Early in the 2017 preseason, my eyes were fixed on DeShaun Watson as a target with unlimited upside. If you’ve followed us this season, you know we warned readers against automatically fading the prolific signal caller for the Texans, as the sky was the limit as long as both Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins remained on the field.
In Baltimore, there’s another youngster with similar upside. Now, I’m not saying he’s going to reach it now, or ever, but a tremendous ceiling is there for the taking. Joe Flacco remains the QB for now, but at some point you have to wonder if Baltimore’s brass will hand the reigns over to first round pick Lamar Jackson once there’s nothing to play for.
I preemptively picked up the former Louisville Cardinal on the cheap Wednesday night everywhere I had room and a need at quarterback. Friday night the news ticker revealed that Joe Flacco is nursing a hip injury. The severity is unknown, but there are unconfirmed whispers that surgery might be in the cards. If Jackson does get a shot under center, it would have fantasy ripple effects for the entire offense.
I’ve contemplated cutting disappointing wideout Michael Crabtree. Six to 12 points most weeks is not the type of WR3 production that leads to fantasy championships. If you are loaded at running back, you may have even flirted with the idea of letting Alex Collins go. I’m holding another couple of weeks to see what unfolds. A Raven loss to the Bengals in week 11 could lead to a change, and guess whom Baltimore plays down the home stretch and into the fantasy playoffs:
Week 11 – Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12 – Oakland Raiders
Week 13 – @ Atlanta Falcons
Week 14 – @ Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
That is a dream schedule for all fantasy skill positions. It just doesn’t get more favorable than that.
Every single week, someone tweets out that Le’Veon Bell is expected to report “this week.” I suppose eventually they will be right? We’ll find out Tuesday, Nov. 13, the deadline if the holdout wishes to play this season. In the meantime, James Connor is in the concussion protocol. If Bell ends up sitting out the season, suddenly Stevan Ridley and Jaylen Samuels deserve some attention. It’s abundantly clear that while there may be differences on the margin, it’s the offensive system that has bolstered both Bell’s and Connor’s numbers. Whoever gets the touches will produce. Samuels was the only back involved in the passing game in the second half once the starter had to leave with a concussion.
If you are considering Jason Croom or Logan Thomas as a starter at tight end, odds are your season may already be over. Having said that, given the current TE landscape, desperate times call for desperate measures. Thirteen of Nathan Peterman’s 49 pass attempts were directed at a tight end, eight of which were directed at Thomas, who converted them into seven receptions. Due to injuries and ineffectiveness, Buffalo has displayed musical chairs under center, but given the dearth of talent lining up outside these shaky quarterbacks could use the position as a security blanket.
Taking the desperation theme to starting fantasy QB, Nick Mullens was a top 10 fantasy scorer at his position in Week 9, getting it done with three touchdowns, zero picks, and displaying accuracy along the way. Not bad for a rookie making his first career start. If you own Jared Goff or Patrick Mahomes and lack a decent bye week replacement in Week 12, Mullins and the 49ers travel to Tampa Bay… I’m just sayin’.
