Welcome back, Slant-Boy
And an Antonio Brown sighting - Oct 22
Welcome - and thank you - to the thousands of subscribers joining from reddit. People like you are the oil fueling the Morning Huddle and I appreciate all your support. At the Morning Huddle, we bring you the top headlines in the fantasy football world by 6AM Tuesday-Sunday.
Some great storylines and content yesterday, so let’s jump right in.
Antonio Brown spotted in Adam Schefter’s Twitter feed
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks and “other teams" are interested in signing suspended free agent Antonio Brown as AB’s suspension will conclude in Week 8, making him eligible to be signed by any team and play Week 9.
Wow - compared to last year’s music video-filled debacle, it’s incredible how quiet things have been on the AB front this season. That is GREAT news, because it shows AB is focused and taking his career seriously again. GO PICK HIM UP.
Here’s a list of the odds for AB’s landing spot. Most likely (per oddsmakers)? The Green Bay Packers.
Austin Ekeler will be back "later [rather] than sooner"
Per Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, Ekeler's hamstring strain is "very serious” making it likely fantasy owners will be without the star RB for the foreseeable future. This increases the value of both Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley, who should continue to split reps according to game-flow.
Surprise! You’re benched!
Yesterday, we wrote about how heartwarming it was to witness Ryan Fitzmagic’s support for young Tua. However, I don’t think Fitz understood the implications, as it was reported Fitz was heartbroken and “shocked” by the Dolphins' decision to bench him and name Tua Tagovailoa the starter for Week 8 against the Rams. In all fairness to Fitz, he’s been playing well, led the Dolphins to a 3-3 record, and been fun as heck to watch.
Even if this was Miami’s plan all along, you’d think they would give their MVP a heads-up.
Michael Thomas is expected to play Sunday
It’s been weeks since last year’s record-breaking WR stepped onto an NFL field. Thomas was questionable to play last-week, but Malcolm Jenkins called him “slant boy” during practice, so Thomas punched Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and was disciplined by the Saints.
A month removed from his high-ankle sprain, Sean Payton wouldn't commit to Thomas returning for Sunday's game with the Panthers, but Thomas is expected to suit up.
Quick-hit of important WR statistics by fantasy football experts
Leaders in AirYAC (air yards + yards after catch) per game going into Week 7 - a combination of opportunity (air yards) and ability (yards after catch). Top of the list? Calvin Ridley.
Leaders in receiving yards on throws 20+ yds downfield - who is getting the most results on deep bombs? D.K. Metcalf. Second on the list? Calvin Ridley.
Highest rated rookie WRs through the first 6 weeks as per PFF. 1) Justin Jefferson 90.8 2) Chase Claypool 83.6
BONUS
New injuries to check on - Joe Mixon (missed practice) - DeAndre Hopkins (missed practice)
That’s it for today - our quick “sell high and waive goodbye” (trade away) list for Week 7 includes:
Kenyan Drake (after a monster performance against what might be the worst defense in the league, people may forget Chase Edmonds receives a large portion of work in the passing game and might be the more talented back. Sell high)
D’Andre Swift (after a monster performance, Swift deserves more touches. Will he get it? History tells us Matt Patricia thinks Adrian Peterson is still in his prime. Sell high)
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Buy or sell on Dolphins players after this move? Gaskin, Parker and the Gesicki have all been pretty productive with Fitz so far...