Welcome Back

We saw a handful of players come back from suspensions or injuries in a big way in Week Six.  The person who made the largest immediate impact was Martavis Bryant.  No one could have predicted that Landry Jones, the rookie third string quarterback, would enter the game and help lead the Steelers offense to a couple scores and a win.  Bryant and Jones must have had a lot of rapport from practice reps this year, because they exploded in the second half.  Jones was 8 for 12, for 168 yards and two touchdowns.  Both of those touchdown passes went to Bryant, one going for 88 yards where Bryant highlighted his run after the catch ability, slicing through the Cardinals defense.   Bryant is back, and sports the freshest legs amongst all receivers.  He needs to start in your lineup if you stashed him.  If you have an abundance of receivers, I’d trade someone who’s starting to make room for Bryant.

Alshon Jeffery returned after sitting out since Week One due to injury.  You can say Jeffery had a nice day at the office, catching eight passes on 11 targets, for 147 yards and a touchdown.  It comes at perfect timing for Cutler and the Bears offense as they had three games in a row where the offense has looked in sync, and had competitive games.  Cutler will continue to give his No. 1 receiver more than enough opportunities, meaning Jeffery is back in everyone’s lineups.

Another receiver who came back from injury and looked quite healthy was Steve Smith.  Smith had two weeks of being banged up, sitting out entirely in Week Five.  Smith didn’t even look probable to play in Week Six with micro fractures in his back still holding him back.  Maybe saying he didn’t think he was going to play was just a ploy to throw off the San Francisco?  Probably not, but he still surprised everyone with his big Week Six.  Smith had 137 yards and a touchdown.  Smith still has some juice left in the tank, maybe he should re-think retirement next year. Don’t move Smith, keep him as it seems he always finds himself on winning rosters in fantasy.

Julius Thomas became a household name and made a lot of money due to his success with Peyton Manning in previous years.  Thomas had to miss the first four weeks because of a finger injury, and made his Jaguars debut last week where he was used minimally.  In Week Six, Thomas was targeted the most among all Jaguar options, and seemed to have solid chemistry with sophomore franchise quarterback Blake Bortles.  Thomas saw 13 targets, catching seven balls for 78 yards and a touchdown.  Teammate Allen Robinson, who has been the leading receiver for the Jags, left the game with a leg injury.  If Robinson is limited or has to miss any time, Thomas will see more targets, meaning his value will be lifted temporarily.  You can target Thomas via trade, or even look to trade you may have starting at tight end currently, to slide Thomas into your starting lineup.  Either way, I liked what I saw out of Thomas and think he is a good play the rest of the year.

Fire Sale the Broncos 

Peyton Manning, CJ Anderson, Emmanuel Sanders, and Demaryius Thomas have all been let downs.  All these Broncos were selected high in drafts, and have not been a reason owners have been winning matchups this year.  Anderson is debatably the biggest bust in fantasy this year, and looks like has lost his starting job to Ronnie Hillman.  He’s splitting carries, and doesn’t look like the better back.  He needs to be benched or possibly even dropped in deeper leagues.  Receiving options in Denver need to be traded right away.  In standard scoring, the median weekly score between Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders is just 10 points.  Sanders and Thomas have combined for just four touchdowns, with Thomas only catching one touchdown this year, and two of Sanders three touchdown catches came in the same game.  Owen Daniels is also not going to have the year I had originally thought, and isn’t even worth really owning in standard leagues.  He’s touchdown or bust because he usually only sees a couple of targets.  And seeing how Manning is only throwing 1.17 touchdowns per game on average, you can’t expect Daniels to put up even mediocre numbers.  It’s not Sanders, Thomas, or Danies who have dropped off, but Manning, and that’s the reason why everyone else’s value has diminished.  I’m a fantasy expert, not a football expert, so I can’t pin point what is going wrong for Manning.  The obvious though, he’s not in his prime and he’s getting old.  Injuries and miles on his body have added up, and sadly Manning isn’t what we are used to.  The arm strength isn’t there, and the offense they are running is not as high powered as we have come to expected.  It may be messing with Manning, as even his usual sharp football mind has looked shaky.  With weird passing and play decisions happening often in Denver, it’s just a mess all over and I don’t want the Broncos options in fantasy anymore.

Waiver Wire Adds

James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers

Starks was the main running back utilized in Week Six for the Packers, and looked better than Eddie Lacy.  I think Lacy’s ankle injury is just worse than what was first thought and he isn’t back to his old self.  In Week Six the stat line is scary for Lacy owners, as the back had only four carries for three yards and caught two of two targets for 17 yards.  Starks ran the ball 10 times for 112 yards, which was highlighted with a 65-yard touchdown run in the first half.   Starks is a must add for Lacy owners.

Benjamin Watson, TE, New Orleans Saints 

Watson had a huge Week Six against the Atlanta Falcons.  Watson caught 10 of 12 targets for 127 yards and one touchdown.  More impressive than that huge stat line for a tight end, is that in a Drew Brees offense, Watson had 12 targets while the next three players who led in targets (C.J. Spiller, Brandin Cooks and Josh Hill) all combined for just 15 targets.   Brees still hasn’t found his favorite target in a revamped offensive unit, and maybe Watson will be the new Jimmy Graham that Brees needs.  Watson is obviously not as gifted as their old tight end, but he’s a large target who showed off impressive routes and hands in Week Six.  Brees most likely will continue to spread the ball, but I expect Watson to still be near the top in targets the rest of the year.   If your tight end is on bye week soon, grab Watson.

Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings 

Diggs is available in your league, and it looks like he’s the best receiver in Minnesota for the time being.  The last two games Diggs has caught 13 Teddy Bridgewater passes for 216 yards, and has led his team in targets with 19.  He’s making big plays, and is going to have every opportunity to continue this performance.  The Vikings need someone to step up at receiver, and Diggs could have some nice value and good games ahead of him.  Great add in double flex leagues, three wide receiver set leagues, or 12 team leagues.

Malcom Floyd, WR, San Diego Chargers

Floyd had 12 targets in Week Six for the Chargers, which he  turned into 5 receptions and 95 yards.  The two bright spots are that he’s in a pass heavy Philip Rivers offense, and he sees a ton of deep targets.  He leads the league in average air yards per target, and runs a lot of go routes.  Rivers is an accurate passer and a gun slinger, he will continue to throw it to Floyd, meaning Floyd is going to have huge touchdowns and/or gains when Rivers and him start connecting.  For that high percentage of big play opportunities, I want Floyd on my fantasy squad.

Marvin Jones, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Jones had his best week of the year in Week Six, totaling nine catches for 95 yards, and a touchdown.  The touchdown catch came in the red zone, and Jones had to go up and make an impressive grab.  This is Jones third score of the year, and he is going to continue to see opportunities in a red hot Cincinnati passing attack.  There are other players around Jones, and he will have weeks where A.J. Green, and Tyler Eifert are the main guys.  But, I always stick to the strategy of acquiring players on good offenses, and during the year going with the offenses that are hot.  The Bengals are that time right now, and Jones is in a good situation with Andy Dalton elevating the passing attack for the Bengals this year.

Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

You’ve heard this before, Jay Cutler looks pretty good.  It’s like watching a left handers baseball swing, it just looks pretty.  The ball always has come out of Cutlers hand nicely, and he makes difficult throws look so easy at times.  He’s looked great over the last three weeks, compiling five touchdowns, two interceptions, and is averaging 295.33 yards per game.  That turns into an average of about 18 points per week in fantasy, and is a consistent score for a quarterback.  The story with Cutler is always going to be the same thing, can he actually stay consistent over a larger set of games?  He makes throws other quarterbacks can’t, and has good skill players around him.  With a schedule that isn’t that intimidating ahead of him, keep an eye on Cutler if your quarterback goes down, or you need a bye week quarterback to get a W.