Injuries are the ceaseless current in the National Football League, beating against all the boats that are just trying to get to the opposite shore unscathed. We start with those two players, who could really help swing leagues as we enter the home stretch of the typical fantasy regular season.
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Quarterback – Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers – Everyone was quick to jump on the Roethlisberger bandwagon last week, but that was ignoring the fact that whenever Big Ben has missed playing time, his first game back is rarely worth the start in fantasy. And if anything happens to McCoy, Williams is in RB1 conversations. However, with McCoy already looking iffy for the Bills’ Thursday night game with the Jets this week, fantasy owners should be moving heaven and earth to get Williams on their rosters. As a comparison, Devonta Freeman is averaging 0.85 points per touch. This week, Wilson Chandler earns that distinction, as his ownership percentage has plummeted by 14 percentage points in recent days after he suffered a right hip strain late in the preseason. Do whatever it takes to snag him from the wire. Dion Lewis went down with what looks like a serious knee injury. Conventional wisdom states that these players will bounce back, but that often flies in the face of the “what have you done for me lately” mindset of most fantasy GMs. Belichick never looks the other way after a fumble like he did with Lewis not once, but twice, early in the year. If there are any players you have a specific question about feel free to hit me up in the comments or on Twitter. Bolden and White should both be claimed, but it’s possible they piece this role together while letting LeGarrette Blount own almost all the carries.
Lewis is out for the season with a torn ACL, meaning that Bolden or (more likely) James White takes over passing down duties. Yes, Lacy has more rushing yards than Starks in total on the season (334 to Stark’s 308) but the differential is minuscule and Starks had more carries than Lacy in Week 9.
Bortles has at least 22 fantasy points in three of his last four outings and gets a cupcake matchup this weekend against the inept Ravens pass defense.
The Packers running back finished with negative one fantasy point after rushing for just 10 yards on five carries. Unless and until we see Ryan perform at a higher level, he should be deemed a high-end QB2. He’s just barely behind Williams in terms of waiver priority this week. If you are locked in, take a look at schedules, especially for your QB. While you shouldn’t expect two scores every week, Beasley is clearly one of Dallas’ preferred weapons with Lance Dunbar out. Despite some strong recent chemistry with receiver Stefon Diggs, Bridgewater is unlikely to put up big numbers against a St. Louis defense that has held quarterbacks to the second-fewest points per week. Who could be the outside presence the Panthers need? Although the Titans have had trouble getting in the red zone, Walker could very well be their top target if they find themselves close by.
Tony Romo, DAL (56% owned) – Is not eligible to play until next week, but all reports are that he’s healthy and will be ready to go in week 11.
Baltimore Ravens TE Crocket Gillmore: He seems to have the attention of Joe Flacco.
Following monster weeks against Carolina, Jacksonville and Washington, Doug Martin has barely moved the needle in his last two games. He played well after Smith’s season-ending Achilles injury two weeks ago, finishing that game with six catches for 62 yards.
Save for a relative clunker against Cleveland on Friday, McConnell has been simply electric over the past week, averaging 6.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, a whopping 9.3 assists and 1.3 steals in just under 30 minutes per game. That alone makes him relevant in all fantasy formats.
WATCH Anita on picking up Dorial Green-Beckham in fantasy. Cutler’s upside is more QB2 than QB1 this week.
There’s no doubting DGB’s athleticism and talent.
Week 10 of the fantasy football season is here, and the playoff races are starting to heat up.
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CJ Spiller, RB: No running back has more than 33 receiving yards against Tennessee or a touchdown out of the backfield, and Spiller has yet to gain more than 21 yards on the ground. If he misses any time, Reece looks like the next back in line for a majority of the work in the Raiders backfield. But Sunday was as positive a sign as we’ve seen yet, as he had a career-best five catches for 77 yards on 10 targets. That would open the door for Jones to be the lead back, though it is worth noting that he has handled the ball just 20 times this year.
