Fantasy Stock Report: Championship Week
We’ve made it. Fantasy championship week is here. Congratulations if you still have a shot at fantasy glory. I’m sure there is money to be won for people this weekend but for me, the glory is just as good. As always the injuries are real right now and you may be forced into starting someone you may not want to. Here are a handful of guys I feel decent about starting if push comes to shove this week.
Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson: He was on this list to start the playoffs and he’s only continued to play well. He is now QB9 on the season but I still don’t think people view him as a sure fire fantasy starter. Russ has been an average quarterback this season in real life but it has translated to insane consistency for fantasy. Since their week nine bye, his lowest fantasy score is 14.46. When you get into a spot like this you’re just hoping your replacement doesn’t kill you and Wilson has shown a floor in fantasy that won’t be the reason you lose which is huge. He gets the Chargers this week who did show defensive improvement after Brandon Staley got fired but I still feel good about Russ in this one.
Nick Mullens: Now here’s a recommendation that is an endorsement for the “I need a quarterback really bad in fantasy” situation and this specific situation only. In his two full-time starts for the Vikings, he has 17.12 and 16.54 fantasy points respectively. He has topped 300 yards in both games and has thrown two touchdowns in each. His drawback is the terrible interceptions he throws and there will be one if not more considering he has six in those two starts. Playing in Kevin O’Connel’s scheme and getting Justin Jefferson back have been a huge bump for Mullens but he also gets the Packers this week who have been a mess recently against quarterbacks. Here are the last three fantasy games against them:
Tommy Devito - 17.42
Baker Mayfield - 29.04
Bryce Young - 22.18
Devito led a game-winning drive, Baker cooked them at Lambeau, and Bryce Young had his best career game with 312 and two touchdowns. Bryce Young! Mullens has some merit as a solid stream this week on his own but the matchup makes me even more comfortable.
Running Backs
Zamir White (if no Josh Jacobs): In two games without Josh Jacobs, White has a combined 39 carries. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce has stressed establishing the run even if it isn’t working. The volume White will see alone should give you enough confidence to slip him into your starting lineups this week. It just happens to be a huge plus that the Colts give up the third most fantasy points to running backs.
Justice Hill: Justice Hill has been brought back to some level of fantasy relevance thanks to the injury to Keaton Mitchell. He saw ten carries this week and caught three passes as the primary backup to Gus Edwards this week against the 49ers. Hill is truly an emergency play but you can do worse. He will get a handful of carries but more importantly he handles the passing work. Edwards only has 12 catches all year so you can feel confident in Hill getting the bulk of the reps in passing situations. The Ravens play the Dolphins this week who have been playing great defense lately but Hill should see decent work regardless of game script. He’s also a candidate to come in and vulture goal line work from Edwards which makes him worthy play if you’re down that bad.
Wide Receivers
Jameson Williams: Jameson’s career has been a mess so far, to say the least, but things are starting to turn around. It has taken a long time for him to be integrated into the Lions offense but he may finally be carving a role for himself. He saw seven targets two weeks ago and followed it up with six targets this week. Jameson turned those targets into nine catches for 90 yards. It’s nothing super flashy but I’m encouraged to see him getting used like a normal wide receiver instead of a gadget guy. The Lions are playing the Cowboys so I would think they will need to score to stay in this one which is good for Jameson. I think his usage the last two weeks makes him a fine fill in play if needed who also still holds big play potential with his speed.
Darius Slayton: This one is predicated on the Giants being smart and starting Tyrod Taylor this week. Their offense looked noticeably better with him in the game and it’s obvious Taylor is willing to throw the ball downfield. Slayton has been a deep threat in his career and his fantasy value has been tanked without Daniel Jones. I know that was a crazy sentence but here we are. Tommy Devito has averaged 6.2 yards per attempt this season so the quarterback switch will be a welcomed change for Slayton. He only saw three targets this past week but one of them was a nice 69-yard touchdown bomb from Taylor. This is more of a desperation play as opposed to a guy you can hope just keep you afloat but Slayton has potential to steal some championships this week.
Tight End
Gerald Everett: To get the obvious out of the way, the Broncos give up the most fantasy points to tight ends. It’s been a season-long problem for them and it happens to line up with the biggest target share of Everett’s career. Everett has seen an uptick in targets over the past month and a half and now that Justin Herbert is out along with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, there just aren’t many options left for the Chargers. He has seen eight targets now in three straight games. Easton Stick isn’t lighting things up by any means but the volume should stay consistent and he gets a great matchup. Everett also now has five straight games with at least 6.4 fantasy points so he gives you a nice floor for a backup.
D/ST
Chicago Bears: Like Russell Wilson, I wrote up the Bears two weeks ago but they’re in another great spot this week. They only scored four fantasy points this week against the Cardinals which was their lowest fantasy performance since week nine. Despite that they held the Cardinals to 16 points. They just couldn’t get home with sacks and they didn’t force any turnovers. Since trading for Montez Sweat the Bears have been a much improved defense. They’ve had at least two sacks in every game since week nine and, before this week, had also forced at least two turnovers in every game since week ten. This week they get Taylor Heinecke who is willing to sling the ball. Maybe even too much. A bonus here is the Falcons have only scored more than 16 points outside of Atlanta once all this year. It’s impossible to say what Sunday’s weather in Chicago will look like but it will for sure be cold. I don’t see the Falcons breaking 20 points this week.
