Many times in recent weeks and hundreds of times in recent years, I've been urging folks to trust in the law of averages--that great players with poor numbers usually turn things around. The knock on Amari Cooper has been that "he's been bad." That's all well and good, but it's not a long-term prognosis unless he's physically impaired or dealing with some other really-hard-to-fix issue. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, Cooper is a WR2, plain and simple. He might not have been playing like it, but nothing in his make-up nor in how the team perceived him suggested this would be a lost year.
My stance heading into last night was that Cooper was a "wait-and-see" talent. As I wrote to many of you, his floor was painfully low and his ceiling was WR1-high. There are many guys like Cooper every week--good players you roll the dice on when the boom-bust risk is worth taking. Often the result comes down to usage. How committed is the team to get Player XYZ involved? In the past five weeks, Cooper was targeted 5, 5, 8, 2, and 6 times.
Yesterday he was targeted 19 times.
That's how committed Oakland is to Amari Cooper. I saw it coming, but honestly didn't see it coming last night. So now we're a little wise heading into Week 8. There's nothing inherently wrong with Cooper. He's 23 years old and has Mike Evans-like upside. The patient and forward-looking among you scored big.
Taking a look around the league at undervalued Week 7 RBs and WRs, Wendell Smallwood (51st ranked RB based on 49 experts compiled by Fantasy Pros) will return after a two-game absence that hampered his momentum as a valuable split-time back in Philly. Again, it comes down to usage: if he can earn 10+ touches--on par with his totals before getting hurt--then he'll comfortably exceed expectations. For now, this mostly unrostered RB needs to be added in a lot more leagues.
Matt Breida (54th ranked RB) should remain on everyone's radar, including this week as a 50-50 RB3 dart throw. Carlos Hyde has run poorly in three of four games, yet has four TDs during this stretch. While the veteran significantly outsnapped Breida last week, I'm maintaining that Breida needs to be rostered in nearly every league given Hyde's inefficient running and poor injury track record.
If Leonard Fournette is forced to sit Sunday, keep any eye on the largely unnoticed Corey Grant (83rd ranked RB). Yes, Chris Ivory would become a near-must-start RB2/3. But Grant's big-play ability could earn him 6-8 looks against an atrocious Colts D, which would translate into RB4+ production.
Laquon Treadwell (94th ranked WR) is one of my favorite dart throws if Stefon Diggs sits. Heading into last year's draft, Treadwell was named the draft's top receiver in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel poll of 19 NFL scouts. Not surprisingly, Minnesota used a first round pick on him. Barely 22 years old, Treadwell has incredible upside if he can put it all together at the pro level. Remember, he was hurt much of last season, so any talk of "well, what has he done?" should be thrown out the window. Talent is talent. All that remains is translating that into usage. Treadwell is on my WR3/4 radar.
Kelvin Benjamin is dealing with knee swelling, which means Devin Funchess (26th ranked WR) would be a must-start WR2+, while the surprisingly undervalued (even if Benjamin does play) Ed Dickson (17th ranked TE) would be a upside TE1.
Speaking of tight ends, if you don't have a TE1, pick up and start Buffalo's Nick O'Leary (25th ranked TE) if Jordan Matthews sits, and even if Matthews returns, start O'Leary as a top 16 TE.
My stance heading into last night was that Cooper was a "wait-and-see" talent. As I wrote to many of you, his floor was painfully low and his ceiling was WR1-high. There are many guys like Cooper every week--good players you roll the dice on when the boom-bust risk is worth taking. Often the result comes down to usage. How committed is the team to get Player XYZ involved? In the past five weeks, Cooper was targeted 5, 5, 8, 2, and 6 times.
Yesterday he was targeted 19 times.
That's how committed Oakland is to Amari Cooper. I saw it coming, but honestly didn't see it coming last night. So now we're a little wise heading into Week 8. There's nothing inherently wrong with Cooper. He's 23 years old and has Mike Evans-like upside. The patient and forward-looking among you scored big.
Taking a look around the league at undervalued Week 7 RBs and WRs, Wendell Smallwood (51st ranked RB based on 49 experts compiled by Fantasy Pros) will return after a two-game absence that hampered his momentum as a valuable split-time back in Philly. Again, it comes down to usage: if he can earn 10+ touches--on par with his totals before getting hurt--then he'll comfortably exceed expectations. For now, this mostly unrostered RB needs to be added in a lot more leagues.
Matt Breida (54th ranked RB) should remain on everyone's radar, including this week as a 50-50 RB3 dart throw. Carlos Hyde has run poorly in three of four games, yet has four TDs during this stretch. While the veteran significantly outsnapped Breida last week, I'm maintaining that Breida needs to be rostered in nearly every league given Hyde's inefficient running and poor injury track record.
If Leonard Fournette is forced to sit Sunday, keep any eye on the largely unnoticed Corey Grant (83rd ranked RB). Yes, Chris Ivory would become a near-must-start RB2/3. But Grant's big-play ability could earn him 6-8 looks against an atrocious Colts D, which would translate into RB4+ production.
Laquon Treadwell (94th ranked WR) is one of my favorite dart throws if Stefon Diggs sits. Heading into last year's draft, Treadwell was named the draft's top receiver in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel poll of 19 NFL scouts. Not surprisingly, Minnesota used a first round pick on him. Barely 22 years old, Treadwell has incredible upside if he can put it all together at the pro level. Remember, he was hurt much of last season, so any talk of "well, what has he done?" should be thrown out the window. Talent is talent. All that remains is translating that into usage. Treadwell is on my WR3/4 radar.
Kelvin Benjamin is dealing with knee swelling, which means Devin Funchess (26th ranked WR) would be a must-start WR2+, while the surprisingly undervalued (even if Benjamin does play) Ed Dickson (17th ranked TE) would be a upside TE1.
Speaking of tight ends, if you don't have a TE1, pick up and start Buffalo's Nick O'Leary (25th ranked TE) if Jordan Matthews sits, and even if Matthews returns, start O'Leary as a top 16 TE.