, and the Chiefs are certainly a run-first offense, but he won’t make
mistakes and has a solid floor. Smith also benefits from an insanely easy schedule over the next three weeks, facing the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. He’s useful for the short-term for a Big Ben owner.

Running Back:

Knile Davis/Don Jackson/Ty Montgomery (Green Bay Packers) – I covered all of these guys above.

Devontae Booker (Denver Broncos) – If you haven’t already bought in on the hype train, all aboard! Booker’s critics would argue that he hasn’t been involved nearly enough in the first few weeks to warrant as much hype as he’s receiving. I say that it is better to add him now than when he passes by C.J. Anderson in the depth chart and owners will need to pay four or five times as much to acquire his services. Gary Kubiak stated openly that when Booker has been provided opportunities, he has performed well, and they are looking to feature him more going forward.

Wide Receiver:

Kendall Wright (Tennessee Titans) – After missing the first three games of the season, Wright did little to inspire owners in Weeks 4 and 5. So where did his 8-133-1 coming out party stem from against the Cleveland Browns? Was it a matter of an advantageous matchup, or something more? Well, facing the Browns did certainly help to pad his statistics, but Wright makes my recommendation list given his skillset. Wright is known for being a solid route-running receiver that makes his living finding holes in zone coverage and averaging 9-11 yards per reception. Right now I view him as a poor man’s Jarvis Landry. He’s somehow owned in less than five percent of leagues.

Cordarrelle Patterson (Minnesota Vikings) – I view Patterson as the ultimate “what if” player. What if the team could continue to make him a large part of their passing offense as a compliment to Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph? What if they started to utilize his strengths and size? The team make an effort to include him in their game schemes prior to going on a bye – I’d expect that trend to continue.

Tight End:

C.J. Fiedorowicz (Houston Texans) – Flashy? No, he isn’t. Did he have a slow start to the beginning of the season? He sure did. Do I ever think that he’ll be a top 7 option at the position? Probably not. Yet in spite of all those shortcomings, Fiedorowicz has had at least seven targets in each of the past three weeks, and has surpassed Ryan Griffin on the team’s depth chart. He’s averaging over 12.5 YPC, and has caught two touchdowns since Week 4. He’s a nice bye-week replacement option for owners who may be scrambling.