For many people (myself included), this is championship week in fantasy football. Although you may have got to this point because of your studs and steals from the draft or early waiver wire pickups, it does not mean your team is going to be fantastic this week. Many players who have been crucial to fantasy teams this year- such as Drew Brees, Marshawn Lynch and Demaryius Thomas- have difficult matches.
Although I am not condoning sitting these players (they should still be played regardless), you may still need some last minute additions to your team to get it over the line. To help you out, here is one player at each offensive position who could pick up points this week that is owned in less than 10% of NFL.com fantasy leagues.
QB-Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys
This year has offered us countless surprising QBs who have exceeded expectations or come out of the blue. Six of the top 15 signal callers where not projected there at the start of the season, and three of these were ranked outside the top 20. To make matters more interesting, players such as Geno Smith, Thad Lewis, Case Keenum and Jason Campbell have all scored over 20 points at one point this year.
Although the season is almost over, I believe there’s still one QB who could be picked up off the waiver wire and make a difference this week-Kirk Cousins. RG3’s replacement is clearly there to build his trade stock, and he certainly impressed fantasy players last week with a score of 21.24. The Washington coaching staff showed a clear effort to get him the ball, with 45 attempted passes- 6th most in the league in week 15, and an increase of 19% on Washington’s average. This is likely to continue in week 16 when the team faces the Cowboys.
To make things even better for Cousins, Dallas have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, and have conceded on average over 20 points in the last four weeks and over 30 in the last two. A combination of a concerted effort to let him throw the ball, and arguably the easiest opponent possible means that if Captain Kirk is going to put up good numbers at any point this year, it should be in week 16.
Plan B- Matt Cassel
RB- Dennis Johnson, Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos
If this year has taught us anything about fantasy football, is that you should start any running back who is a starter, no matter what their history is. Need proof? Just ask owners of Matt Asiata, Bobby Rainey, Zac Stacy and Rashad Jennings. You should be able to add Dennis Johnson’s name to that list after the last two games as well.
After Ben Tate was placed on injured reserve with a fifth cracked rib, Johnson became the Texans starting RB this week. The team averages 28 rushing attempts per game, of which the majority should now go to Johnson. Considering Johnson averages a healthy 4.2 yards per carry, he should be able to rank up a decent number of yards if the team continues to run the ball at the same rate.
The only possible concern surrounding Johnson is the Texans’s difficulty in getting the ball into the end zone (as mentioned in my recent article about the team and their options with the first overall pick). But that shouldn’t be an issue against the Broncos, who are fourth for rushing touchdowns allowed this year and have conceded six in the last four weeks alone. The team also ranks 9th for FPA to RBs in the last four weeks, an average of over 23.
Plan B- Jordan Todman (if starting)
WR- Rod Streater, Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers
If I would have said that at the start of the season that there would be a point where two Raiders receivers would be in the top 45 for total points and two would be in the top 25 for points scored in the last four weeks at their position, you probably would have said I’m a nutter. But that is how things currently stand. Even though Rod Streater has scored over 100 fantasy points this year, he’s owned in less than 10% of leagues. That’s less than Danario Alexander, was placed on the IR in August!
Streater has totalled 37.9 fantasy points since week twelve, and has averaged 8 targets and 84 yards per game in that span. This includes an impressive 19 point effort against the Jets, the second time he has scored over 15 points since week 10. He has a good chance to add to that this week against the Chargers, who are 6th for fantasy points allowed to WR in the last four weeks.
Plan B- Santana Moss
TE- Andrew Quarless, Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
This season has seen a lot of TEs who were undrafted fly off the waiver wire- Jordan Cameron, Julius Thomas and Coby Fleener to name just a few. But one name that has been overlooked in the past few weeks is Andrew Quarless. Although very few people have been talking about him, the former 5th round pick out of Penn State has been the highest scoring TE in the past two weeks.
In this span he has combined for 132 yards, and has scored a TD in each two game. Quarless clearly has a good rapport with Matt Flynn, something that should continue this week with Aaron Rodgers still out. Although this week’s matchup against the Steelers doesn’t look great on paper, it is potentially favourable- Pittsburgh have conceded three receiving TDs to TEs in the last two games. If Quarless can continue to produce at the same level as he has the past two weeks, he could make a great addition for the final game of the fantasy season.
Plan B- Zach Ertz
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