We’re now a third of the way through the NFL season and almost halfway through the regular season in deeper fantasy football leagues. By this point in the year most of the best value pick-ups have usually gone (congratulations to anyone who has Julius Thomas or Josh Gordon), but there are still a few gems to be found. Here are my tips for the rest of the year:
Harry Douglas- WR, Atlanta Falcons
To say the Atlanta Falcons are not doing well is an understatement. They stand 1-4, currently lie third in their division and have been plagued by injuries. They will be without Julio Jones for the rest of the year, and are currently missing Roddy White and Steven Jackson. With talks of Tony Gonzalez being traded away as well, someone is going to have to step up if they are going to finish well…..
Enter Harry Douglas. The former 3rd round pick out of Louisville is third for targets, receiving yards and YAC in Atlanta this season. But up to now he has done nothing special from a fantasy perspective. This will change very quickly now that the team is missing both Jones and White.
Douglas should see a huge bump in targets for the rest of the season. Matt Ryan leads the league in passes attempted per game, and the Falcons have passed the ball on more than two thirds of plays. They are also currently second in the league in passing yards per game. The fact that Douglas is owned in less than 1/5 of leagues is a travesty. If he is available in your league, you should pick him up immediately, as he has the potential to put up a lot of fantasy points now he is the Falcons top wide receiver.
Eddie Lacy- RB, Green Bay
After returning from his concussion against Detroit in week 5, Lacy has produced well for his fantasy owners, and is 12th for points scored by RBs in the last two weeks. But things should get even better from now on. Lacy has the potential to put up some big numbers for the rest of the year as Green Bay has the easiest fantasy schedule for running backs for the rest of the season. This includes four games against teams who are in the top seven for FPA to running backs.
With Randal Cobb on the IR and James Jones not practicing all week, expect to see the Packers run it more too. They are currently 16th for rush play percentage, but that should now increase. Although he is owned in 96% of leagues, he is on the bench in more than a quarter of them. If you are looking for a great value running back for the rest of the year, Lacy is your man.
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