Dynasty Analysis
On Tuesday, the Jets finally decided to part ways with star running back Le’Veon Bell. After trying and failing to find a trade partner, they released him. As Bell was a vested veteran, he was not subject to waivers, allowing him to sign with any NFL team. Bell did almost nothing for the Jets in 2020. He missed three games with a hamstring injury, but he did see playing time in two games. Bell totaled 19 carries for 74 yards, and he added three receptions for 39 yards. Considering the Jets’ poor offense, Bell scored no touchdowns, and he wasn’t a strong fantasy asset. I think everyone is pretty happy that Bell is out of New York.
The Packers drafted Williams out of BYU in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. At the time, they had recently moved on from the previous starter Eddie Lacy, and they had converted wide receiver Ty Montgomery as their nominal starting running back. The Packers also selected Aaron Jones in the fifth round of the same draft, creating a three-way competition at running back.
Sunday was a day on which fans experienced the uplifting hope of seeing the return of Alex Smith, only to feel the despair of losing Dak Prescott. The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott dominated the headlines during the 2020 NFL Offseason, and they are going to do so again in 2021. The 1-3 Dallas Cowboys went into a Week 5 matchup with their division foes the New York Giants in must-win mode. During the third-quarter Prescott took a first-down quarterback draw as the Cowboys approached the Giants’ red zone. On this play he was tackled by Logan Ryan, as Ryan brought him down he rolled up under Prescott who suffered a compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle. During the moment, other than thoughts and prayers for Prescott’s health the underlying fear was remembering Gordon Hayward’s similar and brutal injury in 2017.
In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding.
I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.
You guys might be wondering why you’re hearing from me since I don’t typically do the start/sit article for DFF. Well, @fantasyfreezer is on vacation, so I’m filling in for him this week. I’ll try to keep the same format and bring you good start/sit advice for the week. I won’t discuss obvious starts or sits, but I’ll focus on borderline players where fantasy owners might have difficult decisions. With that said, let’s jump straight into it.
The Ravens’ defense did it again. This week, at home versus the Bengals, Baltimore dominated on defense from the opening snap. The unit produced seven sacks, two fumbles recovered, an interception, and a touchdown in the game. IDP players of note include Patrick Queen, Marcus Peters, Chuck Clark, Marlon Humphrey, and Pernell McPhee.
Are you ready for some… Tuesday? Night? Football? Hopefully, everything goes according to plan and the NFL can stop playing hot potato with the schedule. But as we’re in unprecedented territory, you should be more and more willing to deal your guys. Don’t get attached to your favorite freight train of a running back (looking at you, Derrick Henry!) because anything can happen this season. Luckily, you have us to help you out. Here are our favorite buys and sells for the week.
Welcome back to the battle of attrition we call fantasy football. We looked at a wide receiver last week, and it is time to jump back in with maybe one of the most hated wide receivers of the last couple of seasons. None other than Nelson Agholor, who has made a new home in Las Vegas with the Raiders this season. After you stop laughing, he has been a revelation for this offense and someone that the Raiders have been able to depend upon.
Every week, I’m going to break down an entire division, focusing on their play on the field that week. Specifically, I’ll go through each team and focus on their dynasty assets, especially anybody who suffered injuries or a massive value change. I won’t look at any player or team in too much detail. This article is more of a summary piece. I also included links to all my previous divisional nuggets articles at the bottom of the page. With that said, let’s jump right in!
The Bills look like they have a solid fantasy core for the foreseeable future with Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and Zack Moss and Devin Singletary in the backfield. Despite the backfield being split, the Bills are “The Good” in my eyes due to their potential top ten QB and WR pair that should be on quite a few championship rosters this year.
For those of you checking us out for the first time, I’m @DFF_Biscuits. My role at Dynasty Football Factory is to embrace our inner degenerate by covering all things sportsbook related. Each week I’ll be writing two pieces; one will be my weekly picks against the spread. The second article will focus on specific player props. For the ATS (against the spread) articles, I will provide analysis on three bets that I feel have the best chance at getting you a nice payday. Whether it be due to matchups, injuries, or other factors, these are the three bets I feel the most confident in placing. I will also make predictions on the rest of the week’s spreads.
This weekly article is focused on identifying players who are owned in less than 40% of redraft leagues. These players are going to help your team win this week and every week to come! We are looking for guys you should be able to plug into your starting lineup without hesitation.
This one is mainly for the SuperFlex and 2QB leagues but Andy Dalton may even be relevant in your single QB leagues. Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome ankle injury, ending his promising season. Dalton wasn’t bad, completing nine of eleven attempts after Prescott went out. He has every weapon he could ask for as a backup quarterback in the NFL and should produce well in Dak’s place.
Has there ever been a more difficult week in which to set line-ups for fantasy football? The sheer number of players entering the weekend with a “questionable” injury designation coupled with the threat of game postponements challenged roster depth or triggered a flurry of transactions Sunday morning. Some fantasy gamers and writers assign blame to the uncertainty and question the skill involved in assembling a competitive line-up under such conditions. Your writer feels that gamers who understand the depth of options on the waiver wire and the back end of other teams’ rosters earns an advantage over the competition. The “next man up” came through for huge stat lines in several spots around the league in Week 5. This column aims to assist gamers in pursuit of additions with lasting value. In this season of uncertainty, burning through FAAB to chase points is a cardinal sin.
In this streaming article, I will provide you the best weekly options to stream quarterback, tight end, and D/ST. In each section, I’ll break down two streamers in detail, both of which will be under 50% owned, according to ESPN’s ownership percentage at the time of writing. Playing the matchups is a crucial feature of redraft fantasy football, and especially in a crazy 2020 season, active fantasy owners will have a massive advantage. This week, the NFL made a bunch of schedule changes which, of course, changes my streaming recommendations. The Chargers now have a Week 6 bye, whereas before, they had a game against the Jets. Of course, I liked the Chargers’ options in that game, but they’re now unavailable.
I’m also assuming there will be no further schedule changes and that the NFL sticks to the schedule referenced in that link. Make sure to check your league’s waiver timing, as that may have changed with a Tuesday game this week. With all that out of the way, let’s jump into the streamers.
This week and every week going forward we’ll bring you several recommendations for players you should add to your dynasty rosters. We’ll mainly be targeting lower-owned guys who should be available in all but the deepest leagues.
Fells has received at least two targets in each game through five weeks, which may not seem like much, but he’s also averaging 15 yards per reception this year. He has two touchdowns and is tied for second on the team in red zone targets. Fells isn’t a high volume option but provides upside with the touchdown opportunity in deeper leagues.
The Eagles drafted Foles in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft as the backup quarterback to incumbent starter Michael Vick. As a rookie, Foles played in fill-in duty for an injured Vick, seeing action in seven games. He wasn’t anything special as a rookie, though.
I’m going to take a look at Alex Smith’s incredible journey, both in his playing career and his recovery from one of the most devastating injuries in NFL history. The point of this piece isn’t to look at Smith and his past performances. I’ll touch a bit on what I expect from Smith in 2020, assuming he remains Washington’s starter.
However, I mostly want to appreciate all the hard work Smith did to reach this point. I’ve always been one of Smith’s biggest fans, and I’ve wanted to see him achieve his goal of returning to the field since his injury. When he took the field in Week 5, replacing Kyle Allen, I felt extremely happy for Smith, and that moment touched me. It was a different type of feeling from how I usually feel when watching football. I’ll remember that moment forever, whether Smith goes on to find success in the future or not.
With four weeks of tape and data in the books, now is the first time you can make a truly informed decision on players on your roster. Your fantasy draft should be a distant memory and with bye weeks approaching the tough decisions will come thick and fast. In order for us to get these tough decisions right, we have to take a step back and objectively evaluate our players.
Is Tim Patrick a valuable asset to your dynasty team? Or will he be back on the waiver wire when the Broncos get healthy again?
As much as I have preached my disdain for the Eagles this year, I have to give them credit in one area. They do not let up many passing yards to their opponents. The Eagles currently rank 18th in the league allowing, on average, 243.5 passing yards per game. Now, before you grab your pitchforks, this could be a by-product of many things including poor quarterback play, game script, etc. But consider for one moment that Joe Burrow, who is breaking NFL records left and right, only threw for 312 yards in an overtime tie to Philadelphia.
Two games have been moved off of the main slate8, leaving us with ten games to sort through in Week 5. I’ll be breaking down each matchup, sharing my thoughts on player prices* and stacking opportunities. As you read, please note that the player names in bold are what I consider my “core” players or guys that I’m sliding into a large percentage of my lineups. Oh, and if you’re new to DFS, you should check out my DFS Tips and Tricks article here.
*All player prices referenced are from FanDuel.
In this weekly article, I’m going to look ahead to the following week. I’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. I’ll also try and get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget.
Howard suffered a devastating torn Achilles injury in the Buccaneers’ Week 4 game. As most of you know, any torn Achilles is a season-ending injury, but it’s also one of the worst injuries in terms of rehab and recovery. Until recently, Achilles injuries were often career-ending, although some players have managed to return from the injury. Emmanuel Sanders is likely the most memorable recent example, and he recovered and returned at relatively full health despite his advanced age.
The Patriots selected Harris with the 87th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. They had a relatively crowded backfield at the time, consisting of 2019 first-round pick Sony Michel, pass-catcher James White, and veteran Rex Burkhead. Given Michel’s relatively inefficient performances as a rookie, some people thought that Harris could challenge for the starting role. Even if Harris wouldn’t be the immediate starter, I believed he could compete with Michel for early-down work, alongside White as the third-down back.
With four weeks of NFL action behind us, we are now really starting to get a good idea about who’s the real deal. Joe Burrow looks like the QB we hoped he would be, and Justin Jefferson is looking like a great asset. However, there are still plenty of rookies not on the top of their games, for several different reasons, that will surely be assets later this season or next. Per usual, I will dive into some “Risers”, “Fallers”, “Buys” and “Sells” while assessing their Week 4 performance and long term outlook.