Toward the end of yesterday's Pro Football Network podcast with my colleague Tommy Garrett, I brought up Pat Freiermuth, saying "By the time some of you are listening to this tonight, he will have gotten 50 yards and a touchdown." I've spent the past two weeks hyping him about a dozen times on the podcast, the PFN website, the PFN newsletter, and on this page. With Ben Roethlisberger no longer able to throw deep, the uber-talented Freiermuth has been money in the bank: a no-brainer fantasy start despite being available in more than 90% of ESPN leagues (and actually, his rostership shot up to about 32% as of early this morning).
So this is example #857 of a seemingly irrelevant player predictably becoming a regular fantasy starter. We could see this coming. Maybe if we go back in time and replay the game, he gets only 10 fantasy points instead of 21. That doesn't matter. What matters is that once Eric Ebron got hurt, the conditions allowed for someone of Freiermuth's abilities to mesh with Roethlisberger's needs.
Elsewhere last night, Justin Fields took another step forward. And it's extraordinary that we now live in a fantasy world where Allen Robinson getting 11 fantasy points is a big deal. As in, wow, he might actually be startable this season. Even more for Darnell Mooney, who scored 16 fantasy points in the fourth quarter. And we can't forget Cole Kmet, who's basically Freiermuth in a worse situation; nice to see him getting the attention he deserves. All three can be useful in fantasy if Fields continues to develop.
And the David Montgomery - Khalil Herbert split wasn't has bad as I thought it would be. While Montgomery had only 15 touches, he looked great and should return more value the second half of the season than I anticipated, as Herbert was limited to four carries for 13 yards. If you've been reading this page for at least a couple years, you know how high I've been on Montgomery each summer. But with Herbert playing big in his absence, I'd really thought he would continue to carve out at least a 1B role. Apparently, that doesn't appear to be the plan.
Finally, about 90 of you shared final-score predictions yesterday (reminder: the final score was 29-27). Honorable mention goes to James Thatcher (27-23). And the winner is the inimitable (although really, aren't we all inimitable) Tyler Malone. Tyler predicted 28-24. The problem with so much fourth-quarter scoring is that I was ready to declare about 20 of you the winner at various times. But a big congrats to Tyler, who deservedly is the last person standing, and will seek to become the first back-to-back winner this Thursday--unless he forgets to log in to Facebook that day.
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- PFN fantasy site -- www.profootballnetwork.com/fantasy-football/
- PFN fantasy podcast -- podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-mood-for-fantasy-football/id1580114372
- Free fantasy advice newsletter -- www.getrevue.co/profile/pfnfantasy
So this is example #857 of a seemingly irrelevant player predictably becoming a regular fantasy starter. We could see this coming. Maybe if we go back in time and replay the game, he gets only 10 fantasy points instead of 21. That doesn't matter. What matters is that once Eric Ebron got hurt, the conditions allowed for someone of Freiermuth's abilities to mesh with Roethlisberger's needs.
Elsewhere last night, Justin Fields took another step forward. And it's extraordinary that we now live in a fantasy world where Allen Robinson getting 11 fantasy points is a big deal. As in, wow, he might actually be startable this season. Even more for Darnell Mooney, who scored 16 fantasy points in the fourth quarter. And we can't forget Cole Kmet, who's basically Freiermuth in a worse situation; nice to see him getting the attention he deserves. All three can be useful in fantasy if Fields continues to develop.
And the David Montgomery - Khalil Herbert split wasn't has bad as I thought it would be. While Montgomery had only 15 touches, he looked great and should return more value the second half of the season than I anticipated, as Herbert was limited to four carries for 13 yards. If you've been reading this page for at least a couple years, you know how high I've been on Montgomery each summer. But with Herbert playing big in his absence, I'd really thought he would continue to carve out at least a 1B role. Apparently, that doesn't appear to be the plan.
Finally, about 90 of you shared final-score predictions yesterday (reminder: the final score was 29-27). Honorable mention goes to James Thatcher (27-23). And the winner is the inimitable (although really, aren't we all inimitable) Tyler Malone. Tyler predicted 28-24. The problem with so much fourth-quarter scoring is that I was ready to declare about 20 of you the winner at various times. But a big congrats to Tyler, who deservedly is the last person standing, and will seek to become the first back-to-back winner this Thursday--unless he forgets to log in to Facebook that day.
---
- PFN fantasy site -- www.profootballnetwork.com/fantasy-football/
- PFN fantasy podcast -- podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-mood-for-fantasy-football/id1580114372
- Free fantasy advice newsletter -- www.getrevue.co/profile/pfnfantasy