Chaos! Chaos defines the fantasy season so far. Calvin Ridley, Robert Woods, and Jordy Nelson were the surprise top-three receivers of the week. Josh Allen was a top-five quarterback. Chris Carson and Isaiah Crowell had huge performances after being dropped in many leagues. Overreactions are still aplenty, with knee-jerk waiver wire claims being put in, and other players prematurely being cut from owner’s teams. Luckily, there is the weekly watch list. Here at Last Word on Sports, we look for some consistency through all this chaos and are weeks ahead of the waiver wire game.
Week Four Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Christian Kirk
Antonio Calloway
It’s a new era in Cleveland! The number one overall pick, Baker Mayfield took the field for the first time in the regular season last Thursday when the Cleveland Browns took on the New York Jets. The Browns have looked a lot better his year than in the past few years, but they still lacked a spark on offense. Mayfield came in before halftime and gave the entire team a different feel. Now, he has officially been named the starter.
Number one wideout Jarvis Landry was the only fantasy relevant player prior to that, but Mayfield will try to change that in the next few weeks. One such target who should suddenly shoot up on team owner’s watch lists is Antonio Callaway. He was drafted in the fourth round of this year’s draft but could have gone much higher had it not been for character concerns off the field.
Callaway is extremely fast, and stronger than he looks for his size. Once it was official that troubled wideout Josh Gordon was not going to be a long-term part of the Browns plans, Callaway was given a larger role in the offense than many expected. Week two he saw four targets, making three receptions for 81 yards. One of them was a 47-yard touchdown that almost helped the Browns secure a comeback victory. Last week, his targets further increased to ten as the Browns took many deep shots to him. Taylor missed him on a 75-yard bomb that would have been a touchdown.
Mayfield looks much more willing to push the ball downfield, which should result in ample opportunities for the speedster. He just needs one more week to see how he gels with Mayfield and could be an add as early as next week.
Christian Kirk
Another rookie wide receiver who might benefit from a fellow rookie quarterback is Christian Kirk. The Arizona Cardinals pulled veteran Sam Bradford in favor of rookie Josh Rosen during last week’s game. The Cardinals offense was even worse than the Browns the past few weeks, as they scored a combined six points their first two weeks. While it remains to be seen if Rosen will jumpstart the offense in the same way that Mayfield has already done with Cleveland, it can’t get much worse than it has with Bradford under center.
Kirk and Rosen actually go way back. After high school, they both took a visit to UCLA together and apparently have kept in touch ever since. They already established a connection during the preseason. Rosen’s first completed pass was to Kirk, and later he and Kirk both connected for their first career touchdowns. Once Rosen came in last week, he targeted Kirk three times to close out the game.
On the day, Kirk saw a healthy eight targets, turning them into seven catches for 90 yards. With Larry Fitzgerald in the twilight of his career, and a new coaching staff and offensive system being implemented this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kirk emerge as the number one target. He is another player who could blow up fast. Keep a close eye on him the next few weeks.
Chris Ivory
With LeSean McCoy dealing with a rib injury for Buffalo Bills that could keep him out for a while, veteran running back Chris Ivory looks to carry the load at least temporarily. However, even when McCoy comes back, his situation is still murky at best. Police are still investigating McCoy’s involvement in a home invasion/assault case involving McCoy’s ex-girlfriend. The league could step in at any time and levy their own disciplinary actions.
Ivory performed well in McCoy’s absence last week, gaining 56 yards on 20 carries while also adding 70 receiving yards. McCoy didn’t look great even when he played this season, gaining only 22 yards on seven carries week one, and then 39 yards on nine carries before going down week two. If Ivory proves more effective while McCoy heals up, he could see his carries increase permanently.
The running back market is already thin only three weeks into the season. Ivory is a player team owners need to keep a close eye on. He could serve as a stopgap during bye weeks or injuries and has potential to be a solid weekly contributor.
Week Three Redux: Tyler Boyd
Last week we highlighted Tyler Boyd watch list candidate. This week, he highlights ours, and most other waiver wire targets. If Boyd is still somehow available even after waivers cleared, he should be grabbed immediately. After a solid week two, he exploded last week, earning six catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.
His seven targets continued his streak of at least five targets every game this season. This proves that Boyd is going to be a big part of the gameplan every week. Then, with A.J. Green dealing with a groin injury, it could mean even more involvement. Boyd is a rare case of a high-ceiling player with high targets being available at this point in the season.
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