The Fantasy Football Volume Report Week 15 2018

Running Back

Elijah McGuire, New York Jets, Stock Up

Isaiah Crowell entered Week 14 as questionable but suited up, only to be removed from the game after reaggravating a toe injury. This left McGuire to carry the load for the Jets and they were more than willing to give him the bulk of the teams running back touches.

He carried the ball 17 times and added an additional three receptions. The downside of this volume is that it’s on the Jets. Crowell is unlikely to play in their outing against the which will grant McGuire another week of workhorse status but he’s mostly a desperation play on the stagnant Jets offense. If you missed out on the waiver wire run last week, McGuire is the next-best option.

Jaylen Samuels, Pittsburgh Steelers, Stock Up

In lieu of James Connor, the Pittsburgh backfield played out in favor of Samuels, who out-carried Stevan Ridley 11 to five. Connor was also targeted five times while Ridley was not targeted once. Despite Ridley scoring o a two-yard plunge into the end zone, both backs were given two red zone carries.

Samuels has the receiving volume, carries, and an equal share of red zone usage with Connor out. He’s the back to own in Pittsburgh and will be a locked-in starter in fantasy lineups until Connor returns.

Wide Receiver

Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions, Stock Down

The Lions are without Golden Tate (traded to Philadelphia) and Marvin Jones (IR) which has led them to a more ground-based approach on offense, despite them also missing Kerryon Johnson. On the season, they have thrown the ball 61.5% of the time but in their last three games, they’ve passed just 55.7% of the time. Golladay has been targeted just 6.7 times per game in that span.

The offense has also averaged the fourth-fewest point per game over the past three weeks, likely, in part, due to the utter lack of weapons opposing defenses need to account for. This makes him a well-covered receiver on a low-scoring offense.

Golladay fans may want to start looking ahead to the 2019 season.
 

Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos, Stock Up

Much to the dismay of the daily fantasy community as a whole, it was Tim Patrick who led the Broncos receiving core Sunday, not Courtland Sutton nor DaeSean Hamilton. Sutton was the second-most popular receive in the DraftKings Fantasy Football Millionaire contest while Hamilton hit 4.5% ownership.

Patrick saw 10 targets, which he turned into seven receptions for 85 yards. Sutton is still the safest bet with Emmanuel Sanders’ season over, as he’s been the team’s second receiver all season. But Patrick is now a name to know and could be worth a flier in contests that feature the Sunday night game.
 

Tight End

Ian Thomas, Carolina Panthers, Stock Up

Thomas took over starting tight end duties for the Panthers last week with Greg Olsen sidelined again and done for the season. Thomas now starts for the most pass-heavy Panthers offense in the Cam Newton era (34 attempts per game).

Devin Funchess has also seemingly been phased out of the team’s plans—he’s been targeted six times in two games back from injury and has caught just one pass—which leaves multiple roles to be filled for the Panthers.

Thomas is the best streaming option for tight end-needy teams in the playoffs.