No way dude, my league is so crazy deep, my boy Peter drafted Le’Veon bell when he was still in college… Yeah, well my boy Jimmy drafted Melvin Gordon during his Junior year of high school…No way man, my girl Cindy drafted Aaron Rodgers after going to his 7th birthday party… Not even close, my boy Dave drafted Antonio Brown after seeing his ultrasound pictures.
Everyone in their league either knows someone who “got that guy way before he hit it big”. If you don’t know, him, congratulations, you are him. Most owners just need to hit it big once, and can ride out an entire season, or multiple, based on that success. Given a standard 10 or 12 team league, in which you are already drafting 2 or 3 premier players, hitting it big on 1 or 2 sleepers puts you in contention every year.
But there are some of you out there that are gluttons for punishment. You know who you are, you 18 team, AFC only, starting 2 QB, 3 RB, 2 TE, and 4 Defenses. Those of you starting practice squad players hoping for a half-time call up. You are monsters, heathens, and abominations. And I love you.
This post space will be dedicated to monitoring those low percentage players that are primed to take your deep-league teams to the promised land. I will try to focus on players that can contribute now, and/or players that have the potential to help down the road.
Short, simple, and to the point: here are some players that are, on average, owned in less than 3% of league’s, that may have a chance to help you out this week…
Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville:
Bortles is not going to set the world on fire, but everything about that first game was promising. A couple of nice scrambles, no turnovers, and a touchdown, against a highly touted defense. Also in his favor, the Jags ran the ball 39 times. It’s almost like they are asking Bortles to just not screw up. This is promising for a few reasons: 1, their Defense is really good. 2, if they are going to keep running the ball 35+ times per game, defenses are going to have to start stuffing the box. Yes, Allen Robinson went down, but he still has Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee, and has shown in the past he can wing it when he has too. All signs pointing to Bortles being a nice piece in a deep, 2 QB league.
Dion Lewis, RB, New England:
I know, you watched the game this week, and saw Chris Hogan out carry Lewis. So did I. But news out of New England is that there are some RB needy teams looking to pick up Lewis on the cheap (1.2 million) during the last year of his contract. And given the stable of RB’s in New England, I believe it is time they part with him, and try to sure up elsewhere. If he goes somewhere, he could just as easily be a featured back, as he could be a 3rd down only, or even the lighting to someone’s thunder. Long story short, a move makes Lewis immediately fantasy relevant and if you have the spot, he’s worth a stash.
Kendall Wright, WR, Chicago:
Wright is 27, already has a 90 catch, 1,000 yard season under his belt, and might be the last man standing in the Chicago receiving pool. While Mr. Glass, Kevin White, is looking forward to racking up some more frequent visitor points at the U of Chicago Medical Center, Wright is going to be, purely by default, the best and most reliable option left for Mike Glennon to throw at. Truthfully, you could make an argument for giving this kid a go in 12 team leagues from here on out.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco:
It pains me to take the high road, but I refuse to make an attractive-tight-end-in-San-Francisco joke. I just can’t do it. Now that I have taken the morale high road, I will expound upon you why I believe this San Francisco tight end will work it! The 49ers are a wreck, but Kittle was 2nd on the team in targets (6), and hauled in 5 of them for 24 yards. Yeah, the yardage was disappointing, but it was more about his rapport with a quarterback who is going to be working his check-downs this week in Seattle. For a deep league, Kittle will be getting snaps, and opportunities, which is all you can ask for.
