Last night went entirely different than I expected. All I can do is admit defeat, apologize for the terrible RB advice, and try to make sense of it.
First there's Travis Etienne, who notched two touchdowns -- giving him six across a 12-day span. Simply incredible. After a relatively modest output in the first four weeks, he's been the fantasy RB MVP from Weeks 5-7. If you'd told me before the game that he'd have fewer touches, fewer rushing yards, and fewer receiving yards than he had on Sunday, I would have issued the same warning: he's a regression risk. But there's no denying his TD prowess. And despite New Orleans giving up only one rushing score entering this game, they couldn't stop him.
Christian Kirk got his points, and Evan Engram got his (not nearly as much, but still decent). Both of these outputs were expected. As for Calvin Ridley, this is officially a Code Red situation for the talented WR, who's come up huge a couple of times, but has been unstartable four times. It's like old-school DeSean Jackson, where you never know if you're getting a star or a dud from week to week. If you can handle the rollercoaster, stay on it. Otherwise, the struggle is real, and no one would legitimately question your decision to pawn him off to an opponent.
For the Saints, Alvin Kamara is averaging just shy of nine catches per game since he returned in Week 4. It's almost ludicrous. And yet, given Derek Carr's limitations, somehow it makes sense. I had warned this summer that Kamara was in decline -- that his metrics showed this. But catches are the great equalizer in fantasy. You can be a sub-4.0 YPC rusher and still dominate. Until/unless defenses adjust, Kamara seemingly has one of fantasy’s highest RB floors
Elsewhere, Chris Olave barely got his points, and Michael Thomas salvaged his day with an incredible TD catch. Rashid Shaheed was benchable as expected. And congrats if you started Taysom Hill in your TE slot. Kamara had three tries to punch it in from the two-and one-yard lines. On fourth down, the team turned to Hill. Some weeks, managers' fortunes hinge on those moments of futility and success.
And the closest score winner is . . . David Garcia, who predicted a 33-24 Jags victory. He would have hit it on the nose if Carr had taken a 94-yard sack on the final play. Of course, if that had happened, that’s all we’d be talking about.