September ended far different than it began. Lamar Jackson (preseason QB-14 ADP) is fantasy's top quarterback, and three universally undraftable QBs--Matthew Stafford (QB-23), Jacoby Brissett (QB-27), and Marcus Mariota (QB-28)--are in the top 10. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, and Baker Mayfield are barely treading water. At RB, Austin Ekeler is the #2 fantasy scorer, while the seemingly safe David Montgomery, Sony Michel, and Joe Mixon are seriously scuffling. At WR, Cooper Kupp is #2, D.J. Chark is #10, and two Broncos are somehow in the top 14 (is it 2014?). And at least 15 universally reliable preseason wideouts aren't pulling their weight; not even close. And the TE situation is downright nuts, with five of the top seven scorers shocking every prognosticator, while the trendy O.J. Howard and Jared Cook are, quite simply, no longer trendy.
How long do you wait for an underperformer to rebound? It usually depends on how desperate you are for a win, and how deep your bench is. I've fallen to 2-2 in the Premier League (great win by Cory Nedd this weekend) and am stubbornly clinging to Mike Williams. Joel Verzosa and I publicly made a side bet on Williams this summer. I warned he was overrated; Joel disagreed. That said, I still see him offering back-end WR3 value when healthy. With a deep bench, and not yet "win-or-else" mode, I'm willing to stash him for a while longer.
But if you have five bench spots and two starters are on a Week 5 bye, you might not have the luxury of carrying an injured WR3/4. It's a different calculation for everyone. All I can say is this: We've already seen two of the top 14 preseason RBs get hurt. There will be more RB injuries. So for the 50th time, roll the dice and see what happens.
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Last night was painful to watch at time. And by "at times," I mean whenever Cincy had the ball. I kept waiting for Ryan Finley to get the nod. Not that it was all Andy Dalton's fault. His offensive line is as atrocious as we knew it would be in August. Pittsburgh sacked him eight times. Six weeks ago I raised eyebrows by sharply lowering Joe Mixon on my rankings. Then two weeks ago I warned readers to sell because of a brutal stretch of games straight through Week 10. Really, he'll be lucky to finish in the top 30.
And sadly, Auden Tate led all Bengal receivers for the second straight week. That shouldn't happen. Also, John Ross entered the night with four drops, tied for first in the NFL. Not sure if he had more last night, but it's a reminder that--for many reasons, including A.J. Green's eventual return--he was once a sell-high candidate.
On the other side of the ball, James Conner finally broke out. Let's put it in perspective: it was against the Bengals. But it was earned. Now sell medium-high. Conner will face the Ravens, then the Chargers, and then hit his bye week. The 1-3 Steelers won't be playing comfortably ahead most games. And note that he and Jaylen Samuels (one of my favorite preseason handcuffs), had 18 touches apiece. This wasn't a case of mop-up work for the backup. Samuels was mixed in early and often. After getting gashed by Nick Chubb, Baltimore will adjust against Pittsburgh. Conner remains a risky RB2.
In the air, the recently promoted Diontae Johnson came through, and the much-hyped James Washington continued his descent, no thanks to Ben Roethlisberger's season-ender. This will be Mason Rudolph's best performance for some time. If you're banking on JuJu Smith-Schuster getting back on track, . . . well, who knows. But it's a stretch to think more than one receiver will be fantasy relevant most weeks. A WR3 entering the weekend, JSS probably will end the year as a WR3.
How long do you wait for an underperformer to rebound? It usually depends on how desperate you are for a win, and how deep your bench is. I've fallen to 2-2 in the Premier League (great win by Cory Nedd this weekend) and am stubbornly clinging to Mike Williams. Joel Verzosa and I publicly made a side bet on Williams this summer. I warned he was overrated; Joel disagreed. That said, I still see him offering back-end WR3 value when healthy. With a deep bench, and not yet "win-or-else" mode, I'm willing to stash him for a while longer.
But if you have five bench spots and two starters are on a Week 5 bye, you might not have the luxury of carrying an injured WR3/4. It's a different calculation for everyone. All I can say is this: We've already seen two of the top 14 preseason RBs get hurt. There will be more RB injuries. So for the 50th time, roll the dice and see what happens.
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Last night was painful to watch at time. And by "at times," I mean whenever Cincy had the ball. I kept waiting for Ryan Finley to get the nod. Not that it was all Andy Dalton's fault. His offensive line is as atrocious as we knew it would be in August. Pittsburgh sacked him eight times. Six weeks ago I raised eyebrows by sharply lowering Joe Mixon on my rankings. Then two weeks ago I warned readers to sell because of a brutal stretch of games straight through Week 10. Really, he'll be lucky to finish in the top 30.
And sadly, Auden Tate led all Bengal receivers for the second straight week. That shouldn't happen. Also, John Ross entered the night with four drops, tied for first in the NFL. Not sure if he had more last night, but it's a reminder that--for many reasons, including A.J. Green's eventual return--he was once a sell-high candidate.
On the other side of the ball, James Conner finally broke out. Let's put it in perspective: it was against the Bengals. But it was earned. Now sell medium-high. Conner will face the Ravens, then the Chargers, and then hit his bye week. The 1-3 Steelers won't be playing comfortably ahead most games. And note that he and Jaylen Samuels (one of my favorite preseason handcuffs), had 18 touches apiece. This wasn't a case of mop-up work for the backup. Samuels was mixed in early and often. After getting gashed by Nick Chubb, Baltimore will adjust against Pittsburgh. Conner remains a risky RB2.
In the air, the recently promoted Diontae Johnson came through, and the much-hyped James Washington continued his descent, no thanks to Ben Roethlisberger's season-ender. This will be Mason Rudolph's best performance for some time. If you're banking on JuJu Smith-Schuster getting back on track, . . . well, who knows. But it's a stretch to think more than one receiver will be fantasy relevant most weeks. A WR3 entering the weekend, JSS probably will end the year as a WR3.