🏈 Penny for your thoughts
Craig Reynolds, waiver wire, Nico Collins, Austin Ekeler and other important updates. Let's get you a title.
Good morning. Another day, another dollar spent on microwaved lunch. Bring it on, Week 15.
In other important news: games will be on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday this week.
Before Urban Meyer asks for a resume, let’s get into it.
Week 14 Waivers
This late in the season, waivers win your championship. We were on fire last week.
Rashaad Penny: 26+ points, our #1 add.
Taysom Hill: 26+, our #2 add.
D’Onta Foreman: 13+
Russell Gage: 8+
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 11+
This week, grab the following:
RB D’Ernest Johnson - All Johnson does is ball, when given an opportunity. And he now has one (Kareem Hunt is out).
RB Craig Reynolds - When unknown players make noise, we listen. Reynolds rushed for a team-high 83 yards on 11 carries and had two catches on two targets. He’s also a legend (Cut 7 times, took job interviews - like the rest of us - after graduating). The Lions backfield is depleted, and Reynolds is the best one left.
RB Jeff Wilson - If, and only if, Elijah Mitchell sits. JaMycal Hasty didn't see a single carry, meaning Wilson is the RB2 on SF (Deebo is RB1, WR1).
WR Nico Collins - Collins caught five of 10 targets for 69 yards, 20.5% target share and one red-zone target. Davis Mills is the starting QB and loves targeting Nico.
QB Tua Tagovailoa - Since Week 5, QBs have averaged 20.78 fantasy PPG against the Jets, with all but three topping 20 fantasy points. The Dolphins only healthy RB is Duke Johnson…
RB Malcolm Brown/Duke Johnson - The Dolphins' three running backs are all on the COVID-19 list, meaning Brown or the Duke could be their lead RB. It comes in a great matchup against the Jets, who give up the most fantasy PPG (35.06), as well as the most yards (179.8) and touchdowns (1.8) per game to the position.
WR Gabriel Davis - Emmanuel Sanders will likely be out Sunday with a knee sprain, and HC Sean McDermott was very complimentary of Davis - “Saw something in a young player… upside.”
More waiver articles:
Michael Florio’s Fantasy Football waiver wire targets for Week 15 of 2021 NFL season (Donavan Peoples-Jones)
Sporting News’ Best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 15 (Braxton Berrios)
Fantasy Pros’ Waiver Wire Rankings and FAB Advice: Week 15 (Robby Anderson)
Andy Brehen’s Week 15 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Pickups to help your playoff chances (Kendrick Bourne)
Important Injuries
Charger HC Brandon Staley said Austin Ekeler will be at practice. He’s just sore. Nothing major. Great news after Ekeler went down in the third quarter and had to be helped off the field.
RB Michael Carter (ankle) is expected to come off IR this week. WR Elijah Moore expected back for the last two games, per Jets HC Robert Saleh.
Kareem Hunt is “unlikely” to play Saturday vs. Raiders with the ankle injury.
After bye week to rest and no surgery, Aaron Rodgers says his broken pinkie "feels worse" after Bears game. "I don't know what kind of setback I had tonight, I'll take a look at it tomorrow."
Tony Pollard (foot) has a good chance of returning against the Giants on Sunday, as does Lamar Jackson, who does not have a high ankle sprain. HC John Harbaugh said that his plans for Sunday still include Lamar Jackson.
Lions HC Dan Campbell said he’s "hopeful, but we'll just have to see" on D'Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson returning in Week 15. DJ Moore pulled his hamstring and is day to day.
The Vikings claimed RB Wayne Gallman via waivers after placing RB Alexander Mattison on Reserve/COVID-19. Other notable players on the COVID-19 list include Kadarius Toney, Josh Gordon, Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed, and Phillip Lindsay.
A staffer with the Washington Football Team tested positive for the Omicron variant. The first known case of this variant in the NFL.
Makes you wonder what variant Urban Meyer has?
Quick Slants
Pete Carroll says they'll keep rotating at running back, but says Rashaad Penny deserves the chance to keep starting for now. Says that will be the plan for Sunday.
AJ Dillon tripled Aaron Jones in carries (15 to 5), out-snapped him 34-29, and was only 4 behind in routes run (16 to 12). Despite production differences, Dillon is the 1A and Jones the 1B right now.
James Conner and Aaron Donald were not only teammates at Pitt. They were also putting pressure on the QB together in a bowl game (video)
A lot of buzz around whether mobile QBs are more likely to be injured. Shocker: no hard evidence for that exists (great article)
Justin Herbert is the first player in NFL history with 30 or more passing TD in each of his first two seasons. He’s not human (video).
In the five games Russ has played with DK Metcalf since the OnlyFans foursome story broke: Tyler Lockett (21-444-2) vs DK Metcalf (17-173-0)
Tweet of the Day
Question of the Day
Who was the biggest bust of the 2021 fantasy season?
Thanks for joining me - you’re so close to the title. Let’s get it.
- Jake