We are already a quarter of the way through the NFL season. Four weeks are in the books. Bye weeks are here. Injuries are still aplenty. Still, nothing is very clear. Offenses are still sorting out starters and players are beginning to get comfortable in their new schemes. The running back and tight end free agent markets are already dangerously thin for this time of the season, and there aren’t many surprise players looking to break out. Still, Last Word on Sports does the dirty work sifting through the trash to find some players to keep an eye on the next few weeks. Many of them will turn into waiver wire adds in a short time.
Week Five Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Dede Westbrook
Dede Westbrook
While Keelan Cole has started to get a lot of hype in the Jacksonville Jaguars receiving corps, Dede Westbrook is a player who needs to be closely monitored as well. Cole got off to a hotter start to the season, gaining 170 yards and scoring a touchdown in the first two weeks. He also saw 21 targets through the first three games. Last week, he came back down to earth though, only catching two balls for 15 yards.
Westbrook became the focal point instead, seeing a ridiculous 13 targets that he turned into nine catches for 130 yards. On the season, Westbrook actually has better stats. He leads the team in targets (28), catches (21) and receiving yards (294). Westbrook is surprisingly less owned than Cole and flying under the radar. He is still a risky add, and will probably put up inconsistent points. At the same time, he could emerge as the number one wideout for a surprisingly solid Blake Bortles.
Team owners who feel really confident about him can probably wait until waivers have cleared and add him to their squads. He is still flying under-the-radar, but another big game will put him right at the top of the waiver priority next week. People sitting on waiver claims in the next few weeks need to put them at the top of their watch list and be ready to strike soon.
Geoff Swaim
The tight end field is barren. Some of the more consistent performers like Greg Olsen and Delanie Walker have already gone down with injuries. O.J. Howard is slated to miss a few weeks, Tyler Eifert ended his comeback campaign with a gruesome ankle injury, and oft-injured Rob Gronkowski is already ailing. Fantasy team owners are going to have to dig deep to find solid starters at tight end. One player who has a shot Geoff Swaim of the Dallas Cowboys.
Swaim still hasn’t put up much fantasy production, but he looks to be on his way to becoming one of quarterback Dak Prescott’s top targets. Prescott is used to throwing to recently retired Jason Witten and was obviously missing his presence as safety valve early in the season. He’s solid 12 targets the past two weeks, turning them into eight catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. His usage in the first two games is concerning though. He didn’t catch a pass in week two against the New York Giants and only managed 18 yards on three catches in week one.
Still, the Cowboys offense looked to finally start getting things together last week, and Prescott is still in desperate need of reliable pass catcher. No one else is really stepping up, so Swaim will definitely get his opportunities. He is still a long shot at this point, but players might have to start lowering their standards for tight ends if injuries continue to devastate the position. Swaim needs to be kept in mind as an option if his target share continues.
Joe Flacco
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been the butt of “elite quarterback” jokes for a while now. Aside from his Super Bowl season, where he caught fire during the playoffs he really hasn’t done much in the league, let alone the fantasy realm. In fact, after the team drafted Lamar Jackson this year, a lot of people felt more like it was more of a matter of “when” versus “if” Flacco would be benched this year.
Well, Flacco must have felt the fire underneath him and used it as fuel so far this season. His “worst” game this season was 15.28 points in standard Yahoo leagues, and he’s had two games where he’s been over 20 points. No doubt he’s been helped by the fact that he has some real receivers for the first time in a few years. John Brown is making a great comeback as a deep threat, and Michael Crabtree is acting as his safety valve on short and intermediate routes.
Another thing that makes Flacco so juicy is his schedule during the fantasy playoffs. Weeks 14 through 16 he goes up against the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Los Angeles Chargers. While the Chargers are still pretty formidable, with cornerback Casey Hayward and rookie stud Derwin James, they are still giving up a ton of points every game. Tampa Bay and Kansas City are some of the worst secondaries in the league right now though. Flacco is already being added in many leagues this week. He should still be around in many leagues moving forward though and may be worth an add if he keeps up his play.
Redux: Ronald Jones
Week Three’s watch list mentioned that players needed to keep an eye on Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie running back Ronald Jones. Incumbent starter Peyton Barber was wildly ineffective along with the other backs on the roster. Though Jones was inactive the first three games of the season, he finally saw the field for the first time week four.
It wasn’t impressive. Jones only managed 29 yards on ten carries (2.9 YPC). Still, Barber didn’t fare any better, plodding to only 24 yards with his seven carries. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will probably use their bye week to try to get their running game right. After not needing to run the ball the first few weeks under Ryan Fitzpatrick’s signal calling, they will try to become more balanced and limit turnovers with Jameis Winston taking over again.
What gives Jones potential is his ability as a pass catcher. He will probably be given the start and see the field a lot week six. Even if he doesn’t improve much as a rusher, his potential as a receiver should raise his floor. For teams still waiting on Le’Veon Bell to come back, or struggling with injured backs like Leonard Fournette or Dalvin Cook, Jones could be an option to at least provide some points. Monitor his starting status through the bye week.
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