Fantasy football is stupid. One moment you’re soaring on the wings of Aaron Rodgers, and the next moment you find out that glorious bird has a broken collarbone. Yeah, that’s a forced metaphor. What you do want from me? I’m grieving.
Many of you have already been grieving and dealing with the losses of Odell Beckham Jr. and David Johnson. In other words, you know of the hellish aftermath of trying to replace a star player. You know that there is no one-to-one replacement for such a player. In short, there is no replacement for Rodgers on the wire. There are, however, replacement options that can get you similar production in the right matchups.
Below is a list of those replacement options. The lists for running backs and the wide receivers are potentially season long options while those for the quarterbacks and tight ends focus on streamable options. There is also a suggestion on what you should bid on each player. Keep in mind that you know your league best. If your league is more aggressive, bid accordingly. As with last week, the majority of the options are around or below the 50% ownership mark in Yahoo or ESPN leagues.
Fantasy Football: Working the Waiver Wire Week Seven
Running Backs
Adrian Peterson
Vintage Adrian Peterson was on display Sunday. The burst, the wiggle, and the power were all there. And so were the results: 26 carries, 134 yards, and two touchdowns. While there are questions about whether he can keep this up, the good news is that he has some plus matchups on the horizon. There is, however, a good chance that someone already has Peterson in your league, but if he were available, he would be my top target.
FAAB bid: At least 30 percent of your budget. He may not be able to keep it up, but there aren’t many running backs on the wire that are carrying the ball around 20 times.
Alfred Morris / Darren McFadden
We’ve had plenty of things that have created great divisions in our society–the questions about an afterlife, political leanings, and whether or not a hotdog is a sandwich. The next great division just might be who the handcuff is for Ezekiel Elliott. The depressing truth is it may not matter. The Dallas Cowboys offensive line has been lauded as one of the best in the league the last few seasons, but they haven’t played like it this year. According to Adam Spinks, the RB Scout, the Cowboy line only averages 1.24 yards before Elliot reaches the potential tackle point–the fifth worst on the chart. In other words, if Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden takes over, it may not be the dream situation that people have been imagining.
One reason to invest in Morris is Scott Linehan‘s comments regarding Morris being activated over McFadden. If you only have room enough for one, roll the dice with Morris, but ideally you would have room for both of them.
FAAB bid: 25-35 percent of your budget.
Orleans Darkwa
Football makes perfect sense sometimes. Orleans Darkwa and his offense were only expected to put up about 14 points. Of course, they put up 23 and Darkwa ran for 117 yards. Of course. The good news is that Darkwa’s performance should clear up their backfield situation. At this point it would be hard for the New York Giants to justify giving the job back to Paul Perkins. It would also make less sense to give the job to Wayne Gallman, who only saw nine carries to Darkwa’s 21. This should be Darkwa’s job going forward.
FAAB bid: 15-20 percent of your budget.
Wide Receivers
Sterling Shepard
Someone has to catch the ball for the Giants right? That’s hardly a selling point for a player, but seriously, someone has to make up for the massive losses due to injury. Sterling Shepard has a chance to return from his injury this coming Sunday. That’s the good news. The bad news is that next week his team faces off against the Seattle Seahawks. Again, hardly a selling point for Shepard, but the schedule gets a little easier from that point on.
FAAB bid: No more than 20 percent of your budget. The Giants have so many issues–their offensive line, injuries, Eli Manning–that there is a legitimate worry about how often they will score this year.
John Brown
John Brown has real upside. However, his health can’t always be counted on. And those health issues have also led to limited snaps. That’s the downside with Brown. The good news is that Brown’s potential was on display on Sunday where he turned three catches into 63 yards and a touchdown.
FAAB bid: 10-20 percent of your budget.
Nelson Agholor
Kudos to Nelson Agholor. He’s put in a lot work to turn things around for his career. As far as this year goes, Agholor looks to be dynamic with the ball in his hands, and the targets have been trending in the right direction. After back-to-back weeks with only three targets, Agholor has seen four, five, and seven targets in the following games. While he won’t pass Alshon Jeffery or Zach Ertz on his team, he could certainly cement his role as the third passing option on a team that has thrown the ball at least 30 times each game.
FAAB bid: 10-15 percent of your budget.
Watch List
Robby Anderson isn’t very efficient with his targets, but he does see the Miami Dolphins next.
Donte Moncrief will see a value bump when Andrew Luck returns, so if you have the space, he’s worth stashing.
There isn’t much of an NFL sample size for Corey Davis, but he’s another player with upside that is worth stashing. If Marcus Mariota can stay healthy, Davis could be a cheap option that explodes in the second half of the season.
Streaming Options
Quarterbacks
Tyrod Taylor vs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The biggest reason to be hesitant here is, of course, the lack of receiving options. Jordan Matthews and Charles Clay are injured and Zay Jones hasn’t exactly been a bastion of efficiency. On the other hand, the Buccaneers have surrendered multiple passing touchdowns in three of their five games. Taylor is as big of a threat as any quarterback to break a long run, which certainly helps in four point passing touchdown leagues.
Jared Goff vs the Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have surrendered multiple passing touchdowns in four of their six games. Those two off games included Jacoby Brissett‘s first start with the Colts and Brian Hoyer struggling while on the road. While Goff hasn’t been as sharp in his last two starts, he faces this struggling secondary at home.
Blake Bortles at the Indianapolis Colts: Yeah, this doesn’t feel good. There are a few reasons to shy away from this one. First, you know, it’s Bortles. Second, the Jaguars have stated their desire to throw less. Third, their defense will likely put them in a position where they won’t need to throw to play catch up. If you’re going with Bortles, you’re doing so with the hope that he can exploit the Colts secondary.
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry vs the Denver Broncos: Henry now has back-to-back games with at least seven targets. At the tight end position you want to chase matchups and opportunity. Henry’s looming battle against the Broncos fits both of those. The Broncos have surrendered at least 70 receiving yards to the position in three out of the last four games.
Austin Hooper at the New England Patriots: The Patriots defense seems to be adopting the Homer Simpson approach to boxing: let your opponent hit you until they get tired. In short, the Patriots are struggling this year. Struggling so much that they are averaging about 63 yards and a touchdown to opposing tight ends. Hooper is coming off a seven reception game, and Mohamed Sanu could miss another week.
