Before looking ahead to Week 8, some final thoughts on Week 7:
Why was Terrell Pryor so overvalued this preseason? I got plenty of push-back over the summer for ranking him 27th among WRs in tandard-scoring leagues (vs. a WR-15 ADP) and 24th in PPR (vs. a WR-16 ADP). To be fair, my reasoning had more to do with the belief that Jamison Crowder would take another step forward, Jordan Reed would be a little better than he is now, and the running game would be more proficient (4.1 YPC and three rushing TDs this year vs. 4.5 YPC and 17 rushing TDs last year).
The fact is, last night Pryor played on fewer than half of Washington's offensive snaps, while Josh Doctson played on most. Head coach Jay Gruden put a bow on it: "We drafted Josh to be the No. 1 guy. He just has had some injuries. Now that he's healthy, we want to see what he can do."
Well then. That's not coach-speak. Pryor has caught 12 balls in his last five games. With a fantasy playoff schedule featuring the Chargers, Cardinals, and Broncos (two top-10 pass D's and a third that's underperformed due to injuries), Pryor is effectively droppable in shallow leagues and is no better than a wait-and-hope stash in deeper leagues.
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Heading into Week 8 and upcoming waiver adds, at QB, Matt Moore is the most obvious little-rostered target. Available in 99.9% of ESPN leagues, he'll be a terrific streaming option Week 9 against the Raiders, but I wouldn't expect QB1 numbers this weekend vs. the Ravens.
At RB, as referenced yesterday, T.J. Yeldon returned with a flourish, which couldn't have come at a worse time, as Jacksonville heads to its bye week. Leonard Fournette is a good bet to return in Week 9. The interesting question is whether Yeldon supplants Chris Ivory as the backfield handcuff. Available in 99% of leagues, he's a solid deep-league flyer. Elsewhere, Marlon Mack's still available in 74% of leagues, while potential new Charger handcuff Austin Ekeler is there for the taking in 99.5% of leagues. Mack is a must-add in many leagues; Ekeler is a must-add in very deep leagues where handcuffs are frequently rostered.
At WR, Kenny Stills is a fantastic sell-high guy with DaVante Parker expected to return soon. He's around in 85% of leagues, so adding him and then packaging him later this week would be wise. Another guy I've been pushing, Nelson Agholor, is somehow still around in 37% of leagues. Where can I find those leagues? For weeks I've been urging folks to take Agholor seriously. He's presently the 15th highest scoring fantasy WR.
And at TE, Tyler Kroft is way under-rostered with 89% availability. And as I mentioned yesterday, O.J. Howard is a solid get with 91% availability, but keep in mind he'll be battling for looks with three other guys, whereas Kroft could eventually be a consistent #2 target with so no reliable options in Cincy beyond A.J. Green.
Why was Terrell Pryor so overvalued this preseason? I got plenty of push-back over the summer for ranking him 27th among WRs in tandard-scoring leagues (vs. a WR-15 ADP) and 24th in PPR (vs. a WR-16 ADP). To be fair, my reasoning had more to do with the belief that Jamison Crowder would take another step forward, Jordan Reed would be a little better than he is now, and the running game would be more proficient (4.1 YPC and three rushing TDs this year vs. 4.5 YPC and 17 rushing TDs last year).
The fact is, last night Pryor played on fewer than half of Washington's offensive snaps, while Josh Doctson played on most. Head coach Jay Gruden put a bow on it: "We drafted Josh to be the No. 1 guy. He just has had some injuries. Now that he's healthy, we want to see what he can do."
Well then. That's not coach-speak. Pryor has caught 12 balls in his last five games. With a fantasy playoff schedule featuring the Chargers, Cardinals, and Broncos (two top-10 pass D's and a third that's underperformed due to injuries), Pryor is effectively droppable in shallow leagues and is no better than a wait-and-hope stash in deeper leagues.
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Heading into Week 8 and upcoming waiver adds, at QB, Matt Moore is the most obvious little-rostered target. Available in 99.9% of ESPN leagues, he'll be a terrific streaming option Week 9 against the Raiders, but I wouldn't expect QB1 numbers this weekend vs. the Ravens.
At RB, as referenced yesterday, T.J. Yeldon returned with a flourish, which couldn't have come at a worse time, as Jacksonville heads to its bye week. Leonard Fournette is a good bet to return in Week 9. The interesting question is whether Yeldon supplants Chris Ivory as the backfield handcuff. Available in 99% of leagues, he's a solid deep-league flyer. Elsewhere, Marlon Mack's still available in 74% of leagues, while potential new Charger handcuff Austin Ekeler is there for the taking in 99.5% of leagues. Mack is a must-add in many leagues; Ekeler is a must-add in very deep leagues where handcuffs are frequently rostered.
At WR, Kenny Stills is a fantastic sell-high guy with DaVante Parker expected to return soon. He's around in 85% of leagues, so adding him and then packaging him later this week would be wise. Another guy I've been pushing, Nelson Agholor, is somehow still around in 37% of leagues. Where can I find those leagues? For weeks I've been urging folks to take Agholor seriously. He's presently the 15th highest scoring fantasy WR.
And at TE, Tyler Kroft is way under-rostered with 89% availability. And as I mentioned yesterday, O.J. Howard is a solid get with 91% availability, but keep in mind he'll be battling for looks with three other guys, whereas Kroft could eventually be a consistent #2 target with so no reliable options in Cincy beyond A.J. Green.