There should be plenty of fantasy points to go around this week with no byes to worry about, but the injury bug bit a handful of key fantasy contributors over the weekend.
Serious injuries to reliable weekly starters like Bengals teammates A.J. Green (hamstring strain) and Giovani Bernard (torn ACL) hurts fantasy owners, as does Andrew Luck and Mark Ingram being in the concussion protocol. You’re also without decent streaming option players like Jay Cutler (torn labrum), Zach Miller (broken foot) and C.J. Prosise (fractured scapula).
With that in mind here’s a quick look at some options to consider prior to Week 10.
QB
Joe Flacco (26% owned)
Ray Lewis’s recent comments seemed to light a bit of a fire under Flacco. He played well in a losing effort against Dallas, and now he gets a Bengals squad that tends to give up big fantasy points to pocket passers. Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Siemian, Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins and Eli Manning have all put up 20+ points on the Bengals this season. Flacco should do well this week.
Carson Wentz (32% owned)
Wentz has registered more than 20 fantasy points only once this season (Week 3 against the Steelers) but going up against a struggling Green Bay secondary that has allowed 11 passing TDs over the last four weeks bodes well.
RB
Rob Kelley (64% owned)
Kelley has become a great north-south back seeing plenty of touches, which is what you want in a running back. His 31.7 standard scoring fantasy points led all players in Week 11 (and that includes quarterbacks). He has given the Redskins an unexpected boost at the position, similar to what Jay Ajayi did for the Dolphins earlier in the season. Kelly needs to be owned in all leagues, despite the tough matchup ahead.
Jalen Richard (13% owned)
Richard has become a reliable outlet for Derek Carr, especially in the passing game. He came down with a couple clutch catches, including a touchdown, against the Texans. He could be a nice flex streaming option this week against the Panthers—his value increases in PPR leagues.
Tim Hightower (51% owned)
Hightower has been excellent in the last month and with Mark Ingram suffering an apparent concussion, we expect Hightower to get the bulk of the carries against a staunch Rams run defence.
Alex Collins (0% owned)
This is an insurance/desperation add. Thomas Rawls is the man again in Seattle with C.J. Prosise out and Christine Michael now with the Packers. Collins is the backup and could see some touches but he’s more of a safety net for Rawls owners.
WR
Malcolm Mitchell (1% owned)
The rookie was the beneficiary of a few brilliant Tom Brady passes on Sunday and looked great on a 56-yard touchdown. He’s on the Patriots so you never know what to expect on a week-to-week basis, but he’s worth a speculative add if you’ve got the roster space.
“I’ve just been impressed with him since the day he came in and his personality is infectious,” Brady told reporters. “He’s growing along with everybody else. It’s been really great to see. He’s got great hands, really big hands for a receiver… kind of like Gronk. Malcolm has such confidence in his hands and it’s great for run after catch because the ball never gets to your body and slows you down. You can really snatch the ball away from defensive backs.”
Pierre Garcon (24% owned)
The veteran has improved steadily since the beginning of the season and now looks more like his old self. Coming off a season-high 116 yards, Garcon should get a surplus of looks Thursday against the Cowboys since we’d guess the Redskins will be throwing the ball a lot.
Tyler Boyd (7%)
With A.J. Green out at least a few weeks—initially it was feared his season was over for sure—Dalton is going to have to throw the ball to someone. Boyd has his best fantasy game of the year with Green out, catching six of eight targets for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Sammy Watkins (42% owned)
This is your sneaky add of the week. Rex Ryan hinted that Watkins could come off injured reserve this week against the Jaguars. Even if he doesn’t play this week, Watkins could help your team down the stretch and into the playoffs.
TE
Jared Cook (12% owned)
The top-scoring tight end from Week 11, Cook finally did what many felt he would do on a weekly basis after joining the Packers in the off-season. Six catches for 105 yards and a TD on 11 targets is a very promising stat line to see from a tight end.
Vance MacDonald (8% owned)
Typically you’d want to stay away from any 49ers player, however MacDonald has posted respectable numbers in three straight weeks. Colin Kaepernick has targeted him exactly six times per week dating back to Week 7.
The percentages shown above represent how much each player is owned in Yahoo! fantasy football leagues at the time this article was published.
